MINISTER FOR the Environment John Gormley has strongly indicated that the key Green Party policy of a carbon levy is more likely to be introduced next year and not in next month's budget.
"That may well be the case. I am not going to pre-empt the decisions," he said yesterday. "The Commission for Taxation is due to report in September 2009. That report will have to be considered. I have articulated that it is a commitment in the programme for government and it will have to happen in the lifetime of the Government." Mr Gormley insisted that his second carbon budget - to be announced on October 15th - would nonetheless include substantial measures to tackle emissions.
"It will be a continuation of what occurred last year. Each successive budget we will deal with the major issues confronting us like agriculture and transport. I want to accelerate the changes," he said.
Mr Gormley was speaking after the launch of a major report on climate change yesterday. The Climate Change Challenge, published by the Institute of International and European Affairs, concludes that a clear strategy is required if Ireland is to meet challenging EU targets of a 20 per cent reduction in greenhouse gases by 2020.
The lead editor of the report, Peter Brennan, said work should begin in early 2009 on a robust climate change strategy for 2012 to 2020 to meet the targets.
"Ireland is the fifth highest emitter [per capita] of greenhouse gases in the world," he said.
"Our working assumption is for a 30 per cent decrease between 2012 and 2020 and a much higher target subsequently." Mr Brennan said transport and agriculture presented particular challenges, but that Ireland's long-term goal should be to reduce emissions by 60 per cent from current values.
He pointed out that public transport comprised only 4 per cent of all transport, while cars made up 10 times that. He said electric cars should be commonplace in Ireland by 2020 and that major transport projects like the Metro North and new Luas lines should encourage people to make the shift from cars.
On the agriculture sector, he said: "We need to engage stakeholders from the farming community in this endeavour to a degree that was not there before.
"Research has shown that there is considerable scope in forestry and forest sinks. There are two million tonnes in sequestration. We can achieve a doubling and go up to five million tonnes," he said.
Mr Gormley said he supports the Government's position that the renewable energy sector should be included in the calculation for the EU 2020 reduction requirements.
"If we can reduce emissions through huge investment in wave energy and in wind and we are reducing it substantially, should that be counted? I think it should be," he said.