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The Green Party questioned the
Government's seriousness in tackling climate change following the EU
environment council's failure today to commit to a 30 per cent
reduction in CO2 emissions by 2020. Environment ministers instead
agreed to a reduction of 20 per cent – a figure one third below the
level urged by most scientists.
Green Party Environment spokesman
Ciarán Cuffe TD said: "This is yet another example of the
Government's lack of seriousness. At the weekend the Taoiseach
donned a green coat to trumpet Ireland's commitment to tackling
climate change, yet two days later the reality emerges: Minister
Roche, and his EU partners, abjectly fail to support a 30 per cent
reduction target by 2020.
"I'm disappointed that the Government have again failed to grasp the
chance to display leadership on the international stage in tackling
climate change. Again, it's a case of inaction speaking louder than
words. "Last week, energy
ministers scaled back key proposals on how the EU should adapt its
energy policy to address the problem of climate change, as well as
the issue of security of supply. This week, their environment
counterparts have agreed to a wholly inadequate reductions target.
Ministers Roche and Dempsey, and their European colleagues, have
adopted a risible 'we'll jump if the others do' approach to
post-Kyoto reductions.
"The Green Party are committed to tackling the problem of climate
change at source, by investing in clean, efficient transport
solutions like the Luas and improving the energy efficiency of our
public and private buildings," concluded Deputy Cuffe.
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