Irish EU presidency failing to tackle climate change issue - environmentalist

IRELAND should be using its EU presidency to make real progress on the issue of climate change in the run up to next year's crucial UN conference in Japan, a leading environmental activist said yesterday.

Ms Delia Villagrasa, of Climate Network Europe, said it was "not good enough" for someone who holds the EU presidency in this case, the Minister for the Environment, Mr Howlin to "sit back and fold his arms" on such an important issue.

"If Ireland wants to leave its mark on the climate process, it should table a draft protocol by December committing the EU countries to achieve reduction targets [for greenhouse gas emissions] within a specified period. Otherwise, it may be too late."

Any draft protocol committing industrialised countries to reduce their emissions would have to be submitted at least six months in advance of next year's UN conference in Kyotd, she said. To table one would also re establish the EU's leadership on the issue.

Though some progress was made at the last UN conference on climate change in Geneva last July, particularly in bringing the US on board, Ms Villagrasa said there were still "no figures on the table" for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

"The Irish Presidency could have pushed the issue much harder," she said. "It hasn't set any specific goals for the presidency in relation to climate change. It has just been sitting there trying to be conciliatory instead of pushing for agreement."

Ms Villagrasa was speaking in Dublin at a "round table" on climate change organised by Earthwatch. Those attending the session included civil servants from a number of Government Departments as well as economists and environmental activists.

Mr Jim Woolridge of Earthwatch complained that Ireland had no policies which were specifically "climate driven", apart perhaps from afforestation as trees could act as "sinks" for carbon dioxide emissions. Progress in developing alternative energy had also been limited.

If the ESB paid a better price for electricity generated by wind turbines this could become a viable proposition for rural communities and people would be "queueing up" to get involved in such alternative energy projects.

Mr Dennis Fitzgerald of Meat Eireann said the general view was that Ireland would become warmer and wetter as a result of climate change. However, he agreed that if the Gulf Stream were to change direction our climate could become much colder.