Ireland Could Breach Another EU Target

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is warning Ireland could be in breach of EU targets on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Projections released on Tuesday evening by the EPA say meeting the proposed 2020 Kyoto targets will be "extremely challenging".

However, Ireland is also facing stringent targets from the EU, which demand a 20% reduction in emissions on 2005, which Dr Mary Kelly, Director General, EPA described as requiring "radical change" if the target is to be met.

She said: “The profile of greenhouse gas emissions in Ireland is unusual in the European context, with agriculture currently accounting for 27% of all emissions and 40% of emissions in the non-trading sector. This makes it very difficult to effect actual reductions on the scale required."

Ministers have been relying on the practice of 'carbon trading' as a way of circumventing the targets, but the EPA director had a stark warning for the government.

"Failure to deliver on any of these measures or a reduction in their environmental effectiveness will result in higher emissions levels than projected.

"The difficulties associated with meeting these criteria should not be underestimated, and will become even greater in the event of an international climate change agreement when the EU will require an overall 30 per cent reduction by 2020."

A failure to meet the EU target on emissions will join other potentially failed targets of Ireland's borrowing limit from Europe, and its failure to meet the EU's minimum water quality standards. A failure to meet any one of these targets could result in major fines for the tax-payer.

(DW)