Climate Change Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 Explanatory Notes

1. Introduction

2. Background and Policy Objectives

3. Overview

4. Commentary on Sections

   1. Part 1 - Emissions Targets

      1. Section 1: The emissions targets for 2050

      2. Section 2: Emissions targets for 2030 and 2040

      3. Section 3: The emissions target for 2040

      4. Section 4: The emissions target for 2030

      5. Section 5: Power to amend emission targets

      6. Section 6: Duty to consider whether to revise targets

      7. Section 7: Meaning of “baseline”

      8. Section 8: Meaning of “net Northern Ireland emissions account”

      9. Section 9: Meaning of “net Northern Ireland emissions”

      10. Section 10: Meaning of “Northern Ireland emissions”: international aviation and shipping

      11. Section 11: Crediting and debiting of carbon units

      12. Section 12: Carbon units: accounting scheme

      13. Section 13: Sectoral plans

      14. Section 14: Sectoral plans for energy

      15. Section 15: Renewable electricity consumption

      16. Section 16: Sectoral plans for infrastructure

      17. Section 17: Sectoral plans for industrial processes

      18. Section 18: Sectoral plans for waste management

      19. Section 19: Sectoral plans for agriculture

      20. Section 20: Sectoral plans for fisheries

      21. Section 21: Sectoral plans for transport

      22. Section 22: Active Travel

   2. Part 2 - Carbon Budgets

      1. Section 23: Carbon budgets

      2. Section 24: Emissions not to exceed carbon budget

      3. Section 25: Setting of carbon budgets: principles

      4. Section 26: Setting of carbon budgets: Social, environmental and economic factors

      5. Section 27: Setting of carbon budgets: timing

      6. Section 28: Carrying amounts from one budgetary period to another

   3. Part 3 - Reports and Statements Against Targets and Budgets Etc

      1. Section 29: Proposals and policies for meeting carbon budgets

      2. Section 30: Requirements for proposals and policies under section 29

      3. Section 31: Just Transition Fund for Agriculture

      4. Section 32: Policies and proposals: targets

      5. Section 33: Policies and proposals: further provision

      6. Section 34: Policies and proposals: nature based solutions

      7. Section 35: Policies and proposals: workforce, employers and communities

      8. Section 36: Policies and proposals: carbon leakage

      9. Section 37: Just Transition Commission

      10. Section 38: Interim progress reporting for budgetary period

      11. Section 39: Final statement for budgetary period

      12. Section 40: Proposals and policies where carbon budget not met

      13. Section 41: Statements on compliance with emissions targets

      14. Section 42: Climate change reporting by public bodies

   4. Part 4 - Reports by Committee on Climate Change

      1. Section 43: Progress report during budgetary period

      2. Section 44: Progress reports after statement about each budgetary period

      3. Section 45: Progress report after each statement about emissions target for 2030

      4. Section 46: Progress report after each statement about emissions target for 2040

      5. Section 47: Response to progress reports

      6. Section 48: Adaptation programme reports

      7. Section 49: Response to adaptation programme reports

   5. Part 5 – Further Oversight

      1. Section 50: Northern Ireland Climate Commissioner

      2. Section 51: Climate action plan

   6. Part 6 - Supplementary

      1. Section 52: Duties to ensure that targets etc. are met

      2. Section 53: Regulations: general

      3. Section 54: Regulations that amend or add an emissions target or amend a carbon budget

      4. Section 55: Regulations that specify a different baseline year or change a budgetary period

      5. Section 56: Requirement to obtain advice about proposals to make regulations

      6. Section 57: Advice about proposed regulations relating to targets

      7. Section 58: Advice about proposed regulations relating to budgets

      8. Section 59: Meaning of “carbon unit”

      9. Section 60: Meaning of “greenhouse gas”

      10. Section 61: Meaning and measurement of emissions

      11. Section 62: Meaning of “sector”

      12. Section 63: Other definitions

      13. Section 64: Commencement

      14. Section 65: Short Title

5. Hansard Reports