A DUP motion calling on Agriculture Minister Andrew Muir to withdraw an initial plan to tackle climate change was rejected by all the other major political parties in a vote following a debate at Stormont on Tuesday.

A draft Climate Action Plan covering the period from 2023 to 2027 was brought forward by DAERA in 2025 and sets out actions to achieve an annual average reduction of 33% in greenhouse gas emissions when compared to 1990.

The plan is the first step towards NI achieving the net zero emissions as set out in the Climate Change Act passed by Stormont in 2022.

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Proposing the motion on Tuesday, former DAERA Minister Michelle McIlveen said the DUP believe “in a fair, not a fast, path to net zero”. She referred to a recent court ruling around the A5 road which pointed to the potential failure of the project to align with the net zero target.

“The implications do not end with the A5. The A4 Enniskillen bypass and other vital projects now hang in the balance,” she said.

There is nothing wrong with having ambition, but we need to be absolutely honest in the Chamber: we will probably miss the targets

She also argued farmers are being asked to shoulder the burden of climate change legislation, with the draft plan built on “shaky foundations” and coming with an initial cost to 2027, estimated at over £1bn.

Revised

In his remarks, the chair of the Stormont Agriculture committee, Robbie Butler, said the UUP would have supported the motion if it had said the targets in the first climate action plan should be revised, rather than withdrawn. “There is nothing wrong with having ambition, but we need to be absolutely honest in the Chamber: we will probably miss the targets,” he said.

Also responding, Declan Kearney from Sinn Fein questioned whether the DUP were returning to a policy of climate change denial. His colleague Declan McAleer said local dairy companies have signed up to net zero and risk being seriously damaged “if we were to start to play around with our targets”.

I have no authority to disregard that obligation or withdraw the Climate Action Plan

The motion was also opposed by Alliance MLA John Blair who accused the DUP of casting doubt on the reality of a climate crisis, while Sinéad McLaughlin from the SDLP warned that stepping back from commitments would send “a really bad signal”.

Disagreed

During his contribution to the debate, DAERA Minister Andrew Muir said he fundamentally disagreed with the central premise of the DUP motion, pointing out that climate change legislation was passed with the overwhelming support of the Assembly in 2022. “I have no authority to disregard that obligation or withdraw the Climate Action Plan,” he added.

The motion was defeated by 56 votes to 26.