In an open letter to the First Minister and deputy First Minister, we are asking them to prioritise a green recovery. We are urging the Northern Ireland Executive to put health and wellbeing, nature protection and climate action at the heart of decision-making, as the Roadmap to Recovery plans begin to be implemented.
The letter asks the NI Executive to adopt three principles:
- Creating a more resilient economy by delivering the ‘green new deal’ that commits to investing in the infrastructure, housing, technology and skills to generate thousands of new jobs that directly contribute to a sustainable future and ensures that public and private finance meets a ‘net zero carbon test’.
- Increasing space for nature and people by introducing measures that enhance access to, and improve the provision of, high-quality, nature-rich green space; capitalising on natural health benefits. In planning for our children and young people returning to school, we ask that outdoor learning become an integral part of daily school life.
- Strengthening nature’s protections by ensuring the swift passage of environmental legislation post EU Transition phase and introducing targets in law for the restoration of nature on a massive scale including incentives for sustainable farming, fishing and food production.
Jennifer Fulton, Ulster Wildlife Chief Exective says "Covid 19 has forced the world to pause and take stock providing a unique opportunity to rethink economic recovery so that our children and grandchildren have a brighter future and can grow up in a healthy and sustainable planet. We now have the chance to make a better world with cleaner air, lower carbon emission and enable nature’s recovery."
This public health crisis has shown us the power of the collective human spirit - the value of community, friendship, and hope. There will be difficult choices in the weeks and months ahead as the Northern Ireland Executive leads us out of this crisis. In doing so, we are asking them to create something better and lead us to a new normal: a climate-safe, nature-rich, healthy Northern Ireland for everyone.
You can play your part by sharing this page or tagging your local MLA in our social media posts to show your support for a Green Recovery in Northern Ireland.
#GreenRecoveryNI
