DUP MEMBERS ATTEND CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE
DoE Committee Members Alastair Ross MLA and Peter Weir MLA are in London as part of the Environment Committee's ongoing climate change inquiry.
Yesterday they met with the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee Clerk before attending the Planning Convention - Planning in a Changing Climate conference. Mr Ross and Mr Weir also attended the Governments announcement on future climate change predictions in Westminster and a debate on personal carbon trading.
Today they will meet with senior officials in DEFRA, meet the rural climate change forum and then visit the Department for Energy and Climate Change.
Commenting, Mr Ross said,
"Whilst there may be some disagreement among experts on exactly what is causing climate change and how dramatic changes will be, there is no doubt about the many challenges that we face from a changing climate. This committee inquiry is aiming to find out what the potential impact of climate change would be in Northern Ireland, and discovering what impact certain climate change policies would have on individuals, businesses and society.
Whilst energy saving could easily be adopted by most households, some of the more radical proposals coming from the EAC would have a severe impact on individuals and how we live our lives."
Mr Weir added,
"In many areas of climate change policy it is our national government who takes the lead, and so it has been very useful to meet and talk with the decision makers and leaders in planning, business and economics here in London. It is important that the DoE Committee report is balanced in how we deal with a changing climate and the meetings over the past couple of days will certainly help us reach our conclusions."
