Greens attack Taoiseach over greenhouse gas

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern insisted the Government was committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions as the Green Party challenged his readiness to do so.

There were sharp exchanges in the Dáil between Green party members and the Taoiseach as party leader Trevor Sargent questioned Mr Ahern about how the Cabinet was going to meet the commitment the Minister for the Environment made with his EU counterparts to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 20 per cent from 1990 levels by 2020.

Mr Sargent said this meant the Government would have to reduce carbon emissions by 3.5 per cent a year. There was a "mismatch between the Taoiseach's policies and his rhetoric".

As Mr Ahern outlined Government efforts to reduce emissions and develop sustainable energy resources, Ciaran Cuffe (Green, DúLaoghaire) claimed the Taoiseach "comes in here and waffles" while Eamon Ryan (Green, Dublin South) said there was no way the Government could meet its targets, when "our transport emissions are going up by 7 per cent per annum". After repeated interruptions the Ceann Comhairle warned the Green Party TDs that he would have to suspend them from the House if they continued to intervene.

Mr Sargent said Government policies were causing a 2 per cent rise in climate change gases a year and the commitment made at EU level meant a 3.5 per cent reduction was necessary each year.

"Is the Taoiseach making such a commitment in the House, where national accountability dictates such commitments ought to be made? What actions will you take to ensure that measures to effect a 3.5 per cent cut per annum will be put in place?"

The Green Party leader reiterated previous remarks that only 2 per cent of houses were energy efficient, which the Taoiseach had utterly rejected.

Heating was contributing one third of Ireland's greenhouse gases and required serious attention he said "particularly as the Taoiseach had no difficulty last weekend in telling his followers in Galway that Ireland would have no problem in meeting its Kyoto Protocol targets".

Mr Ahern said the EU had agreed to a unilateral 20 per cent reduction. He said Ireland had successfully decoupled its greenhouse gas emissions. "From 1990 to 2005 emissions grew by 25 per cent whereas our economy grew by 150 per cent."

Mr Sargent said "a decreasing rate of increase is not a decrease".

Mr Ahern insisted that the Government would reduce emissions and planned action included "setting a steeply ambitious target" to deliver one-third of electricity from renewable sources.