Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Labour must show voters before the general election how they will cut Ireland's carbon emissions, the Green Party has said.
Proposing a 3 per cent cut in emissions in each of the next 10 years, the Green Party leader Trevor Sargent said all political parties must unite to tackle the crisis.
However, the Greens acknowledged that under its plan, some road projects would "not be built, or delayed", while billions would be spent on public transport.
Fine Gael, said Green Dublin South TD Eamon Ryan, had called on the Government this week to set a national target, and to cut State organisations' emissions. "It doesn't matter what this Government does, it matters what the next government does. We are asking Fine Gael to be honest and come out and say what they will do.
"If we are to have a contract with the people, we have to be honest with the people about how difficult this will be," he said.
In post-election talks, the Greens said they would push for a 3 per cent target to be set, although it is not yet a pre-condition for such talks.
The performance of Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and the Minister for the Environment Dick Roche on climate change had been "atrocious", he added.
The Government has acknowledged that "unquantified further measures" will be necessary to bring Ireland's emissions down.
"They could not be bothered working it out in advance. If they are serious, let them produce it before the election," Mr Ryan told a Dublin press conference.
Some planned roads "would not be built, or would be delayed", he accepted, particularly in cases where they created additional capacity.
"[ Given] the need to reduce our emissions by 3 per cent per annum, you cannot do that when our transport emissions are growing by 7 per cent per annum.
"I am sorry, that is insane. For other parties to pretend that you can keep growing and growing at 7 per cent, and say at the same time that you are taking climate change seriously, does not stack up. We stand our ground on that one. And let the electorate decide. We will build additional Luas lines, we think that that will work. The current system isn't even working. The electorate has a choice: if it wants that system vote Progressive Democrats and vote Fianna Fáil. If they want better public transport, more Luas lines around the country, vote Green."
Under the Green plan, offshore wind farms, wave and tidal projects would be State-supported, while householders would be encouraged to produce domestic energy and sell any excess to the national grid.
Stamp duties on well-insulated homes would be cut, large cars would be hit with tough Vehicle Registration Tax penalties, while mono-filament electric bulbs would be banned within two years.
Ciarán Cuffe TD said the State must act quickly. "Dick Roche is feeding the dinosaurs. He is saying that if we go for a low-carbon economy there will be problems for employment. Low-carbon industries will create thousands of jobs in Ireland, as they already have in Germany."
