Public Consultation on Northern Ireland's draft Climate Action Plan 2023-2027

Overview

Public Consultation on Northern Ireland's draft Climate Action Plan 2023-2027

In 2022, Northern Ireland passed its first climate legislation - the Climate Change Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 (the Act).

The Act sets an ambitious target to reduce Northern Ireland’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to net zero by 2050. This means by 2050 that we must remove at least as many emissions from our atmosphere as we produce each year.

The Act requires us to prepare and publish a Climate Action Plan every five years.

The draft Climate Action Plan (2023-2027) is the first step on Northern Ireland’s journey to net zero. It sets out policies and proposals to achieve reductions in emissions and the actions which will enable this to happen. The focus of this draft plan is on meeting the first carbon budget.

A carbon budget sets a limit on the maximum amount of GHG emissions that can be produced over a five-year period. Keeping emissions within the limit set for each carbon budget period is important as it will set us on the right pathway to meet 2030, 2040 and 2050 targets, in line with the requirements of the legislation. 

In December 2024, the Executive agreed that for the period of this plan, 2023-2027, greenhouse gas emissions need to be reduced by 33% on average, to set us on the right path to net zero and contribute to global climate targets.

Innovation and creative solutions to existing challenges will have an important role to play in this Climate Action Plan. Without it we will not achieve our goals. New ideas and technologies will help us achieve our climate ambition and create opportunities along the way.

The Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) has co-ordinated the publication of this draft Climate Action Plan, with each Northern Ireland department identifying policies and proposals to reduce emissions in line with the carbon budget.

The draft Climate Action Plan is available to access on the DAERA website along with alternative formats on request.

There will be a series of stakeholder engagement events during the consultation period. These will take place both online and in person across Northern Ireland. Details are available on the DAERA website https://www.daera-ni.gov.uk/climate-action-plan-consultation

Why your views matter

We have already engaged with organisations and individuals in the development of the draft Climate Action Plan. However, given its impact, we are now holding a 16-week public consultation, to provide everyone with the opportunity to consider the draft plan.

We want you to tell us what you think about the draft Climate Action Plan and share any comments or suggestions that you have.

It is not essential for everyone to answer every question, rather, we would prefer you to only answer the questions you feel are relevant to you or the organisation you are responding on behalf of. We are encouraging everyone to respond to this consultation through our Citizen Space website as this makes analysing the responses and any future decision making more consistent and provides better data outputs. However, if you cannot respond using the website and would like to submit your response using a different format, please contact climateactionplan@daera-ni.gov.uk

Your feedback will be used to inform the final Climate Action Plan which will be laid before the Assembly, following Executive agreement.

Privacy 

The information you provide in completing this consultation will be controlled and processed in line with Data Protection Legislation by DAERA. To find out more about how we handle your personal information, DAERA’s Privacy Notice can be viewed online at  http://www.daera-ni.gov.uk/daera-privacy-statement