Sinn Fein's finance minister rejects all climate change funding bids - despite party's net zero pledge

Sinn Fein's Caoimhe Archibald has rejected climate change funding bids from Stormont departments. Photo: Liam McBurney/PA Wire

The funding requested by ministers was very small, prompting Stormont’s environment committee chair Tom Elliott to question if ministers have “given up” on the targets.

The Assembly backed a more ambitious climate target that the one proposed by former environment minister Edwin Poots in 2022 – which commits the region to a 48% reduction in emissions by 2030 and net zero by 2050. Sinn Fein were instrumental in that policy, however the party’s finance minister Caoimhe Archibald rejected all funding bids on climate policies in this year’s budget – and the SF-run Economy department didn’t ask for any funds.

The information was revealed by the department of finance to the UUP MLA Tom Elliott. Figures show that only four Stormont departments made bids for climate change spending totalling £28m – despite provisional figures earlier this year suggesting that the public sector cost of the Climate Action Plan alone would be £2.3 billion during this Assembly term.

Mr Elliott said: “It is astounding that before devolution was restored earlier this year it was estimated that the cost of implementation of the Climate Change Act to departments until 2027, just three years away would be £2.3 billion, but no allocation has been made to departments for this year. Indeed the bid by departments that did bid were very small. I’m wondering if it’s a situation that departments have given up on attempting to meet their 2030 targets contained within the Act, or are they attempting to push the entire reduction on the private sector and wider public?

“Just over a month ago the Scottish government confirmed it will scrap its annual and interim targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Given the pressures and what appears to be a lack of support from departments, will the Northern Ireland Executive be in a similar position? Are we progressing to a similar position as Scotland, except that the departments aren’t telling us and just allow NI to drift to a position of not meeting our targets without spelling it out?”