Debate contribution: The draft Climate Change (Carbon Budgets 2023-2037) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2024
Debate contribution by Miss Nuala McAllister on .
- MLA
- Miss Nuala McAllister
- Party at the time
- Alliance 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 4715608
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I had not intended to speak in the debate, but I want to highlight some points, particularly as I am part of a younger generation that was attuned to the issue of climate change when growing up. We knew that some issues that affected our local communities were man-made and that they had a greater effect on people from more working-class areas but that climate change affected all of us across the region and whether we lived in Northern Ireland, the UK or anywhere on the globe. It is an issue that we cannot escape from. The risks of not dealing with climate change will continue for all generations, including my children and their children, if we do not grasp the reality of it today. We need to stop burying our heads in the sand when dealing with the mitigations around carbon budgets. My colleague the Minister has already agreed to ensure that mitigations that can be made should be made. However, it is incumbent on every sector across Northern Ireland to get on board and maximise the potential to ensure that we deal with climate change. If we do not, we add to the risks across our community. We add to risks to our habitats; to the changing of our soil diversity and climatic conditions; to our natural carbon stores; to agricultural and forestry productivity; to agriculture and forestry from pests; to freshwater species; to habitats changing; to marine species; and to our infrastructure networks. The list goes on. That list is not unique to us here in Northern Ireland — it is across the globe — but it is incumbent on us, in the society that we live in, where we have the democratic methods by which to deal with climate change, to do so in order to play our part in the global fight against climate change and take the required action. When the Assembly was down, I stood with many young people across Northern Ireland who were protesting then, before and since about climate change. I made a commitment to them that, if elected to the Assembly, I would do everything that I could to ensure that we tackle the issue. It is incumbent on every single one of us today, by supporting and voting for the regulations, to make that commitment in full today. I am proud to support my colleague's introduction of these regulations. They will ensure that we make progress in implementing the changes that we need here in Northern Ireland.
418 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.03 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- Subject area: Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups.
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.03 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.03 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.58 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.03 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.78 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.16 |
| Another identity-related subject | 0.04 |
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.02 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
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.
Disagree with this assessment?
Classifications can be challenged. A person reads every challenge, and any change is recorded publicly above with its reason.