Northern Ireland’s first ever consultation on Carbon Budgets has been launched by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA).

DAERA has recently published (21 June) a consultation on Northern Ireland’s 2030 and 2040 Emissions Reduction Targets and First Three Carbon Budgets. You can access the consultation document and online survey here

This 16-week consultation, running from 21 June to 11 October 2023, will aim to receive feedback on the proposed first three carbon budgets 2023-2027, 2028-2032 and 2033-2037 as well as 2030 (48%) and 2040 (77%) interim targets.

As well as consulting on the Carbon Budget, DAERA is working collaboratively with all NICS departments and is seeking views on the Climate Change Committee’s (CCC) Advice Report: The Path to Net Zero Northern Ireland published on 2 March 2023.

This consultation provides an opportunity to talk about what we need to do to respond to the threat presented by climate change and about the opportunities that might emerge. Work is progressing at pace in developing Northern Ireland’s first ever Climate Action Plan and all NICS departments have a legislative duty to set out how they will reduce emissions. This consultation and the conversations that will take place will be used to help inform the draft Climate Action Plan.

A series of consultation sessions are planned for the next 16 weeks to include sector specific workshops and a number of public consultation sessions. As part of this consultation, DfC would like to invite you to a workshop for stakeholders from the Buildings sector to give you the opportunity to learn more about the consultation and to provide your views.