Amendment to NI's Climate Change Bill sets separate target for methane

Ulster Farmers’ Union president Victor Chestnutt said farmers in the North were "utterly relieved" the amendment had passed.

The amendment tabled by Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots sets a separate target for agricultural methane emissions, with a target set of a 46% reduction in methane emissions by 2050 compared to 1990. File photo

Farmers in the North have sighed in relief after MLAs voted in support of a separate target for methane, being set within the Northern Ireland Executive’s Climate Change Bill on Tuesday.

The amendment tabled by Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots sets a separate target for agricultural methane emissions, with a target set of a 46% reduction in methane emissions by 2050 compared to 1990.

Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots said this, along with the amendments providing for the establishment of a Just Transition Fund for Agriculture and a Just Transition Commission, were key to protecting rural communities.

Minister Poots said: “Let me be clear, my amendment does not limit ambition for the agriculture sector, or the ambition of Northern Ireland as a whole, but instead makes it clear that we in the Assembly are not expecting the agriculture sector to close down as part of the net-zero ambition, which was voted through at Consideration Stage, to which I have made my opposition to quite clear. 

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"Instead, it will get the buy-in we need from our agriculture sector by clarifying they are to make a realistic, albeit very challenging, contribution to tackling climate change so we can protect our environment in a sustainable way, whilst ensuring we have a thriving agriculture sector.

“The amendments I made to the Just Transition Fund for agriculture have ensured my Department can establish a scheme which can further protect and support our farmers and the agri-food industry."

Ulster Farmers’ Union president Victor Chestnutt said farmers in the region were "utterly relieved" the amendment had passed.

"This is still a very ambitious target to have within the Executive’s Climate Change Bill. Farmers have not been let off the hook by any means. Big changes will be required of agriculture to meet it, but supported by science and expert advice, our farmers are well up for that challenge and are eager to get to work on combating emissions," he said.

The bill is expected to pass through its final stage next week before it can become law.

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