Climate advisors urge wind farm builds

Government climate change advisers have called for more wind farms to be built faster and an end to peat-fired powerstations and subsidies for fossil fuels.

In its first report, the Climate Change Advisory Council said it was concerned that Ireland may not meet its target to cut greenhouse gases by a fifth over the next three years.

It also said the country may not be on the right path to meeting targets of 80% to 95% by 2050, and to make land use and farming carbon neutral by the same time. The council called for new welfare and tax breaks for poorer families to get them off coal and peat for heating their homes.