Demands from various political parties to fast-track greenhouse gas reduction targets for each sector of the NI economy have been ruled out by DAERA Minister Edwin Poots.
A motion was passed by the NI Assembly on Tuesday which called for “legally binding and ambitious” targets to be introduced within three months.
“A three-month time frame is impossible to achieve, and it is ridiculous to ask for it,” Minister Poots said.
He argued that NI farming would be damaged if legally binding targets were rushed through without proper scrutiny and support of scientific evidence.
The minister said that more research is firstly needed “to demonstrate, in a very unequivocal way, the real contribution of agriculture” to climate change.
He pointed to ongoing scientific debate about the actual effect that methane from livestock has on global temperatures and the impact that grasslands have in sequestering carbon from the atmosphere.
Although passed by MLAs, the
motion is non-binding which means it does not legally force the NI Executive to introduce sectoral targets within the three-month timeframe.
The motion was proposed by the chair of Stormont’s agriculture committee and Sinn Fein MLA Declan McAleer. During the debate, MLAs from Sinn Fein, SDLP, Alliance and the Green Party endorsed the motion.
The Ulster Unionist Party, with the support of the DUP, unsuccessfully tried to include an amendment which called for a public consultation on the matter, rather than fast-tracked legislation.
There was almost no discussion during the debate on the effect that emission targets could have on each sector of the NI economy, such as reduced livestock numbers within NI agriculture.
Speaking in the Assembly Chamber, Minister Poots took aim at Declan McAleer for bringing forward proposals that could negatively impact upland farmers in his West Tyrone constituency.
“We need to be very clear about it; the legislation that has been introduced in other places would be damaging to NI agriculture and, consequently, damaging to the hill farmers who Mr McAleer likes to talk about a lot,” he said.
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Demands from various political parties to fast-track greenhouse gas reduction targets for each sector of the NI economy have been ruled out by DAERA Minister Edwin Poots.
A motion was passed by the NI Assembly on Tuesday which called for “legally binding and ambitious” targets to be introduced within three months.
“A three-month time frame is impossible to achieve, and it is ridiculous to ask for it,” Minister Poots said.
He argued that NI farming would be damaged if legally binding targets were rushed through without proper scrutiny and support of scientific evidence.
The minister said that more research is firstly needed “to demonstrate, in a very unequivocal way, the real contribution of agriculture” to climate change.
He pointed to ongoing scientific debate about the actual effect that methane from livestock has on global temperatures and the impact that grasslands have in sequestering carbon from the atmosphere.
Although passed by MLAs, the
motion is non-binding which means it does not legally force the NI Executive to introduce sectoral targets within the three-month timeframe.
The motion was proposed by the chair of Stormont’s agriculture committee and Sinn Fein MLA Declan McAleer. During the debate, MLAs from Sinn Fein, SDLP, Alliance and the Green Party endorsed the motion.
The Ulster Unionist Party, with the support of the DUP, unsuccessfully tried to include an amendment which called for a public consultation on the matter, rather than fast-tracked legislation.
There was almost no discussion during the debate on the effect that emission targets could have on each sector of the NI economy, such as reduced livestock numbers within NI agriculture.
Speaking in the Assembly Chamber, Minister Poots took aim at Declan McAleer for bringing forward proposals that could negatively impact upland farmers in his West Tyrone constituency.
“We need to be very clear about it; the legislation that has been introduced in other places would be damaging to NI agriculture and, consequently, damaging to the hill farmers who Mr McAleer likes to talk about a lot,” he said.
Read more
Poots to request changes to greenhouse gas calculations
Cattle emissions wildly overstated
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