DAERA announces pioneering Net Zero Accelerator Programme

​The Department is to partner with Digital Catapult Northern Ireland, to support the launch of their Tenfold NetZero Accelerator Programme. The programme aims to help in the delivery of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions reductions locally as required under the Climate Change (Northern Ireland) 2022 Act (the Act) and so contribute to the UK Government’s target of zero carbon emissions by 2050.

The programme, the first of its kind in the UK, will offer local business the opportunity to access the UK’s world class technology community to assist on their journey to reduce GHG emissions and contribute to the UK’s drive towards Net Zero. The one-year pilot will be open to business in all sectors for which DAERA has policy responsibilities.

Digital Catapult is seeking to recruit up to six industry partners with whom they will work to scope and define a specific business challenge they face in reducing GHG emissions. It will connect each industry partner with innovative technical solution providers to develop a proof of concept as a first step towards addressing the challenge, utilising advanced technologies such as 5G, the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and machine learning, and virtual and augmented reality technology.

The Programme will also enable access to research facilities and expert technologists, both in NI and GB. Industry partners must each be able to contribute £20,000 of funding towards the development of the solution to their challenge.

DAERA is supporting this initiative as part of the implementation of its Innovation Strategy.

Meanwhile, it turns out that the Carbon Footprint of agriculture in Northern Ireland has been on the rise since 2020.

And according to the head of policy division within the DAERA, this trend will have to be reversed with immediate effect.

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Normal Fulton recently addressed a crowd of 200 farmers in Ballynahinch.

He confirmed that changes to the farm support measures available in Northern Ireland would mirror the climate change policies and targets that will impact locally over the coming decades.

According to Fulton, the basic payment support system will be available to local farmers in 2024. But beyond that point, the new support measures will be phased in over a number of years.

In fact, this process is already happening: the recent introduction of the Soil Nutrient Health Scheme being a case in point.

The DAERA representative confirmed that adapting to change will be difficult for all farming businesses in Northern Ireland. But this will be particularly the case within the beef sector.

He added: “Recent years have been marked by the significant increases in efficiency levels secured across the pig, poultry and dairy sectors.

“But this trend has not been mirrored within the beef industry. This situation must change.

“As a consequence, the new support measures reflect the need to encourage change within the livestock sector to this end.”

Fulton stressed that the climate change regulations and targets agreed for Northern Ireland will not be introduced with the aim of cutting agricultural output.

He said: “The potential exists to maintain current production levels while still meeting our climate change targets. Making this happen will require a significant improvement in the efficiency achieved by all farming businesses across Northern Ireland.”

Fulton also confirmed that the new climate change legislation will impact on all farmers, whether or not they sign up for the new support measures.

Driving this agenda at a commercial level will be the requirements of food process0rs and retailers. These businesses will have to confirm that all of farmer-suppliers are hitting their respective carbon targets. This requirement will kick-in over the next three years.

In the view of DAERA’s policy chief, driving improved efficiency at farm level represents a win:win scenario for local agriculture as a whole.