Mal O'Hara said "I was flabbergasted yesterday to hear the SDLP call for the unpicking of the Climate Act for Northern Ireland. To suggest this course of action in favour of an outdated road project is shocking. The Climate Act 2022 was hard fought for and it was long overdue, with Green MLAs instrumental in making it happen."

Mal continued "It really should come as no shock. The SDLP voted to split the climate targets, giving agriculture a lower target and therefore putting more pressure on other sectors. This is the party that allowed sand dredging in Lough Neagh when the Lough was in freefall. It is the party that supported the Going for Growth strategy which incentivised industrialised farming leading to none of our waterways meeting a good standard, a reduction in soil quality and increased air pollution. It is the party that failed to bring forward the Belfast Cycling Network or to advance pedestrianisation in Belfast during the pandemic."

Mal finished "With 8 out of 10 people in Northern Ireland believing that climate change poses a serious threat to the future of human civilisation, we must ask more sensible heads in the SDLP to stop this ridiculous proposal. Proposing the Climate Act is ripped up to facilitate a road project only serves to embolden the climate deniers in the DUP and TUV. The solution is to instead invest in road safety on the A5 and use the rest of the £1.7 billion to fund the All-Island Rail Review and it's recommendation for a new rail line from Portadown to Derry via Omagh and Strabane."

ENDS

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