Green taxes to be introduced, but is it enough?

GREEN taxes on gas-guzzling cars and high-energy light bulbs are to be introduced as part of new Government plans to combat global warming.

But critics warned that the plans, unveiled in the long-awaited National Climate Change Strategy yesterday, do not go far enough to address a problem which sees Ireland produce nearly seven million tonnes more carbon dioxide than it should under internationally agreed Kyoto Protocol targets.

The strategy, unveiled by Environment Minister Dick Roche, was branded a missed opportunity by opposition leaders last night.

Mr Roche, however, promised that new levies would see VRT increase for cars with bigger engines. He continued to insist however that a carbon tax would damage the economy and add €700 million a year to electricity bills alone.

The strategy contained little that was new but will see the launch of a €15m public awareness campaign and the creation of a Climate Change Commission to advise the Government.

Mr Roche insisted 80% of the planned reduction in damaging carbon emissions will come from cutbacks in pollution with the remainder from purchasing “carbon credits” from less industrialised countries to ensure Ireland meets its pledge.

Green party environment spokesperson Ciarán Cuffe savaged the “timid” proposals and warned the Government had failed to deliver on many of its last global warming initiative in 2000.

“How can we have confidence that the Government will implement this when they didn’t implement much of the previous strategy from seven years ago?” he said.

Fine Gael mocked the Coalition’s “death-bed conversion” to environmental concern. Spokesman Fergus O’Dowd said statistics show Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions are twice the level they are supposed to be.

“Under this Government Ireland missed all our Kyoto targets. In fact, our greenhouse gas emissions are twice our overall target and we are ranked 22 out of 27 EU countries when it comes to wind, wave and biomass energy generation,” he said.

The Government strategy confirmed a target of 15% of electricity being generated from renewable sources by 2010 and 33% by 2020.

Mr Roche pledged the public sector would cut energy consumption in electricity and fuels by 33% but could not give a time frame over which this would be achieved.

He said the strategy took on board the recent agreement by EU leaders to reduce carbon emissions to at least 20% below 1990 levels by 2020.

Irish Examiner