Debate contribution: Climate Change (Just Transition Commission) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2026

Debate contribution by Mr Andrew Muir on 27 April 2026.

MLA

Mr Andrew Muir

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

27 April 2026

Type

Debate contribution (made as a minister)

Business

Executive Committee Business

Heading

Climate Change (Just Transition Commission) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2026

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5508584

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I will start from where I left off. The Department undertook a 10-week public consultation on the draft just transition commission regulations. That consultation was supported by targeted engagement events with groups that are required by the Climate Change Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 to be represented on the just transition commission. The response was overwhelmingly positive, with strong support for the establishment of the commission and for the proposed approach to its operation.

Through the consultation, we heard from the following: trade unions; the agriculture and environment sectors; rural communities; young people, including young farmers; people with a disability; older people's representatives; consumer groups; regulators; councils; academics; and the wider public. I thank all who engaged so positively with my Department. Their input helped shape the regulations before the Assembly today. Respondents strongly supported the establishment of the commission but wanted to see membership broadened in order for it to be more inclusive. There was strong support for representation from the energy and transport sectors, reflecting their importance to achieving decarbonisation. The green finance sector, although not an emissions sector in itself, was considered to be a key support and an enabling sector. Alongside strong views on biodiversity and the rural economy, there was also clear support for including the built environment sector. Given the different issues facing rural communities and the different impacts on them, many respondents also proposed that there should be a dedicated rural representative on the commission, distinct from and in addition to a representative of the agriculture sector as already mandated by the Act. I have listened to stakeholders and expanded the membership of the commission to include those specific sectors and groups. There was also a high level of support from respondents for some sectors, owing to their size and diversity, benefiting from having more than one representative on the commission. That view came across strongly from the environment and agriculture sectors. As a result, the draft regulations provide for mandated representation across 12 sectors, with 16 members, including a chair, while also allowing flexibility for future expansion, up to a maximum of 20 members. That strikes a balance between breadth of experience and effective governance. To ensure that the commission remains agile, the draft regulations also allow for the establishment of ad hoc committees and work groups to support it. That will enable wider expertise to be brought in when required without making the commission unwieldy. The commission is also empowered to request information from experts and public bodies, including local authorities and those that represent consumers. My Department has sought to establish best practice to ensure that the approach to a just transition and any lessons that can be learned from other regions in the UK and Ireland are taken into account and used to inform the draft regulations. To that effect, my Department has engaged closely with counterparts in Scotland and Ireland, where just transition commissions have already been established, and has reviewed just transition policy in other countries. National and international best practice have been factored into the draft regulations to determine how commission members will be recruited and how the body will operate once established. As is required under section 56(2) of the 2022 Act, my Department sought advice from the UK Climate Change Committee (CCC) on the proposals to make the regulations. The CCC published its advice on 2 June 2025, welcoming the establishment of the commission and noting the important role that it will play. The CCC recognises that the commission will enable strong collaboration between government and industry, enable meaningful engagement with workers and local communities and assist Departments in delivering net zero in a way that is fully aligned with the just transition principle. The CCC also emphasised the importance of the commission in being able to provide formal advice and recommendations to government. The draft regulations explicitly provide for that role. The commission is required to publish and lay its reports before the Assembly, thus ensuring full transparency and accountability. In addition, the CCC recommended that the commission's work should focus on those sectors that are most relevant to achieving decarbonisation in a fair and just way, and that its core membership should be clearly defined. The regulations respond positively and directly to that advice. They strike a careful balance between broad, inclusive representation across key sectors and the flexibility that is needed for the commission to operate effectively, including provision for membership of up to 20 individuals. In line with the requirements of the 2022 Act, I laid a written ministerial statement before the Assembly, at the same time as I laid the draft regulations, to provide Members with further detail on the approach that has been taken and on how the CCC's advice has been reflected. Costs have been carefully controlled. The commission will be funded by my Department at an estimated cost of around £150,000 a year to deliver its statutory duties, supported by a small secretariat. The regulatory impact assessment, along with equality screening, a full child rights impact assessment and a rural needs impact assessment all identified positive impacts. A just transition is not simply a procedural requirement but is a social, economic and generational responsibility. The regulations put in place the structure that is needed to ensure fairness, accountability and expert oversight as we decarbonise our economy. I look forward to Members' contributions, and I encourage the Assembly to support these important regulations so that the public appointments process can begin and this important commission can become operational.

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

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 15:31 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.

Challenge this classification