Northern Ireland’s first legally binding climate act faces a race against time to get passed before the devolved institutions at Stormont are dissolved in the coming weeks.
The second of two climate change bills – introduced by the agriculture minister, Edwin Poots – has moved through consideration stage, with a batch of new amendments prompting more than 25 hours of assembly debate.
But its passage into law is threatened by a congested legislative timetable in the time before Stormont’s dissolution next month to allow for elections. After Paul Givan’s resignation as first minister last week, deputy first minister Michelle O’Neill said the climate bill was among high-priority pieces of legislation that parties would hope to fast-track before the approaching deadline.
New features to the bill will see the legislation introduce a 2050 net zero target for Northern Ireland, along with an independent Climate Change Commissioner’s office. Other amendments added to the bill will include a “just transition” fund aimed at supporting agriculture, statutory carbon budgets, targets for biodiversity and soil quality.
There will also be a commitment that 10% of future transport budgets will go towards active travel.
Northern Ireland is the only jurisdiction in the UK and Ireland at present without dedicated climate legislation. The country’s low public transport spend (27% per head compared with the UK average) and declining biodiversity levels, among other considerations, have emboldened calls for a promised climate act.
The Green party NI leader, Clare Bailey, who tabled a first climate bill in 2020, told assembly members this week: “A majority of MLAs have made it clear that they support robust and ambitious climate legislation for Northern Ireland. We will have a net zero Climate Change Act for Northern Ireland, in whatever form it takes, because people want it, and the climate emergency demands it.
The Tory members
Craig Mackinlay
- Elected: 2015
- Constituency: South Thanet
- Links: chair of the NZSG and member of the European Research Group (ERG) of Conservative MPs.
Steve Baker
- Elected: 2010
- Constituency: Wycombe
- Links: Trustee of the Global Warming Policy Forum (GWPF), and currently writes for their campaigning arm, Net Zero Watch. Key figure in the NZSG and the ERG.
Peter Lilley
- Elected: Became a peer in 2018
- Constituency: represented Hitchin & Harpenden for decades
- Links: member and one-time trustee of GWPF
Esther McVey
- First elected: 2010
- Current constituency: Tatton
Robert Halfon
- Elected: 2010
- Constituency: Harlow
Julian Knight
- Elected: 2015
- Constituency: Solihull
- Links: member of ERG
Anne Marie Morris (currently independent)
- Elected: 2010 (but lost the Conservative whip in January)
- Constituency: Newton Abbott
Andrew Bridgen
- Elected: 2010
- Constituency: North West Leicestershire
- Links: member of ERG
David Jones
- Elected: 2005
- Constituency: Clwyd West
- Links: Member of ERG
Scott Benton
- Elected: 2019
- Constituency: Blackpool South
Damien Moore
- Elected: 2017
- Constituency: Southport
- Links: member of ERG
Mark Jenkinson
- Elected: 2019
- Constituency: Workington
Andrew Lewer
- Elected: 2017
- Constituency: Northampton South
- Links: member of ERG
Karl McCartney
- Elected: 2010
- Constituency: Lincoln
Marcus Fysh
- Elected: 2015
- Constituency: Yeovil
- Links: member of ERG
Greg Smith
- Elected 2019
- Constituency: Buckingham
Lee Anderson
- Elected: 2019
- Constituency: Ashfield
Philip Davies
- Elected: 2005
- Constituency: Shipley
- Links: member of ERG
Adam Holloway
- Elected: 2005
- Constituency: Gravesham
- Links: member of ERG
Craig Tracey
- Elected: 2015
- Constituency: North Warwickshire
“It was not so long ago that climate denial was rife in Stormont. I never thought we would see the day where we had such consensus across the political spectrum that action on climate change was urgent and necessary.
“The voice of the people has been heard. The will of the assembly has been recorded. I hope that the minister will respect democracy. It’s time for a Climate Change Act for Northern Ireland.”
An amendment proposing greater monitoring of Northern Ireland’s nitrogen levels was voted down last week and another proposed amendment seeking an outright ban on fracking was excluded from the consideration stage debate. A separate fracking bill, which follows a 2020 moratorium on petroleum licensing and drilling, is making its way through the assembly.
About two weeks are expected for any final amendments to be made to the climate change legislation, before the bill progresses to a final-stage vote and can then become law.
Civil society groups and campaigners who had previously criticised the bill’s lack of ambition have welcomed the new additions to the legislation.
Daithí McKay, from the Climate Coalition Northern Ireland group, said the bill in its amended form “represents a progressive way forward to net zero”.
He added: “The public expects the assembly to deliver and we now need a clear timetable from the minister setting out when he plans to complete the passing of the climate change act.”
Friends of the Earth NI director James Orr said: “If the amended bill passes, Northern Ireland will be in a position to hold its head high with the right climate action alongside the rest of the UK and the ROI and will no longer be the only place on these islands without climate legislation.
“We must ensure that these amendments are refined and developed to form a collective climate change act that is greater than the sum of its parts – one which truly reflects the gravity of the climate crisis and what needs to be done.”
Greenwashing is a form of marketing spin, in which companies persuade the public that their products, aims and policies are environmentally friendly. The term was coined by environmentalist Jay Westerveld in 1986 to refer to the corporate practice of making sustainability claims to cover a questionable environmental record.
An absolute greenhouse gas emissions target aims to reduce overall climate pollution by a specific amount.
A net-zero goal is meant to offset all greenhouse gas emissions by capturing them, planting trees to absorb them, or paying for the development of cleaner energy.
An intensity reduction seeks to cut the rate of planet-heating emissions that accompanies each unit of energy produced.
Poots, a strong advocate for Northern Ireland’s agrifood industry, said that implementing a 2050 net zero target would have “profound and irreversible consequences” for the sector. He has also suggested he would seek to “exempt” farmers from some of the bill’s requirements.
He said: “I am disappointed that the assembly have agreed an amendment to my climate change bill to set a 2050 net zero target.
“To push to net zero within that timeframe will have profound and irreversible consequences for our agri-food sector and our economy.
“I will now consider my next steps and aim to find a way forward that minimises the impacts on our agri-food sector and maximises the benefits for the climate change agenda. The approach and actions have to balance climate change, the economy and the wider environment.”
