Carbon emissions reduction ‘tougher than anticipated’

Minister for the environment John Gormley said that meeting the Kyoto commitments would be more difficult than anticipated.

In relation to public transport, he told the Irish Times that the problems was that much of the infrastructure which had been proposed to cut down on road journeys had not yet been built.

Although, some projects, such as the completion of the underground will not be finished until after the current Kyoto target period up to 2012 is over, others such as reliable, frequent buses with real time schedules could be implemented.

He added that in regards to cattle, the numbers were growing and that to combat this may require offsetting.

Late last year, European Commission figures showed that Ireland was on target for carbon emissions, which were 22.5% below 1990 levels, almost twice the Kyoto target of 13%.

In November the Environmental Protection Agency said if a series of recommended measures were followed, Ireland could come in 0.7% under the target in 2010.

However, the government admitted then that it might have to buy carbon credits – effectively buying carbon reductions.