Ireland Aspires To Become A 'Green Leader'

Environment Minister Alex Attwood said today that the challenge for NI was to be a world leader in carbon reduction.

He said that the ‘green and clean’ brand of Ireland could be grown if NI was and was seen as, a carbon leader. Leading on Climate Change is a central element in all of this.

The Minister who was speaking ahead of a conference in Greenmount College, Antrim, said that his department had begun work on a Climate Change Adaptation Programme to meet the challenges posed by changes in climate.

The Programme will be supported by the findings of the first Northern Ireland Climate Change Risk Assessment report (CCRA) which highlights over 100 climate change risks and opportunities facing Northern Ireland between now and the end of the century.

The report is one of a number of such reports produced by an independent consortium funded by Defra and the Devolved Administrations. They provide an assessment of the risks to the UK of the current and predicted impacts of climate change. The CCRA reports are the first of its kind and will be prepared on a five year cycle.

Endorsing the findings of the Assessment Report, the Minister said: "The Northern Ireland report provides an evidence base which will help us better understand the challenges of climate change. This extensive independent research shows why it is crucial for our economy, environment and society to prepare for changes in Northern Ireland’s climate.

"We are already making progress in addressing risks and opportunities from climate change. This report will help government departments in the development of a Northern Ireland Adaptation Programme which will set out government policies and actions needed to address the climate change adaption challenges that face us."

(GK)