Climate Action meeting held in Ballymena North centre

A group of residents, councillors and council officers from the three County Antrim councils met in Ballymena to review the results of the second ever UK wide survey of council climate action carried out by Climate Emergency UK.

The meeting was introduced by Councillor Rodney Quigley from Mid and East Antrim Council, who said “I am not an expert on climate change, but I see its effects and I believe we have a responsibility to act for the sake of future generations here in County Antrim”. There followed a video address by Don Von Rohland – Outreach Director of Climate Emergency UK, who explained that our Councils have influence over 30% of our Carbon Emissions, as well as a role in support of those in food and heat poverty locally. Climate Emergency UK exists to measure and report on the effectiveness of the action taken by UK councils to address climate change and biodiversity loss.

The results of the second ever survey of Council Climate Action by UK councils were reviewed, the average score of the 11 Northern Ireland Councils in the 2025 survey was up 2% on scores in the 2023 survey, less than the average increase of 6% in the rest of the UK, suggesting we are falling behind other regions in our response to the climate emergency.

That small increase in Northern Ireland was made up of widely different performances from our 11 Northern Ireland councils. Some councils significantly improved, while scores of other councils, including Belfast, showed significant falls. This County Antrim focused meeting was pleased to recognise that the ‘Most Improved’ NI Council in the 2025 survey was one of ours! Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council increased its score in the 2025 Survey by 13% to 27%, moving from 10th place in Northern Ireland in the 2023 survey, to joint 4th place (alongside Mid and East Antrim) in the 2025 survey. In recognition of this achievement, Claire Evans from Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council accepted the ‘most improved NI Council’ award from Mat Allen, volunteer for Climate Emergency UK.

The meeting was then addressed by a resident of each of our three County Antrim councils, who summarised their council’s performance and suggested some opportunities for the future. Graham Seymour, resident of Antrim and Newtownabbey said how pleased he was with the progress made in his borough, and commended Claire and the team at A&NBC, particularly for successes in the areas of waste reduction and food and collaboration and engagement, while pointing out opportunities in the transport and biodiversity sections of the audit - “well done to our most improved NI Council!”.

Dierdre Finnerty then covered the performance of Causeway Coast and Glens who scored 13% in the 2025 survey, last place in Northern Ireland, down 5% on the 2023 survey. Dierdre said she was disappointed with overall performance of her council on climate action, particularly since they declared a Climate Emergency in 2020, but she highlighted progress in Waste Reduction and Food and commended a great community scheme in Cloughmills, supported by the council. Deirdre also acknowledged positive signs in Causeway Coast and Glens, with the formation in 2021 of a ‘Climate Emergency Forum’ in 2021 and appointment this month of a new climate lead who is engaging in the process.

Eugene Reid, Resident of Mid and East Antrim then presented the performance of Mid and East Antrim Council in the 2025 survey, joint 4th place with 27%, slightly up on the 2023 survey. Eugene commended Mid and East Antrim (represented in the meeting by Catherine Hunter and Shaun Morley) for an outstanding performance in the Waste Reduction and Food section, the highest score in Northern Ireland. He also noted the strong performance in the Collaboration and Engagement section – reports on the council website are excellent, and important work is underway to collaborate with local schools and businesses. Eugene also suggested opportunities in the area of biodiversity and it was agreed that some actions taken but not publicised may have cost some points at Mid and East Antrim.

After the presentations there followed a worthwhile discussion on the challenges facing our councils in progressing climate action, the lack of a statutory duty on Councils in this area being one factor, but funding challenges at our councils being more significant. It was also agreed that engagement with the public was crucial, as residents and ratepayers can be unaware of the important role our councils play in addressing the climate and biodiversity emergency.

Thanks were expressed by Mat to all the speakers, and also to our council climate change teams who came to Ballymena to participate in a worthwhile meeting. We hope to meet again in two years’ time to celebrate significant progress in the next Climate Emergency UK Council Climate Action Survey. Mat expressed the hope that Climate Emergency UK could once again present the ‘most improved NI Council’ award to a County Antrim council.

Mat Allen Climate Emergency UK