THE MINISTER for Environment John Gormley has called for action to curb greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector as new figures show Ireland as one of the worst performers in the EU.
He has also asked the EU to agree to cut emissions by 30 per cent by 2020 while admitting that the Government is challenging its own 20 per cent emissions' reduction target, set by the European Commission in January.
Speaking in Brussels yesterday, Mr Gormley said a Cabinet subcommittee was looking at all options to reduce CO2 emissions from the transport sector, which have increased by a massive 180 per cent between 1990 and 2006.
"There is the likelihood that it will increase by 265 per cent by 2020 if it is business as usual - those are the projections. It is a question at this stage can we stop it going to that level," Mr Gormley said.
"I think it is investment in public transport, particularly the bus [that is needed]."
He said there was a need for more buses to fill the bus lanes in cities and real-time information to ensure people knew when buses were due. This has worked for the Luas and the Dart, said Mr Gormley, who dismissed the idea of imposing congestion charges as some EU states have decided to do.
"You first have to ensure the public transport options are there for people before you consider the stick."
Mr Gormley was reacting to a report by the European Environment Agency (EEA), which shows that Ireland has the second-fastest-growing emissions from the transport sector in the EU. Only in Luxembourg are CO2 emissions growing faster.
Emissions rose 164 per cent between 1990 and 2005 in Luxembourg, while in the Republic the EEA report says emissions rose by 157 per cent.
Mr Gormley noted that when 2006 emissions from the Irish transport sector were taken into account, the percentage increase was actually 180 per cent.
He called on the EU to do more to tackle climate change by agreeing to reduce emissions by 30 per cent by 2020, rather than the 20 per centre target to which it has already signed up.
"We have to go to 30 per cent if we have a realistic chance of meeting the target set by the IPPC [Integrated Pollution Prevention Control] to keep warming at a level of two degrees . . ." he said.
But he also admitted Ireland had asked the commission to re-evaluate the 20 per cent CO2 reduction target set for Ireland under its climate plan.
He said Ireland accepted the Europe-wide target but there were some outstanding issues regarding Ireland's obligations such as its large agricultural sector.