The Institute recently responded to a public consultation on Northern Ireland’s 2030 & 2040 Emissions Reduction Targets, Carbon Budgets, and the Climate Change Committee Advice Report: 'The path to a Net Zero Northern Ireland’, published by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) on behalf of the Northern Ireland Executive.

Key Observations

The Institute made a series of recommendations, including the following:

•The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) follows the advice provided by the UK Climate Change Committee on 2030 and 2040 emissions reduction targets to ensure that Northern Ireland reaches net zero by no later than 2050

•There is an increase in ambition of targets and budgets, to at least those set by Ireland, in order to support transboundary collaboration

•There is no further delay to the publication and implementation of the new Environment Strategy / Environmental Improvement Plan for Northern Ireland

•Health Impact Assessment (HIA) of climate change in Northern Ireland is conducted to inform the development of Climate Action Plans

•The ‘Speculative Agriculture’ option (halving livestock numbers by 2050, significant technology and efficiency improvements in the sector, and reduction in meat and dairy consumption) is prioritised due to the co-benefits for population health and wellbeing associated with a population-wide shift towards a sustainable, healthy diet.