The climate change bill for NI completed the last stage of the legislative process on Monday when it received royal assent.

It means emissions reduction targets for NI are now law and various timeframes for implementing the legislation have begun.

For example, Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) are required to publish a “climate action plan” within 24 months of the bill gaining royal assent.

This plan is meant to set out how emissions targets will be met and is to be updated every five years.

The legislation includes a headline target of NI reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, although it does not require methane emissions to drop by more than 46% over the period.

Methane target

The methane target was proposed by DAERA earlier this year and stems from the fact that methane, which is emitted by ruminant livestock, has a shorter lifespan than other greenhouse gases.

It means methane emissions from NI agriculture do not need to reach zero for the sector to stop contributing to global warming.

Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots has said the target is consistent with advice from the UK government’s Climate Change Committee and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and is compatible with the 2015 Paris Agreement.

The latest figures from DAERA, which were published on Tuesday, show that methane accounted for 66% of greenhouse gas emissions from NI agriculture during 2020.

Nitrous oxide, which comes from spreading nitrogen fertiliser, contributed to 23% of emissions from the sector. Less than 11% of emissions from NI agriculture were carbon dioxide, which comes from burning fossil fuels.