Academia and industry practitioners convene for Climate NI Policy and Research Panel

On the 25th June, we held the second of two pilot meetings for the Climate NI Policy and Research Panel. We brought together academics and industry practitioners across key sectors, who kindly volunteered their time to discuss indicators and evidence needs for climate action in Northern Ireland. This was a unique opportunity for non-government actors to engage in supporting policy development, with presentations made by both DAERA and the UK Climate Change Committee (CCC).

Panel members were invited from across thirteen different thematic areas identified by the CCC in their 2023 ‘Adapting to climate change – Progress in Northern Ireland’ report. These themes include nature and food security, energy, towns and cities, community preparedness, and business. At the first meeting, held in Queen’s University Belfast on 19^th of March, we spent a morning exploring progress in creating a climate resilient NI. This was part of a wider co-design process that gave various stakeholders the opportunity to have their say on the direction of the vision and objectives of the Northern Ireland Climate Change Adaptation Programme (NICCAP).

For the second meeting it was agreed that a full day would be beneficial to allow us to delve deeper into the details of what is a complicated and cross-cutting crisis. We started by framing the day with a vision of what a Net Zero, resilient NI would look like in the year 2050. We explored what particular sectors would need to contribute, and what enablers, such as legislation, skills, and technology, would need to be in place to see this happen. With the ambition set in place, we then had our first major dedicated session on climate mitigation.

The NI Climate Action Plan (CAP), under development by government to meet the requirements of the Climate Change Act NI 2022, will establish the roadmap of plans and policies for how Northern Ireland will meet its decarbonisation target. To support this we discussed current and potential methodologies and models used to measure progress on carbon emissions across key areas including land use, renewable energy, public transport, and buildings. Issues around trade-offs, reporting requirements, and the need for a just transition were all highlighted.

Our final session of the day focused on a climate resilient NI, particularly around how we measure our progress and what evidence must be gathered to support policy development. When trying to evaluate adaptation progress in NI, the CCC were unable to evaluate many areas due to a lack of data. This shows a need to improve our data collection methods, cross-sector communication, and accessibility. This session allowed us to begin the process of evaluating the indicators set by the CCC in a Northern Irish context, and prioritise those indicators with gaps that will be key to fill if we are to understand the direction of travel for a resilient future.

With the pilot completed, the group was unanimous in its desire to bring the work forward and continue contributing to the vision of a Net Zero, resilient Northern Ireland.