Minister Urges People To 'Have Their Say' On Green Growth Strategy

Minister for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Edwin Poots has urged people to respond to a consultation on the proposed Green Growth Strategy.

The Minister made the call as he met with representatives from hydrogen-based technology project GenComm during a visit to Belfast Metropolitan College's Millfield Campus, where he discussed their work on green hydrogen and the resultant benefits for Northern Ireland.

GenComm is an Interreg North-West Europe (NWE) funded project, which aims to stimulate the uptake of renewable hydrogen-based technologies and empower communities to implement hydrogen-based energy mediums to sustainably satisfy their energy demand. The Belfast Metropolitan College is the lead partner of this project.

During his visit Minister Poots said: "I am delighted to meet with representatives from the GenComm project today and very much welcome their efforts to develop and implement renewable hydrogen-based technologies, which are vital as we aim to move towards a cleaner, greener society. Whilst decarbonising our economy may be seen by some as carrying risks, it will generate many opportunities and Northern Ireland is particularly well placed to avail of them. Through innovation, research and development and investment we can lay the foundations for a green revolution, the next industrial revolution which can rejuvenate our economy following the Covid-19 crisis."

The Minister continued: "The recently launched NI Executive's multi-decade draft Green Growth Strategy seeks to adopt a holistic approach to tackling the climate crisis by balancing climate action with the environment and the economy in a way that benefits all our people. It means using the move from a high to a low greenhouse gas emissions society to improve people's quality of life through green jobs and a clean, resilient environment. GenComm is just one example of the many projects or organisations in NI that are seeking to create green jobs in innovative green technologies in order to tackle climate change and I very much welcome the work that they do."

During his visit to the College, Minister Poots also met with young people to listen and hear their views on Green Growth, as well as to gauge their level of interest and understanding with regard to climate change action.

Welcoming this opportunity, Minister Poots said: "My officials and I actively seek out the views and opinions of young people as they will be invaluable in helping us shape the long-term direction and shorter-term of our action plans. Listening to and acting on the views of young people is a must for the success of the multi-decade Green Growth Strategy. The consultation on the draft Strategy closes on 21st December and I would therefore encourage everyone who hasn't already, to have their say on this vital matter."