Climate change bill: Farmers 'being ganged up' on with emiss

Climate change bill: Farmers 'being ganged up' on with emissions vote

Sinn FÃ©in, the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) and "city folks" are "ganging up" on the rural community after voting for a target of net zero emissions by 2050, according to Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots.

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The amendment to new climate legislation was passed on Tuesday.

Mr Poots said it could have a "devastating impact" on farmers.

He told BBC News NI he was considering further amendments on primary agriculture and methane.

The minister had instead argued for a target to reduce emissions by 82% by 2050.

On Tuesday, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) and independents Claire Sugden and Alex Easton voted against the amendment.

The Green Party, Sinn FÃ©in, Alliance, SDLP, People Before Profit, plus Trevor Lunn and Jim Wells voted in favour.

Green Party leader Clare Bailey, who brought forward the amendment, said the bill had a "long way to go", but she was "delighted" that this element had received support.

She said the agriculture sector is Northern Ireland's highest emitter and there were models for a transition fund if it came into law.

"We know that farmers want to do better, but what we have is a system of economic incentives from government policy that forces them into the practices that they're doing, so we've known this for a very long time," she told BBC News NI's Good Morning Ulster.

"What we also know is that in Northern Ireland, despite being a very small region and a small population, we actually emit double our per capita in terms of emissions."