|
A new report from
the European Environment Agency puts Ireland at the bottom of the
Environment league in Europe. Reacting today the Green Party said
that the report was an indictment of the Government’s policies on
the Environment.
Green Party
Environment Ciarán Cuffe TD said today that, “Ireland is at
the bottom of the league in Greenhouse Gas emissions. Protecting the
Environment requires us to move away from business-as-usual
policies.
“Politicians
have to take a long-term view. We must move away from taxing labour
and enterprise to taxing environmental damage, finite resources and
poor planning. Tax reforms and Government policies should encourage
public transport investment, renewable energy, organic agriculture
and proper planning. Sustainability must be given incentives and
pollution must be penalised.
“Currently
we’re producing more waste, driving further and gobbling up land
with urban sprawl. This is a direct result of the Government’s
failure to prioritise environmental issues.
“The Green
Party in Government will put in place policies to reduce waste,
improve public transport, encourage organic agriculture and promote
renewable energy. It’s not rocket science but it requires a
commitment from Government to take environmental policies
seriously,” concluded Deputy Cuffe.
Later today the
Green Party will introduce its Private Members Bill, the Climate
Change Targets Bill 2005, to the Dáil. This Bill places a legal
requirement on the Government to change its policies to ensure that
Ireland’s meets its obligations to reduce its Climate Change
emissions in accordance with the Kyoto Protocol.
|
CiaranCuffe.com