MLA Claire Sugden has said the farming and agri-food industry must not be disproportionately affected by any new laws designed to reduce carbon emissions.
Sugden, who sits on Stormont’s Economy Committee, was speaking after voting against an amendment to the Climate Change Bill currently progressing through the Assembly that set the target of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
“I have no confidence that the Bill's application will be anything other than a cut of the herd, as we have heard from the agri-food sector,” Sugden said.
“I have asked the Minister of Agriculture Environment and Rural Affairs a series of questions over the past number of months, seeking or suggesting various interpretations of data to ensure that agri-food is not disproportionately and negatively affected and is recognised for the work that it does on countryside management and in other ways.
“I do not think that the sector is being listened to or that the information is understood.
“Small and medium-sized enterprises — farms — underpin agriculture and the Northern Ireland economy.
“It worries me that many people, not just the Ulster Farmers' Union but others, including processors, people across the supply chain and those who get their jobs from that supply chain, have contacted me in recent days, weeks and months to say that they are deeply concerned about the bill. It is my job — our job — to listen to those concerns.”
