There is a prospect that Northern Ireland will end up with two separate but virtually identical pieces of climate change legislation, after a raft of amendments were proposed for a private member’s bill due to be considered by MLAs on Tuesday 8 March.
Earlier this week (Monday 28 February and Tuesday 1 March), MLAs spent over six hours debating and agreeing amendments to the climate change bill taken forward by Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots on behalf of the Stormont Executive.
The second piece of legislation is a private member’s climate change bill brought by Green Party MLA Clare Bailey.
The Executive bill is ahead of it in the legislative process, having been considered on two occasions by MLAs. With Stormont to dissolve at the end of March ahead of May elections, it is much more likely to make it into law.
In the wings
However, the Bailey bill is still in the wings and with an original headline target for NI to achieve net zero emissions by 2045, has been the cause of much concern among farmers.
Independent analysis by KPMG suggested that cattle and sheep in NI would need to be virtually wiped out to meet this net zero target.
The main issue is the biogenic methane released by ruminants, which accounts for two-thirds of total agricultural emissions, but is difficult to significantly reduce without cutting livestock.
Target amended
Despite that, a grouping mainly made up of Nationalist parties, along with the Alliance and the Greens, did manage to amend the headline target in the Executive bill at the start of February 2022.
Originally it was for NI to achieve “at least 82%” reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050 (to mainly allow for continued methane from livestock). However, this was changed to net zero.
But following intensive lobbying from farmers, an amendment was passed on Monday 28 February that sets a separate target for methane.
The change, in effect, brings the target in the bill back into line with the “at least 82%” originally proposed. Out of the main parties, only the Alliance and Greens were opposed.
Amendments to Bailey bill
The Bailey bill coming to Stormont next Tuesday also faces a raft of amendments, including some proposed by Minister Poots. He has put forward an amendment to change the headline target from net zero to “at least 82%”.
Sinn Féin has also suggested a number of amendments, including a separate target for biogenic methane, while also proposing a number of elements now in the Executive bill around a just transition commission.
For her part, Clare Bailey seems to have given up on the 2045 target and along with Alliance MLA John Blair has proposed an amendment that changes the date to 2050. The pair have also included various amendments taken directly from the Executive bill.
SHARING OPTIONS