Cullen's Kyoto Treaty targets attacked

"There is a real danger that the burden of meeting Kyoto commitments will now fall on households, car-owners and farms," Labour's environment spokesman has said. Mr Éamon Gilmore was commenting on a decision to allow large industries maintain their existing levels of carbon dioxide emissions.

And the Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE) organisation has claimed the cost of such emissions could rise sharply, giving a total tax burden of €1.1 billion.

The Minister for the Environment, Mr Cullen, has announced Kyoto Treaty emission targets for 2005 to 2007 which would actually allow the 100 biggest Irish companies to produce 22.5 million tonnes of CO2 without suffering penalties, an increase of 0.2 million tonnes on existing levels.

If companies exceed their emissions limit they have to pay a penalty, estimated at €10 a tonne.

However, according to FIE this could increase sharply to about €60 if other countries followed Ireland's example.

"As the emissions credits are being given to industry for free, it is hard to see how the Minister can make good on his 'warning' of July 2003 that 'there would be no free rides'," the organisation said.

"It appears that Mr Cullen would be more suited as Minister for Industry than Environment."

The Minister had given no indication of how his initiative would be paid for, said Mr Gilmore, "but I do not believe that major industrial concerns, many of whom make multi-million euro profits every year, should be allowed to benefit, if this means that a pensioner will end up paying more for a bag of fuel".

He said that giving 97 per cent of allowances to existing industry would impede efforts to bring new industry into the State.