AQW 1420/22-27

Mr John Blair
Alliance Party
South Antrim

Tabled Date: 14/06/2022
Answered On Date: 27/06/2022
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for the Economy, following the publication of the Doubling Back and Doubling Down: G20 scorecard on fossil fuel funding report, what steps he has taken to improve Northern Ireland’s contribution to the UK’s (i) rating for progress in ending support for fossil fuels; ii) rating for transparency; and (iii) overall ranking and score of Members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Answer:

My Department has recently published the ‘Energy in Northern Ireland 2022’ Official Statistics publication which shows that the annual proportion of electricity consumption from renewable sources in Northern Ireland has risen considerably in recent years, from 9.7% in 2009 to 41.3% in 2021.

The report also finds that in terms of the percentage of total indigenous electricity generation accounted for by indigenous renewable generation, Northern Ireland had the second highest proportion (45.6%) of all four UK regions in 2020 using this measure – higher than England (39.5%) and Wales (36.1%).

In January 2022 the Action Plan for the new Energy Strategy – ‘The Path to Net Zero Energy’ was published. This Action Plan is an integral part of delivering the overall energy strategy.

Within this Action Plan there are a total of 22 actions including 7 actions relating specifically to replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy. Delivery of these actions is a priority for the Executive and will make a significant contribution to reducing both Northern Ireland’s and the UK’s reliance on fossil fuels.