The Northern Ireland Assembly has passed climate change legislation committing the region to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. A Bill tabled by Agriculture and Environment Minister Edwin Poots passed its final stage in the Assembly chamber and will now go forward for Royal Assent.
While there is an overall net-zero target for 2050, there is a separate reduction target of 46% for methane emissions, which are largely associated with the agricultural sector. Northern Ireland has been an outlier in terms of climate change laws, having previously been the only part of the UK and Ireland without specific legislative commitments to reducing greenhouse gas output.
MLAS passed the final stage of the Bill by way of an oral vote on Wednesday. The Climate Change (No 2) Bill was one of two competing Bills making their way through the Assembly at the same time.
