Ireland the EU’s black sheep on greenhouse gases, says Doyle

GOVERNMENT proposals to cut Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions by more than 50% over the next 12 years were called into question by an Irish MEP attending the UN Conference on Climate Change in Bali.

Avril Doyle, one of the European Parliament’s delegates to the conference, said while the EU is on target to deliver the reductions it promised, Ireland is the black sheep, lagging behind.

Because the country was classified as rapidly developing when the Kyoto Protocol was agreed, Ireland was permitted to emit 13% more CO2 than in 1990.