Net Zero in Northern Ireland: what do we need to do, how quickly can we get there and will it be enough?

The New Decade, New Approach agreement of January 2020 contained an Executive commitment to tackle climate change head on with a strategy to address the immediate and longer-term impacts of Climate Change.  Specifically, the five Parties committed, as an Executive, to introduce legislation and targets for reducing carbon emissions in line with the Paris Climate Change Accord.  At the time of writing, the Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Minister has been given approval by the Executive to bring forward a Climate Change Bill to the NI Assembly.  A separate Climate Change Private Members Bill is at Committee Stage.  The UK Government’s Climate Change Committee (CCC) has recently published its assessment of the climate risks and opportunities in Northern Ireland.  This has sparked debate about how quickly Northern Ireland can, and should reach “Net Zero”.  There are also questions around whether reaching “Net Zero” will be sufficient to mitigate the climate crisis.

This workshop provides an opportunity to discuss these issues and gain a better understanding of the risks and opportunities we face and the steps which we will need to take to mitigate and exploit these.  The session will be informed by a number of speakers:

Panel: 

John Gilliland, Devenish

Annika Clements, Ulster Wildlife Trust

Terry A’Hearn, Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA)

Kirsty McManus, IOD NI

Colin Breen, DARD

Chair: David Sterling, Chief Executives Forum