Sinn Féin has called for the restoration of the NI Assembly to build on the progress being made to meet climate targets.

The party's environment spokesperson, Philip McGuigan MLA, said the shift to renewable energy such as wind turbines is showing clear benefits for the environment.

He made the comments as he reacted to a report from Wind Energy Ireland which showed that wind turbines are producing record amounts of renewable energy and reducing emissions.

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Mr McGuigan said that whilst this is welcome news "we have no time to waste" as the immediate restoration of the Assembly will "build on the progress being made and to meet our targets to reduce emissions under the Climate Change Act."

In a statement Mr McGuigan said:

"Across the island 35% of our electricity is now coming from wind farms, in the north alone it’s closer to 40%.

"It is also preventing more than 5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide being released into our atmosphere.

"Renewable energy is undoubtedly the future of energy production here."