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2 June 2005
Roche washing his hands on climate change
says Green Party
Govt does nothing to reduce carbon emissions
claims Cuffe
The Green Party has hit out at Dick Roche’s
abject failure to tackle Ireland’s climate change emissions. The criticism
comes as the Minister for the Environment launches the report ‘Climate Change
– Regional Model Predictions for Ireland’. The report states that Ireland
faces increased flooding and more severe storms in the years ahead.
Green Party Environment spokesperson Ciarán
Cuffe TD said that, “Instead of rising to the challenge of reducing emissions,
Minister Roche and his colleagues in Government are binging on motorways,
peat-fired power stations and second-rate building regulations. He is passing
the bill onto the next generation, which will have to pick up the tab for his
excesses.
“If this Government was serious about climate
change it would introduce a carbon levy; support renewable energies, and reduce
car dependency through major investment in public transport. This Government is
giving big business a free ride by not implementing a carbon levy and ordinary
citizens will have to pay the price, both financially and environmentally.”
“It is an abrogation of responsibility for
Minister Roche to simply suggest that Ireland adapt to climate change. He and
his Department should be making changes to reduce Ireland’s own contribution
to the problem. Moreover, if the worst-case scenario such as the switching off
of the Gulf Stream occurs, it would be almost impossible to adapt to such
catastrophic changes. No amount of spin doctoring can hide the fact that Ireland’s
emissions are amongst the highest in Europe, and the underlying trend is getting
worse under his watch.”
“The National Climate Change Strategy is out
of date and there is no clear indication that this Government is taking the
issue seriously,” concluded Deputy Cuffe.
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CiaranCuffe.com