Debate contribution: Climate Change

Debate contribution by Mr Andrew Muir on 11 November 2024.

MLA

Mr Andrew Muir

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

11 November 2024

Type

Debate contribution (made as a minister)

Business

Ministerial Statements

Heading

Climate Change

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4667713

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I thank the Member for his questions. As you are aware, those are discussions that I am having with my Executive colleagues. The pace that I run this marathon at has to be the pace that my Executive colleagues are prepared to join me at. I will continue to encourage others to follow at that pace. I am very ambitious about this, and I am ready to go. I will seek to continue to engage with my Executive colleagues on the carbon budgets. Once that agreement is reached, I will come to the Assembly to let people know more about. Then I will seek to get approval of the climate action plan, because that is the next step.

We should — we must — get this agreed by the end of the year, and I will continue to engage with Executive colleagues on it. That is absolutely key.

As to others looking to Northern Ireland, I referred specifically to agriculture and the interventions that are being made. I am happy to meet the SDLP to brief the party on the work that is being done on the future farm support development programme and the good work that is being done in agriculture. Boy, do I know there is more to be done? There is significantly more to be done, but we are making good progress in turning things around. Government can be difficult, but it is about delivering change for people and working with others. That is what we are doing, particularly in farming. It is absolutely crucial that we do that and give people hope for the future. Interventions such as the soil nutrient health scheme and the different packages of measures that we are bringing forward are positive and groundbreaking in Northern Ireland.

That is exactly what the Just Transition Commission is about: holding the feet of the Assembly and wider government to the fire to ensure that those voices are heard. It is absolutely critical that we move on and are able to set the regulations. I want to carry out that consultation so that we get voices heard in relation to the issues.

I am aware of the stuff that the Member has quoted. It takes no account of the need for ambitious climate action plans. When we insert those, we get ourselves on the road to net zero. That is why it is crucial that we get agreement on carbon budgets and then the climate action plans. Those are the interventions that we need. As I outlined in my statement, they have to be transformative. However, we are up for this. Northern Ireland has a history of being transformative. Look at our past and see what we were able to do. Do not underestimate what we can do in the future. Other parts of the world look to us to lead in those areas.

There are significant costs in failing to take action: lost investment and lost opportunities for jobs in Northern Ireland. However, I do not want to contemplate those. There are costs to making the interventions to enable a just transition. That is something that we should, frankly, already be doing. In relation to, for example, Communities, I would support Gordon Lyons on the need for investment in energy efficiency in homes. This is about a just transition, but it is also about decarbonisation. In agriculture, there is a need for capital funding not only to drive down greenhouse gas emissions but to promote water and air quality. My ambition is high, and I will engage with the Finance Minister in the time ahead on what resources we can secure to deliver that future for everyone.

I ask the Member, if he has concerns about a specific area, to raise it with the relevant agencies. It is important that he does so. I am aware of a local issue that he is concerned about, and I will write to him shortly to invite him to a meeting in relation to it.

The Member is clearly unacquainted with the legislation, which was brought forward by the previous DUP Minister and agreed unanimously, including by his party at Final Stage during the last mandate. I do not look towards a reduction in jobs: I look for the growth of good, green sustainable jobs. The Member may not be aware that the climate action plan has to be agreed by the Executive, and we are working together to achieve that. I do not look for us to move backwards; I look for us to move forward, and that is what I am keen to do. Agri-food is a vital sector, and that is why I am working to give it a sustainable future. That means taking difficult decisions, but, rather than allowing people to feel warm and not facing up to them, I am working through them. When I came into post in February, my in tray was overflowing with difficult issues, and I am not dodging them.

I will write to the Member with the full details on that, but it is key that we consider the impact on rural communities. I am taking that forward through the future rural affairs policy, because I want to embed it in the Department. I am also working with my Executive colleagues on the future Budget because, as you know, the earmarking for that has been removed, and we want to ensure that rural development is a key part of it.

I thank the Member for his question. What Members do not know is that, on occasions, the Member has been faster than me in marathons. I give him credit for that, but I will catch up in due course. The issues that the Member has raised should be mainstreamed in all Departments. We should do that as a matter of course. One of our challenges is with adaptation and mitigation in Northern Ireland, and that is where we need to work as an Executive. That is key to going forward. On the Budget for the next financial year, it is important that all Departments bid for significant funding for those issues. We have to match that with what the UK Government are providing us with, and I continue to engage with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) on financial support.

Further to that point of order, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker, I acknowledge that the Member may have been raising this issue regularly, but I note that, when I published a written ministerial statement on 9 July, many who are now commenting on the issue were clearly on a long vacation.

1,106 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:35 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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