Clare Bailey

The draft legislation has been drawn together by a coalition of legal professionals, scientists, academics and environmental organisations and comes on the back of months of behind the scenes work.

Ms Bailey said: “Three months ago, our Environment Minister told the Assembly that it would be impossible to introduce climate legislation within a three-month timeframe.

“The climate coalition have made possible what the Environment Minister said was impossible. It’s testament not only to the expertise of the coalition, but their genuine commitment to addressing climate breakdown as the defining issue of our time.

“A Climate Change Bill for Northern Ireland is, to coin a phrase, oven-ready!”

She added: “This draft legislation has cross-party and cross-community support. Climate breakdown and the ecological crisis transcend our typically polarised political system.

“The Green Party NI has been calling for specific climate legislation for Northern Ireland for many years and so cross-party support is a welcome development. The NI Assembly declared a climate emergency earlier this year and the bill gives effect to some of the legally binding targets that are needed to address the emergency.

“The bill contains targets around achieving net zero carbon by 2045, enabling Northern Ireland to become climate resilient and to achieve an environmentally sustainable economy. These measures are much needed. Northern Ireland is falling behind on a raft of climate targets and indicators.

“We need to make a 35 per cent reduction in emissions against 1990 levels by 2030 to meet our Paris Agreement commitments. Meanwhile, our air is noxious, the quality of our inland waterways is in decline and many native species face extinction. Time is not on our side.”