Consultation: Northern Ireland’s Fourth Carbon Budget

Views sought on the next steps on the transition to a net zero Northern Ireland, and how to achieve it in a fair and just way.

The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) has launched a public consultation to seek views on the level of the Fourth Carbon Budget for Northern Ireland.

A carbon budget is the maximum amount of greenhouse gases that can be emitted in a given five-year period and is expressed as an annual average percentage reduction level over that period.

The Climate Change (Northern Ireland) Act 2022 set a target of net zero (100% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to the 1990 baseline) by 2050, and includes a number of requirements such as setting five-year carbon budgets to cap emissions, and also the development and publication of Climate Action Plans to accompany each carbon budget period.

The first three carbon budgets were published in December 2024, covering the period from 2023 to 2037, which set annual average reductions towards the 1990 baseline:

• First Carbon Budget (2023-2027) 33% lower.
• Second Carbon Budget (2028-2032) 48% lower.
• Third Carbon Budget: (2033-2037) 62% lower.

DAERA is now seeking views on setting NI’s Fourth Carbon Budget, with an average annual reduction suggested of 77% across the budgetary period 2038-2042. The consultation offers an opportunity to provide your views on where the percentage level should be set, and to offer any relevant supporting evidence to be considered.

The trajectory is set 12 years ahead to meet requirements in the legislation, but also to provide certainty to investors and businesses, and to allow for gradual transition which can be delivered in a fair and just way as NI works to reduce its emissions.

Find out more about the consultation and how to respond.

First published 29 July 2025