Undramatic yet promising start on rocky emissions road

IT WASN’T very dramatic in the end — after all carbon emissions are as exciting as double physics on a Monday morning in January — but yesterday was the day when the Green Party justified itself in government.

John Gormley’s carbon budget was the first of its kind ever attempted in Western Europe and the Environment Minister accepted that in some ways it was a shot in the dark.

“The concept of the carbon budget is new, and this year’s format can be seen as a pilot. I will consider how its content and format will be developed and improved in future years,” he said.