Challenges not being met, says An Taisce

Environment: The National Development Plan fails to confront environmental challenges including climate change, according to…

Environment:The National Development Plan fails to confront environmental challenges including climate change, according to An Taisce.

"This plan was negotiated by the social partners without the participation or even consultation of the environmental stakeholder sector," it said in a statement after its publication.

The exclusion of the environmental movement from the social partnership negotiations was contrary to the 1992 Rio Declaration on Sustainable Development, it claimed.

An Taisce added: "The NDP is based on outmoded 20th-century thinking which does not address the challenges of the 21st century, namely climate change and oil and natural gas depletion.

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"There are no clear targets for reducing greenhouse gases. The only specific provision is for €270 million for carbon credits trading in order to meet Kyoto targets. There is no contingency plan for future supply difficulties or cost increases for oil and natural gas," it said.

The National Development Plan failed to provide any meaningful strategy to address or reduce Ireland's climate-changing greenhouse gas generation, which has the highest national increase in transport-generated greenhouse gas emissions in Europe, An Taisce said.

The transport provisions of the NDP were "simply a reiteration of the investment recommended in 2006 in Transport 21". The result would be the continuing creation of congestion and urban sprawl, it predicted.

The NDP had not been subject to a strategic environmental assessment as required by the EU, An Taisce said.