Section 39: Final statement for budgetary period
This section places a duty on the Department to prepare and lay a statement before the Northern Ireland Assembly on the final emissions, removals and net emissions for Northern Ireland during a budgetary period. These figures are used to determine whether a carbon budget has been met. The report must be laid before the end of the second year after the budgetary period in question.
Subsections (3) and (5) require the statement to also state the amount of carbon units credited to, or debited from, the net Northern Ireland emissions account for the period, and whether a decision has been made to carry back or forward any amount from a previous or subsequent budgetary period.
Subsections (8) and (9) require the statement to explain why the target has or has not been met, and to include an assessment of the extent to which the relevant proposals and policies for meeting the carbon budget have been carried out and contributed to, the budget being met or not.