7. Mr Donnelly asked the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs to outline how he is working with his counterparts in the rest of the UK and Ireland to address the climate crisis. (AQO 1771/22-27)

The impacts of climate change are indiscriminate and affect us globally. Therefore, I fully recognise the necessity and importance of working with my counterparts in the rest of the UK and Ireland to address the climate crisis and to achieve our shared net zero goals.

At a UK level, I engage with my counterparts in the UK Government, the Welsh Government and the Scottish Government on matters relating to climate change through a number of inter-ministerial groups (IMGs), including the net zero, energy and climate change inter-ministerial group and the environment, food and rural affairs inter-ministerial group. Those discussions allow for knowledge transfer and identification of opportunities for collaboration.

I was pleased to be able to host and chair recently the first in-person meeting of the net zero, energy and climate change inter-ministerial group in Belfast — I thank Belfast Harbour estate for hosting us — on 6 March. The next meeting is planned for early May. I have also been fortunate to have had the opportunity for additional engagement on matters relating to climate change with my Welsh and Scottish counterparts through our joint membership of the Under2 Coalition. Separate to those IMG structures, I engage with my counterparts from across the UK on ensuring that, collectively, we fulfil our responsibilities under the UK-wide Climate Change Act 2008. That includes the emissions trading scheme.

Through the British-Irish Council (BIC) and the North/South Ministerial Council (NSMC), I also have ongoing engagement with my counterparts from across the UK and Ireland that, among other areas of shared interest, includes discussions on how we can address climate change together. I want to build on those issues and am in the process of arranging a meeting with my ministerial counterpart in the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC), following his appointment in January. I hope that that meeting will take place shortly.

I thank the Minister for that answer. What is the Minister's assessment of the recent Climate Change Committee (CCC) advice on the fourth carbon budget?

Thank you very much, Danny. The Climate Change Committee published its fourth carbon budget advice on 19 March. I welcome that. It advises us on our pathway to net zero and states that there will be a net saving during the fourth carbon budget period, which is 2038 to 2042.

I encourage anyone who has not read it to read it. There are strong benefits, particularly regarding the decarbonisation of electricity. We must grasp the opportunity. If we do not, there is a risk that we will lose pace and not be able to create the good green jobs that we want to create in Northern Ireland and deliver prosperity for our people.

There is a challenging budget and an ever-growing pressure to meet targets set by an Assembly that was desperate to push through ill-considered legislation in 2022. We now hear that the office of a climate change commissioner will cost in the region of £1 million per year. Does the Minister consider that to be value for money?

Investing in dealing with climate change is important. I was at an exhibition this morning by Trócaire, which showed the consequences of climate change for the most vulnerable in society. Those who have contributed least to climate change feel the consequences of it most. There is a moral obligation to look beyond Northern Ireland when dealing with climate change, and it is important that we do that.

I understand that we have to invest in decarbonising our economy. Many businesses are doing that. I meet them daily, and they are on that journey. Some people need to understand that, if we want our economy to grow sustainably, we need to be on the road to net zero. I am committed to doing that. What some people seem to forget — rather conveniently, frankly — is that it was my predecessor, the DUP Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, who introduced that legislation, and the Assembly voted unanimously for it. What I am doing is implementing the will of the Assembly as expressed in 2022.

Minister, from your engagements with your counterparts in Westminster, do you have any update on the provision of a just transition fund?

As part of the process for the Budget that was announced at the end of October, I made representations for a just transition fund for agriculture. I was not successful in that, so I made a bid to the Finance Minister locally, and, in the draft Budget, there is funding set aside for a just transition fund for agriculture. I continue that work. We are making representations through the Minister of Finance to the UK Government about future financial years and the support that we can give. I have also made representations to the Prime Minister and the Minister in the Department for Energy, Security and Net Zero or DESNZ — sorry, another acronym — in London about the need for us to have a green new deal in Northern Ireland. I will continue to make those representations, because they are about investing for the future and delivering benefits for people in Northern Ireland.