To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs when the Climate Action Plan 2023-2027 will be published.

Mr Muir

Work is well advanced on finalising Northern Ireland's first climate action plan, following the completion of the public consultation and recent publication of the summary of responses on the DAERA website. Responses highlighted strong support for climate action, alongside clear expectations of fairness, affordability and deliverability. The climate action plan is a significant, cross-cutting statutory document that will provide clarity on how we will cut emissions, improve our environment and achieve sustainable growth in a way that is just and fair for all. It is therefore my intention to bring the climate action plan to the Executive for consideration before the summer recess. Whilst work continues to finalise the first climate action plan for publication, it is important to note that work on a more ambitious second climate action plan is already under way, reflecting the scale of the long-term challenge, as set out in the Climate Change Act (Northern Ireland) 2022. A low-carbon future will bring multiple benefits that will be achieved only by working together.

Mr Muir

The Climate Change Committee's cost-benefit analysis reinforces the message that early, well-planned action is economically preferable to delay and that the cost of inaction would be significant and rising for households, farmers and businesses. In particular, the report highlights that a single fossil fuel price shock can cost as much as delivering the recommended route to net zero, underscoring the economic risk of continued exposure to volatile fossil fuel markets. Not acting on climate change will cost the UK between £10 billion and £20 billion per year by 2050, and, for every pound invested in climate action, the benefits outweigh that by 2·2 to 4·1 times. Those findings are relevant for Northern Ireland, because inaction would increase our exposure to climate impacts, such as more frequent and extreme weather; increased flooding; and risks to food and energy security. Delay also increases the risk of higher future costs. By contrast, taking forward a planned route through the climate action plan supports a fair and just transition, enabling people and business to adapt in a manageable way. The benefits of acting now are lower energy bills over time; improved energy security; new green jobs and skills; and greater resilience in farming and rural communities. It helps to ensure that the transition delivers economic, social and environmental benefits for Northern Ireland, including protection for the most vulnerable.

Mr McAleer

Minister, can you give an assurance that the climate action plan and the actions that flow from it will be underpinned by the principles of just transition?

Mr Muir

I can, because the issue of just transition runs through the Climate Change Act, which was passed unanimously by the House in 2022. I believe in a just transition. We are setting up the just transition commission to ensure that those voices are heard and no one is left behind. It will be the first time that such a commission has been set up in law in the UK and Ireland.

Mr Wilson

Minister, you are aware of your wide-ranging role in the climate action plan and the fact that that work is cross-departmental, as you have stated. The climate action plan does not come without cost. In wider society, people are becoming more aware of the great expense associated with overambitious emissions targets. I note that your colleague conveniently referred to the Climate Change Committee's reports. Sadly, those initial reports were, of course, rejected by the majority in the House.

Mr Speaker

Is there a question, Mr Wilson?

Mr Wilson

Yes. I will get to the question. Minister, will you today commit to task every Department and arm's-length body with conducting a cost-benefit analysis of all net zero-related climate policies and funding streams within their remits?

Mr Muir

As I set out in response to the supplementary question from Peter McReynolds, there are clear benefits associated with climate action. The Climate Change Committee consistently reports on that. Requirements are also in place in 'Managing Public Money' for any expenditure in government, as everyone well knows. The issue here with people pushing the mantra that climate action can be deferred and is something that we should not take defies belief, frankly. We are seeing, yet again, a fossil fuel crisis, where people are being pushed into fuel poverty. We are at the behest of dictatorships for the supply of oil and gas. We want to take climate action so that we get off that fossil fuel roller coaster and have a decarbonised society that everyone benefits from. That is what I intend to do, rather than parrot the Trump playbook that the DUP is obsessed with.

Mr Gaston

Minister, your draft climate action plan stipulates a reduction by 2030 of 18% in dairy cattle, 17% in beef cattle and 18% in sheep, pigs and poultry. Can you give the agriculture industry·— remember: that is the one that you are meant to champion — a commitment that your action plan will not include stock cuts?

Mr Muir

If the Member cared to read the climate action plan, he would realise that it does not; that we are not following the advice of the CCC; and that we are working with farmers to give that thriving, resilient and environmentally sustainable future. That is what we are doing. It is important that we recognise the course that we are following on that. We are committed to climate action, and we are committed to a just transition.

We are also not going to jump on the bandwagon of rejecting science and evidence, which your party does daily.

Mr Speaker

We move to topical questions. Question 1 has been withdrawn.