At an address to the 2008 Energy Ireland Conference, John Mullins, chief executive of Bord Gais, called for a response to the problem from Irish industry, finfacts.ie reports.
Mr Mullins claimed that natural gas is the “energy bridge” for the next decade and emphasised the need for a balanced approach to CO2 reduction.
“This is about a balanced approach to Ireland’s energy mix in the future where the reduction of CO2 emissions is of paramount importance,” he said.
He added that fuel mixing and switching, as well as the optimisation of renewable sources and user efficiency, would be fundamental to this approach.
It was recently revealed in a Sustainable Energy Ireland report that Irish investment in energy research exceeded €28 million in 2006.