Description
The Climate Change Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 was the first legislation in Northern Ireland to address the Sustainable Development Goals and climate policy in Northern Ireland; its introduction also meant that Northern Ireland was the last country in the UK to install such climate legislation. Civil society actors were instrumental in reaching this landmark. Yet was this moment of unprecedented cross-community climate support in a country where the discourse of politics is dominated by national identity tensions only possible because of the collapse of the devolved Executive? This presentation considers the devolved multilevel governance of the Sustainable Development Goals in Northern Ireland with the example of the Climate Change Act. It discusses opportunities to increase participatory democracy and build cross-community support. It then indicates the challenge regional political tensions pose to climate policy governance with reference to Lough Neagh, the largest lake in the UK and on the island of Ireland. It argues that the opportunities and challenges in Northern Ireland reflect the inflection point for democratic satisfaction at which global politics finds itself in the face of the climate crisis. While the Act shows a chance for cooperation focussed on a collective future that is driven by innovations in participation, political leaders’ prioritisation of regional tensions risks democratic deficiencies which question not only the governance of the SDGs but the sustainability of the democratic system in Northern Ireland.
