IRELAND “MUST now press on with the serious task of transforming ourselves into a low-carbon society”, Minister for the Environment John Gormley said yesterday.
Mr Gormley added that the State’s efforts should be in line with the European Union’s newly-adopted climate and energy package. Welcoming the compromise agreement reached in Brussels as a “first step” towards a new global agreement on climate change, he said it would mean that Europe would unilaterally reduce its emissions by 20 per cent compared to 1990.
“Now we must go further. Europe is ready to step up to a 30 per cent reduction as part of a global climate agreement”, Mr Gormley said, adding that he hoped this would encourage other nations to propose their own reduction targets.
“I understand and recognise the concerns of many who had hoped for a more robust deal, and in negotiations Ireland had supported the [French] Presidency and the commission in pushing for a package that was stronger than that finally agreed,” Mr Gormley said.
In the EU negotiations finalised in Brussels, Ireland supported full auctioning of carbon credits in line with the polluter pays principle. But Mr Gormley said compromise was necessary, and would “still achieve the 20 per cent reduction in emissions.”
Earlier, in his speech on behalf of Ireland at the Poznan conference, the Minister said it was “imperative” to achieve the ultimate objective of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change of avoiding dangerous global warming.
“We must all be both committed and ambitious. I believe that when this body meets in Copenhagen in a year’s time, we will be able to say, ‘we have reached the turning point, we are ready to act, we can solve the climate crisis’,” he said.
“If the world can spend trillions of dollars on armaments, if we can mobilise capital urgently to save the global economy, then surely we can mobilise its resources to help the poorest people of the world adapt to climate change,” he added.
