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IRELAND’S CATHOLIC bishops have urged the Government to support tougher policies to tackle climate change, and said the public should adopt “a simpler lifestyle” to help the planet.

While the bishops cited a number of positive elements in the 2007 programme for government, they said: “Between 1997 and 2007, very few policy decisions were taken to reduce Irish greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, the opposite was often the case with regard to transport and building policies.”