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Belfast Live
Belfast Live
National
Shauna Corr

The Earth's Corr: Stormont is back - and climate, clean air, retrofitting, active travel and nature is top of the agenda

A wee birdy told me politicians in Northern Ireland have finally seen sense and put their differences aside to get back to work at Stormont.

And the multiple crises of climate, biodiversity, poverty, poor and expensive housing stock, lack of retrofitting, clean air and water as well as mounting food prices are what finally tipped finally the scales in our favour.

I don’t know the exact date yet - but they’ll be talking around the clock this week - so we could expect to see a deal that will make Good Friday, great.

Read more: The Earth's Corr: We need leadership honesty to avoid climate crisis 'doom loop'

So disgusted with themselves that they let things get this far, I’ve heard both MPs and MLAs have been crying themselves to sleep at night over the impact their actions are having on every day people like you and me.

They just couldn’t take the pressure any more knowing the horrors they are inflicting on children, the vulnerable and pensioners whose rental homes are freezing and damp because of ancient oil and gas boilers they can no longer afford to fill with expensive fossil fuels.

Derry Against Fuel Poverty with Jamie-Lee O'Donnell from Derry Girls (Derry Against Fuel Poverty)

While they have openly admitted the lack of grants to retrofit homes, install solar panels and ground source heat pumps made lives so much worse when households were hit with monumental fossil fuel bills.

Enough is enough, they said - we’re going after the oil and gas giants making billions off our broken backs.

And we are going to use every penny of that money to usher in a dream Northern Ireland where people will have clean energy at a fraction of the cost they are paying now, so they can afford a wee cinema night an odd time.

The plight of children going without food because they need a warm home on those arctic days has also pierced their icy hearts.

It was only a joke when they said they are getting rid of free school dinners for the poorest kids earlier this week - no one would be so cruel.

Instead, they mean to bring this back and also fund breakfast clubs for every school so kids can start the day right and go to class with full bellies, ready to learn.

And they have finally decided to act on air pollution after a major new expert assessment of official stats commissioned by the British Heart Foundation Northern Ireland and Irish Heart Foundation found 900 excess deaths in Northern Ireland can be attributed to dirty air filled with tiny cancer-causing particles.

We’ll have a clean air strategy in no time as politicians know how important and less costly it is to enact policies that avoid health problems in citizens, rather than treat them when they get sick.

They really care about the people suffering heart attacks and strokes because PM2.5s have entered their lungs and blood systems and have agreed to adopt the World Health Organisation’s air pollution guidelines which are much better than our own.

Because they also care about the impact exhaust fumes have on the development of children’s brains, they are also working with every school on an active travel plan and have banned cars within a mile of every school gate.

Oh, and knowing the climate and biodiversity crises are gonna make it increasingly hard for farmers to grow good food in the coming decades has spurred them into action on those issues too.

I heard we will get the Climate Act passed through the Assembly this year as promised and that they will finally get to work on delivering a transport system fit for the future.

Translink prices will be slashed, the All Island Rail Review will be passed and towns and cities west of the ban will get access to trains almost half a century after they were so cruelly taken away.

So hell-bent are they on making this place better, they have also decided to update building regulations to ensure every new home or building meets a strict list of criteria, including but not limited to a energy performance certificate rating of A.

None of them will have fossil fuel boilers, all will have solar on the roof and they will be insulated to within an inch of their life and built to last.

I also hear that concerns have been raised about the amount of new housing estates being built in areas that make car travel the only way to get around - that’s going to stop.

Instead, we will see such developments happen only in areas with good transport links and where amenities like doctors, shops and dentists are nearby and green space and trees will be central to making these places nice to live in for kids and their parents.

My spies also say, Northern Ireland Water and the electricity networks are in for a pay day to ensure they can provide services that are future proof, will support electrification and mean no more raw sewage entering our waterways ever again.

I don’t know about you, but I am over the moon about all this and I’d love to give each and every one of them a huge pat on the back for a job well done.

Now we have politicians we can be proud of...if only!

Win of the week

Planting habitat for corncrake (RSPB NI)

Save Our Wild Isles have launched a new fund to bring nature back to life in Northern Ireland.

The scheme, which promises £2 for every £1 a community group raises to restore nature in their area could be an absolute gamechanger.

The possibilities are endless - you could create a community garden, replant grassy areas with wildflowers, or even put in bird boxes or pinemarten huts to help species on the brink or maybe you want to provide hedgehogs in your area with a safe place to nest.

I’ll leave the ideas up to you - as I’m sure you have plenty.

Sara McCracken, Head of Fundraising and Communications for RSPB Northern Ireland, said: “Community groups and volunteers are already doing incredible work to protect and restore our wildlife.

“We can’t wait to see how this fund helps create ripples of action throughout the UK. For although nature is in crisis, together we can save it.”

If you want to find out more about how you can get involved or apply, go to the website HERE.

Eco tip

A great wee lunch box with much less waste (Getty)

Why not go all out this week to ensure you are packing a waste free lunch for school or work.

I’ve got a great wee bento box with loads of different section to add the food I’ve made. I bring my own reusable cutlery, water bottle and even coffee up - and it all adds up in the long run.

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