The farming lobby in Northern Ireland (NI) suffered a major blow on Tuesday evening when a controversial target to reach net zero emissions by 2050 passed through Stormont.

It came in the form of an amendment to the Executive’s climate change bill which originally aimed to cut emissions by at least 82% by 2050.

The amendment was proposed by Sinn Féin and the Green Party but required the support of the SDLP to get it over the line. In the end, the Assembly passed the amendment by 50 votes to 38.

The vote came after a long day of debate in the Assembly chamber. Earlier in the day, the Ulster Farmers’ Union held a rally outside Parliament Buildings to show its opposition to the proposed net zero target.

Analysis by consultancy firm KPMG found that a net zero target will require an 86% cut in cattle and sheep numbers in NI. It would also put 98% of beef and sheep farmers in less favoured areas out of business.

The net zero target also goes against all scientific advice from the UK government’s Climate Change Committee. Instead, the expert body recommended the original “at least 82% by 2050” target that was contained in the Executive’s bill.

“I listen to the experts. Our MLAs don’t seem to do that. As farmers, we demand action on climate. We want legislation that supports us, not eliminates us. There are few out there that are more vulnerable to extreme weather than we are,” union president Victor Chestnutt told UFU members at Stormont.

Read full analysis in this week’s NI edition of the Irish Farmers Journal.