Labour leader Pat Rabbitte has called for a major shift in Government policy on carbon emissions in the wake of a new report on climate change in Ireland.
The report, commissioned by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), warns of major changes in temperature and rainfall within 50 years that will bring severe drought conditions, increased flooding and the possible extinction of some cold-climate species in Ireland.
Mr Rabbitte said the Government is relying on carbon purchase to meet our Kyoto commitments, while the report suggests the emphasis should instead be on carbon reduction.
He said: "The Minister for the Environment Dick Roche has so far refused to limit the amount of carbon Ireland will purchase."
This confirms the Government's strategy is to maximise carbon purchase to minimise carbon reduction which is environmentally irresponsible and economically unsustainable, he claimed.
The report says that climate change is now unavoidable and predicts the average summer temperature will rise by up to three degrees in the coming decades with rainfall dropping by a quarter, leading to increased risk of drought.
Winter rainfall will increase by an estimated 17 per cent, it adds.
The report also warns the island would face large sea-level rises within decades and lose large sections of coastal land. More intense storms and increased severe flooding would also occur.
The report was commissioned to assess the implications for Ireland of a two degree increase in temperatures, which has been set by the EU as the target limit for climate change. It finds that such an increase is inevitable.
The EPA has called for local authorities and other State agencies to factor climate change into planning decisions.
Environmental lobby group GRIAN (Greenhouse Ireland Action Network) said: "Ireland desperately needs to up its game if we are to show credibility and solidarity at the UN climate conference in Bali next December."
Grian co-ordinator Pat Finnegan said: "Much, much poorer developing countries already suffering from severe climatic change rightly blame wealthy countries such as us for doing nothing to fulfil our UN obligation to reduce our own emissions before we even think about asking them to do the same."