Reducing Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions from the Waste Management Sector
The Climate Change Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 came into effect on 6th of June 2022 and specifies the Waste Management sector as a priority area for the reduction of GHG emissions to contribute to NI’s Net Zero ambitions. According to the 2023 Greenhouse Gas Inventory, the waste management sector is responsible for 4.2% of NI’s total emissions and recent Climate Change Committee (CCC) advice states that for the Waste sector to contribute effectively to NI’s Net Zero ambition, the sector must reduce emit no more than 3.64 MtCO2e GHG emissions by 28.4% by 2027 (during the first carbon budget).
Type of Change
Statutory
Affected Stakeholders
- Central Government
- Local Government
- Waste Management Operators
- Waste Reprocessors
- Landfill Operators
- Citizens
Changes
- Develop and implement policies and proposals in the Waste sector to reduce GHG emissions.
- Contribute to the achievement of the recommended emissions reductions for the first carbon budget.
Status
Northern Ireland’s first Climate Action Plan is under development and will include policies and proposals from the waste sector to reduce GHG emissions with a focus on the largest emitters, including managed waste disposal sites.
High level estimates suggests that the policies and proposals put forward will remain within the recommended limits of the first carbon budget, if successfully implemented.
The Department launched a 16 - week consultation on the 21st of June 2023 that sought views on the first three carbon budgets and the 2030 & 2040 interim targets required by the Act.
The consultation also sought the public’s views on the recommendations and sector pathways for Northern Ireland presented in the CCC’s Advice Report: The Path to a Net Zero Northern Ireland published in March 2023.
A summary of responses was published on the 8th of May 2024, in which both the quantitative and the qualitative feedback of the consultation responses were consistent in the endorsement of the CCC’s advice report, and the proposed carbon budgets and targets contained therein.
Northern Ireland’s first draft Climate Action Plan 2023-2027 has been published for a 16-week consultation which closed on the 8th of October 2025. Public and sector specific engagement sessions have been rolled out during the consultation period. Updates to the waste sector CAP are ongoing post consultation, readying for Executive consideration.
Expected Timeline
Finalising CAP for Executive consideration May 2026.