Politicians in Northern Ireland have voted to move a controversial climate change bill bill a stage closer to becoming law despite warnings it has the potential to decimate the region's agricultural industry.
The Climate Change Bill was tabled by Green Party leader Clare Bailey and passed its second stage with 58 ayes to 29 noes on Monday night (May 10).
The bill will now move on to the committee stage for more detailed scrutiny before returning for further consideration.
The UK's Climate Change Committee (CCC) previously warned that dairy and meat production in Northern Ireland would need to be reduced by over 50% to reach the bill’s target of net-zero by 2045.
The experts on the CCC determined that NI contributing 82% to net-zero by 2050, will mean releasing 46% of agricultural land for forestry, energy crops and rewetting 150,000 Ha of peatland.
'Our warnings have fallen on deaf ears'
Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) president Victor Chestnutt said: "We’re extremely disheartened that despite our substantial endeavours to highlight why our MLAs' support for this bill could be a step towards destroying one of our most successful industries, it has fallen on deaf ears.
"Many of our members reached out to their local MLAs asking them to listen to the advice provided by the experts on the CCC and to support local farmers in their efforts to reduce emissions without diminishing our ability to produce food to world-leading standards. Our farmers are the climate change solution, not the problem. They’re committed to playing their part to combat this global issue and while we’ve been thrown under the bus for the popular vote, this has not changed.
"Following the second reading, the bill is now set to become legislation. However, before it progresses through the remaining scrutiny stages, the focus now shifts to bill amendments and ensuring MLAs honour their word in their support for the agri-food sector.
“Our goal now is to ensure amendments are made to create a fairer framework that is backed up with expert advice and allows our local farmers to reduce emissions on-farm without drastic livestock reductions while continuing to feed the nation."
Amendments
Chestnutt said he could only hope MLAs would make amendments to the bill to lessen its impact.
“Many of our MLAs stated that they do not want to damage our agri-food sector and we’re going to ensure they stay true to their word. The future of farming and local food production depends on it.
"Exporting our industry overseas is a major concern about this bill, especially when our emissions are less than half the world average. The correct amendments need to be made to guarantee this doesn’t happen because otherwise, we would be contributing to increased global emissions and it would be counter-productive to combatting global warming.
“We will continue to lobby our MLAs to certify that when the bill returns to the NI Assembly for the final decision on it becoming legislation, that it has been amended appropriately to support and protect local farming and food production,” said Chestnutt.
