Debate contribution: Net Zero Policies: Cost-benefit Analysis

Debate contribution by Mr Declan Kearney on 14 April 2026.

MLA: Mr Declan Kearney
Party at the time: Sinn Féin
Date: 14 April 2026
Type: Debate contribution
Business: Private Members' Business
Heading: Net Zero Policies: Cost-benefit Analysis
Assembly identifier: Official Report component 5482469

Text

Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle.
"I have been clear and consistent throughout" —
this process —
"that we should follow the advice of experts and set targets on the basis of the evidence." — [Official Report (Hansard), 9 March 2022, p2, col 2]
So said the former leader of the DUP and then DUP Environment Minister, Edwin Poots, when he welcomed the 2022 Climate Change Bill. Indeed, he went on to laud the passing of the Bill as "an historic moment". The advice from the experts and the extensive scientific evidence on climate change are at least the same in 2026 as they were in 2022. We must meet net zero targets, protect our environment and proactively tackle the climate change challenges that we face. Is it the case that, with this motion, the DUP has done a U-turn and is now announcing its return to archaic climate change denial? Denial and inaction are not an option.
There is no better man to revise history than you, Jonathan.
The reality is that —.
Thank you, a LeasCheann Comhairle
. There is no better man to revise history than you, Jonathan. The point is that we need to move forward on the basis of the just transition principles. That is the ground that the DUP needs to get on to. Months out before this summer, we are already facing another stark reminder of the catastrophic threat to the biodiversity and ecological well-being of Lough Neagh. The livelihoods of brown eel fishermen, the commercial fishing industry and all forms of economic activity along the lough shore are being devastated. With regard Lough Neagh, let me say this: worse is still to come. The current geopolitical and economic crisis caused by the US attacks on Iran have now brought into sharp focus the unsustainability of our dependence on fossil fuels. The need for investment in sustainable green energy strategies, including green skills, and all-island renewable projects, including offshore wind, has rarely, if ever, been more urgent. The DUP chooses to pay lip service to the deepening cost-of-living crisis while, at the same time, it stands on the sidelines, warmongering about what is happening in the Middle East. The global instability caused by this latest war is exacerbating the cost-of-living pressures, and it is adding to the distress of those who are already struggling with the inability to pay for their heating and to fuel their vehicles. This is a bizarre motion from the DUP. It is, at best, defeatist and lacks ambition, if it is not outrightly cynical. Notwithstanding the comments of the Member who spoke earlier, it juxtaposes one part of our regional economy against another, when both are absolutely essential. The climate action that the DUP has already agreed to and infrastructure development are both possible. Working families need clean air and waterways, and we must also have roads and rail, and the future growth of our regional economy and the environmental demands mean that we must make progress in both areas.

503 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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