AQW 19471/17-22

Mr John Blair
Alliance Party
South Antrim

Tabled Date: 25/05/2021
Answered On Date: 09/06/2021
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (i) whether the Climate Change Bill for Northern Ireland will include an emissions reduction target for the agriculture sector; and (ii) what support will made be available to assist the sector to reach this target.

Answer:

The draft Climate Change Bill, which I intend to seek Executive support for in the coming weeks, includes overall greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets for Northern Ireland but does not include sector specific targets. The targets within the Bill reflect the advice provided by the UK Climate Change Committee (CCC) on what would be an appropriate and fair contribution from Northern Ireland towards the UK net zero target. In providing this advice and in order to meet the targets which they have recommended, the CCC have indicated that all sectors have an important role to play and that Northern Ireland would have to achieve net zero emissions of CO2 by 2050. This would therefore effectively require that some key sectors in Northern Ireland, such as the energy sector, will have to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

In making their recommendations, the CCC have taken into account the importance of Northern Ireland’s role as a significant net exporter of agri-food products with nearly 50% of all agri-food products produced in Northern Ireland consumed in the rest of the UK, and the ramifications that more stringent targets could have upon Northern Ireland’s agricultural sector. Therefore the targets within the Bill which my Department has produced will help to ensure that the level of support needed by the agricultural sector will be greatly reduced in comparison to the net zero by 2045 target in the Private Members Bill on Climate Change.

My Department has and will continue to work closely with the agricultural sector, as part of the process of identifying, developing and implementing the best pathways and approaches to reducing emissions and ensuring sustainability and profitability in the longer term.