Taxpayers face €185m bill over emissions failure

THE Government’s failure to honour legally-binding commitments to cut greenhouse gases will cost the taxpayer more than €185 million, it was claimed yesterday.

As the Kyoto Protocol comes into force today, the Government has been criticised for failing to give a progress report on how its own National Climate Change Strategy, published in 2000, is being implemented.

Environmentalists and researchers yesterday said Ireland’s commitment to limit greenhouse gas emissions to 13% above 1990 levels by 2012 will not be met.

Contrary to its own climate strategy, they said the Government has:

* Scrapped plans to convert Moneypoint power station from coal to other fuels by 2008.

* Axed plans to introduce a carbon tax.

* Ignored the National Spatial Strategy and Strategic Planning guidelines.

* Failed to switch from private to public transport.

“In terms of marks out of 10, I would say the Government’s record is somewhere between two and three,” said Green Party environment spokesman Ciarán Cuffe.

“Ireland’s emissions are twice what they should be, 25% above 1990 levels, rather than 13%.”

Climate and pollution expert Dr John Sweeney said the Government was taking a “coward’s way” out of not meeting our obligations by buying up “spare emission” capacity from other countries.

Under an emissions trading system, countries breaching their limits can buy credits from countries below their limits.

“The cost of buying that is quite considerable,” said Dr Sweeney. “The taxpayer will be footing the bill.”

The Government intends to purchase around 18.5 million allowances between 2008 and 2012. At a current cost of around €10 per allowance, this indicates a total bill of €185m.

But the final bill could be even more, said Mr Cuffe.

“In 2012, the real trading will kick in and the price of allowances will probably rise significantly.”

The Department of Environment was unable yesterday to provide details of the progress made in implementing the climate strategy. A spokeswoman said a review was “in progress.”

Figures provided to the department by the Environmental Protection Agency indicate greenhouse gas emissions were 25% above 1990 levels in 2003, compared to 29% in 2002 and 31% in 2001.

However the European Environment Agency says Ireland has the third-worst record in keeping to target emission levels.

Mark Deary, of the Friends of the Earth, said the Government’s National Spatial Strategy was “coming apart.” He said this was resulting in continuing urban sprawl, greater car dependency and spiralling carbon dioxide emissions.