Ireland promotes 30% emissions cut

IRELAND made the case to work towards cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 30% rather than the 20% already agreed when the Taoiseach addressed the summit of EU leaders in Brussels last night.

At the same time Taoiseach Bertie Ahern pushed for greater flexibility in the way the reductions would be achieved by 2020 in an effort to reduce the pressure on Ireland.

He warned too of the danger of losing energy intensive industry, such as cement manufacturing, to other countries with less stringent rules, and said there must be incentives to keep them while reducing their emissions.

The EU leaders are expected to sign up to a programme designed to keep global warming within safe boundaries and place Europe at the helm of the battle against climate change. However, the finer details of how this will be achieved will have to be filled out in negotiations over the coming months when Ireland hopes problems like its huge number of farm animals and still expanding economy will be taken into account.

“We want some flexibility in some areas because of the particular difficulties we would have — there is a lot of work to be done on these areas over the next few months,” he said.

The Taoiseach linked the need for the EU to have a strong voice internationally in the areas of climate change and energy security to the need to pass the Lisbon Treaty when he briefed his colleagues on the progress of the referendum in Ireland.

Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern, who is attending a special foreign ministers session, said other countries are very interested in the referendum since Ireland is the only country having a popular vote.

“Everyone is looking to Ireland,” he said, and referred to the fact that there is already some funding coming into the country to support the “no” campaign, including from the UK Independence Party.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel confirmed her visit to Ireland when she will address the Forum on Europe on April 14 and she may address both houses of the Oireachtas. There was a dispute over who invited her first with Dermot Ahern insisting that the Government had some time ago.

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny, who belongs to the same political group as Ms Merkel, the European People’s Party, is hosting them at a leaders’ summit in Dublin on April 14. The heads of 10 of the EU member states are EPP members.

The Taoiseach also warned his colleagues during the meeting that no one sector, such as agriculture, could be sacrificed in return for a deal at the continuing WTO talks.