The Northern Irish agri-food sector has highlighted the need for certainty on climate change legislation as the Assembly prepares to meet to discuss two key bills.
On Tuesday, the Executive’s Climate Change Bill (No. 2) will undergo the ‘final stage’, with MLAs voting on whether or not to pass the Bill. If supported, it will become law.
Meanwhile, Green party leader Clare Bailey’s Private Member’s Bill (No.1) will start the ‘consideration stage’ on the same date (8 March), proposing a 2045 target for reaching net-zero.
During the recent debate on the Executive’s Climate Change Bill, most parties - namely the SDLP, SF, UUP, DUP and TUV - all spoke in favour of farmers and supported a methane amendment.
A separate target for methane has now been officially added to the Bill, with the Ulster Farmers' Union (UFU) saying it was "key to ensuring the protection of rural communities".
It would allow the agriculture sector to "play a full part" in achieving the overall climate change ambition, the union said, however, it warned that it would "still require big changes on-farm".
The UFU also said it was 'critical' that the Executive’s Bill gets over the line tomorrow to give certainty to farmers going forward.
UFU president Victor Chestnutt said: “There is a strong recognition from farmers that climate change legislation is needed, and they’re eager to get to work on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
"However, forcing farmers to deliver on targets that are over and beyond expert advice is totally unacceptable, especially when it’s undeniably clear that the impacts will be hugely significant.
"The detrimental consequences that net zero targets would have on our sector, economy and rural communities have been widely documented," he warned.
"Yet some still want to push through this hard-line approach despite being warned that it will have no positive impact on global warming mainly due to carbon leakage.”
Speaking on behalf of industry representatives, Dr Mike Johnston, chief executive of Dairy Council NI, said he welcomed the methane amendents to the Executive's Bill.
However, he said it was 'extremely worrying' that Clare Bailey’s Private Member’s Bill is still going through the legislative system.
"It seems senseless when we now have a Bill that can deliver for climate change and everyone in society, and also considering the time pressures on the NI Assembly as we move towards the end of the mandate.
“Our agri-food industry has been through the mill on the climate change debate and it’s time for a line to be drawn under it."
