EU to demand big cuts in CO2 emissions

IRELAND will be asked to make huge cuts in its CO2 emissions and to vastly increase the amount of energy from renewables in the EU’s climate change plan to be published next week.

The country has one of the worst records for cutting greenhouse gas emissions and figures out today for 2006 show a 25.5% increase on 1990 levels compared to its 13% target.

But with EU plans to link a country’s GDP to cuts in harmful emissions and increased use of fossil fuel replacements, Ireland could find itself with some of the most difficult targets to meet in the EU as its GDP is second highest, at more than 40% above the EU average.