Debate contribution: The draft Climate Change (Carbon Budgets 2023-2037) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2024

Debate contribution by Mr Tom Buchanan on 10 December 2024.

MLA

Mr Tom Buchanan

Party at the time

Democratic Unionist Party

Date

10 December 2024

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Executive Committee Business

Heading

The draft Climate Change (Carbon Budgets 2023-2037) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2024

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4715585

Read the official Assembly record

Text

In rising to speak in the debate, I want to make it clear that we will not support the draft regulations. I heard the Member from the Opposition speak about the weekend's storm. He tied it in with climate change. Is it not strange that today, no matter what happens, it is all down to climate change? If we have a hot summer, with no rain or little rain, it is because of climate change; if we have a summer with quite a bit of rain, it is down to climate change; if we have a windstorm, it is down to climate change. I remember from when I was a boy that we had much worse storms than we had at the weekend; we had summer after summer with great weather and little rain; and we had summers when there was quite a bit of rain. It was not down to climate change; it was exactly what was taking place at that time. Therefore, I find it strange that, no matter what happens today, it is all put down to climate change. I will set out why we are not in a position to support the regulations. The DUP supports the United Kingdom's long-term net zero ambitions and will advocate policy and initiatives that are environmentally responsible and support decarbonisation. We appreciate that there is a role for ambitious and flexible emissions targets in driving forward progress, but we are extremely concerned that recent legislation, including that in Northern Ireland, has been rushed, is poorly drafted and conflicts with the independent scientific advice from the Climate Change Committee. There is no question that more sustainable policies in such areas as energy, housing and transport can bring benefits for the standards of living enjoyed by people in Northern Ireland and help to tackle deprivation and isolation. Many of our citizens, however, perceive climate action as resulting in higher taxes and increased costs for basic goods and services and a residual threat to jobs and livelihoods, particularly in farming communities. Those of us who are close to farming communities and speak to them hear their concerns about the targets and their implications for their business. It comes at a time when our families face the highest tax burden since the Second World War. Minister, there must be a fair transition that is inclusive of all communities, households and industries and addresses the looming threat of further costs from changes to emissions trading schemes and the impact of the EU's carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) on trade between GB and Northern Ireland. There is a risk that unfair and unworkable environmental targets that are levied on local farm businesses may lead to conditions, including a reduction in livestock numbers, that usher in a reliance on foreign, cheaper produce that is farmed in conditions and to a standard that we would never accept in the UK. If we are not careful, folks, that is the road that we will go down, should we press on with the stringent targets that are before the House today. Section 1 of the Climate Change Act 2022 states:

"Northern Ireland departments must ensure that the net Northern Ireland emissions account ... for the year 2050 is at least 100% lower than the baseline".

Minister, you will have heard the concerns raised by many respondents on the issue. Some of the proposed targets and budgets are unrealistic and not sustainable, given the impact that they will have on our citizens and on the economy. What about the impact on Northern Ireland's significant agri-food sector and rural communities; the potential detrimental impact on UK food security, including through the reduction of livestock numbers; the potential for social inequalities; the absence of a budgetary breakdown by sector; and the operational constraints of the planning system, which are a real hindrance to the farming community? I am sure that most if not all Members have placed that issue on the Minister's desk, yet there has been little done on it and little movement. A recent Assembly Research and Information Service (RaISe ) paper, from the end of November 2024, states:

"The general assessment across all DAs"

— devolved Administrations —

"is that the transition to net-zero will be several billion pounds."

The paper points out that the draft green growth strategy states:

"In its Sixth Carbon Budget, the CCC estimates extra investment rising to around £1.3 billion annually from 2030 will be needed in Northern Ireland to meet our 2050 emissions targets in their 'Balanced Pathway' scenario."

The total net cost to Northern Ireland of the Climate Change Act's target of achieving net zero by 2050 is estimated to be £13·5 billion. Minister and Members, are you prepared to cripple our people with such a financial burden simply to meet such stringent targets in the Climate Change Act?

Yes.

Yes, but the Minister who has put forward the stringent targets and has refused to step back from them is you. We brought the issue to the House previously and asked you to step back from those stringent targets, but you refused to do so. The targets have therefore been put forward by you as Minister. In light of what we have said, Minister, it is time to press the "Pause" button. We in the Democratic Unionist Party believe that there is an urgent need to inject a sense of realism into Northern Ireland's climate ambitions. Minister, there would be no shame in you and parties in the Assembly reflecting honestly on the implications of the targets enshrined in the Climate Change Act. Indeed, it would be a sign of maturity, at a time when public services are being pressed from pillar to post because of insufficient resources and a lack of reform, for all in the House to consider changing course. We are deeply concerned that the SRs have been rushed and did not afford the Committee the proper time to scrutinise what was being proposed. Given the manner in which the Department approached the tabling of the regulations, there are concerns that the process could be subject to future judicial review. Therefore, we urge the Minister to reflect on that and to consider withdrawing the regulations today. The headline commitments in the carbon budgets and the 2040 emissions target are highly aspirational and entirely devoid of a concrete assessment of the policies and proposals that would need to be advanced by Departments and of the cost to Departments. Therefore, there is a real risk that you, Minister, are putting the cart before the horse by pressing ahead with the regulations in the absence of agreement on what represents a fair and sustainable transition for businesses, consumers and Departments, especially at a time when we need to transform and reform front-line services for the benefit of all. Section 23 of the Climate Change Act requires DAERA to consult the just transition commission and the Northern Ireland Climate Commissioner, both of which were required to be established under the Act, on proposed carbon budgets. Yet, the Department has indicated that, once they are established, there will be an engagement with those bodies on relevant issues, including future carbon budgets. Surely that will be too late: the damage of the aspirational targets, including their impact on public spending, will have been done. That engagement should have been taking place prior to the regulations being brought before the House. Is the House content to bury its head in the sand on such exorbitant costs, or will it face the stark facts and pause the passage of the regulations to allow sufficient time for proper scrutiny and engagement with the relevant bodies? We do not believe that the targets can be met within the time frame that has been set. They will be detrimental to businesses and the farming community and will have huge and crippling financial consequences. Therefore, we ask the House to give serious consideration to what is before it today and to vote against the regulations.

1,333 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:45 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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