The OEP says there is much to welcome in the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs’ (DAERA’s) Climate Action Plan (CAP) draft consultation, but it needs to be strengthened to meet legal requirements.
The CAP is important as it should help address the climate and biodiversity crises by reducing carbon emissions, growing the green economy, and protecting and improving the environment, human health and wellbeing.
Alongside the Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP) it will also form a key part of environmental governance in Northern Ireland.
Natalie Prosser, OEP Chief Executive Officer (CEO), said: “Getting to this stage is commendable, and there is much to welcome within this draft consultation. In particular, the extensive work undertaken to quantify the impacts of a wide range of policies and proposals on emissions levels.
“Publication of the draft CAP marks an important milestone, and, whilst acknowledging DAERA will want to fully consider responses to this consultation, I would urge that this momentum is not lost.”
The OEP’s consultation response identifies the need for the current draft targets for the natural environment to be reviewed and strengthened.
Ms Prosser added: “We do not consider that, in their current form, the targets for soil quality, biodiversity and air quality meet the legal requirements of the Climate Change Act (Northern Ireland) 2022. It is not clear how they have been set in a way best calculated to achieve the 2023-2027 carbon budget, nor do they establish a clear baseline from which progress will be measured.”
The OEP advises that CAP targets need to be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timebound (SMART) and should inform the longer term net zero by 2050 targets.
The OEP CEO added: “These interim targets must ultimately plot the course to meeting the overall 2050 targets for soil, biodiversity and air quality. Further, we consider it would be advantageous to establish the targets for 2050 now, to inform the development of the interim targets and better support the long-term planning required for their achievement.”
The OEP urged DAERA to seize the opportunity for a robust, ambitious and legally compliant CAP in order for it to deliver for the environment as intended.
The CEO said: “Now is the time to address the issues we have identified before adoption of a CAP. This opportunity needs to be seized so that it can become the viable and robust long-term strategy around which action for the climate and biodiversity crises can effectively align.”
Read the OEP’s response in full by pressing the blue button on the side of this page.
