Warming up: Northern Ireland’s developing response to climate change in the context of UK devolution

Northern Ireland has its own devolved parliament and government, and significant Northern Irish developments have been ongoing in the sphere of climate law and governance. National Parliament at Westminster has a Climate Change Act 2008 in place, which calls for pronounced action in the area of greenhouse gas emissions reductions to be undertaken across the UK. The Northern Irish administration has been reluctant to engage with its obligations under this framework, and Northern Ireland has fallen behind national emissions reduction standards. Legal research has shown that Northern Ireland has enjoyed stronger opportunities than the rest of the UK’s subnational jurisdictions to legislate and innovate in the sphere of decarbonisation since the arrival of contemporary devolution in 1998. It is therefore recommended that Northern Ireland’s Devolved Administration listens to Friends of the Earth (NI) and other progressive voices that are presently calling for substantially improved, progressive action to be taken in the jurisdiction.