Climate change funds should be diverted, MHK says

The island has committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050

Funds set aside to meet climate change targets should be redistributed and spent on health, education and repairing the island's roads, a Manx politician has said.

Stu Peters MHK is set to call for the council of ministers to urgently review net zero targets and budgets in the December sitting of Tynwald.

About £36m has been transferred into the government's climate change fund since 2022 in a bid to meet its commitment to reaching net-zero emissions by 2050.

Peters said the island had an "uncertain future financially at the moment" and the money could be spent in areas where "people would feel a real benefit from it".

In his motion the Middle MHK said he believed the government should adopt a more "pragmatic approach" to the issue.

The funding could be "used to strengthen the wider Manx economy for the benefit of all residents" by diverting it towards "things we desperately need, more money for health service, more money for education, and more money for our infrastructure", he said.

"Every department is being told to cut costs and improve efficiency, yet at the same time we’re spending millions on climate change without guaranteed results," he added.

'Roll back'

Other targets for the Manx Government include decarbonising the island's electricity supply by 2030 and the generation of an extra 30 megawatts of renewable electricity locally by 2026.

Peters said he would be calling on members of the Manx parliament to consider adjusting it's net zero goal, despite being signed up to the Paris Agreement - a legally binding treaty that sees countries commit to tackling rising global temperatures.

When the treaty was extended to the crown dependencies in March 2023, Chief Minister Alfred Cannan said it demonstrated "how seriously" the island took its climate commitments.

Mr Cannan said: "It is a hugely significant milestone that will see the Isle of Man stand shoulder to shoulder with nearly 200 countries on the serious matter of climate change."

But Peters said the island should look to other jurisdictions such as Scotland - which has revised its approach to meeting targets - and consider "rolling them back".

The motion will be debated by Tynwald members during the December sitting.