The Government is shirking its responsibility on Climate Change

15th April 2013

Five failures undermine our ability to present ourselves as a responsible Green State.
Welcoming the opening of the Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Climate Justice this morning, Eamon Ryan Green Party leader said  "We welcome Mary Robinson's call on Governments not to shirk their responsibility but that is exactly what the Irish Government is doing here at home.
"The good work that Irish Aid is doing , helping people in developing countries adapt to climate change is being undone because we are not switching quickly enough to a better and cleaner economic model.
"Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore acknowledged this morning that the world is reaching its environmental limits and that ignoring the effects of climate change would be morally wrong.  By their actions over the last two years the Government has however consistently ignored the issue :       1  The Government abandoned key public transport projects despite international funding being available to pay for them, which could have provided a stimulus for our whole economy.
      2 They went against the 'Site value tax' model promised in their own Programme for Government and went for a less fair and sustainable property tax instead.
      3 They reduced the grants for retrofitting of buildings without putting any alternative incentive in place, leading to a crash in the low carbon construction sector.
      4 They caved in to vested property interests by reversing a decision to require Auctioneers place a Building Energy Rating on their advertising hoardings.
      5 They have drafted climate legislation which gives us the worst of both worlds.  We will have neither top down authority to make sure emissions are reduced nor an administrative system sees itself as having the central role in making it happen from the bottom up.
I hope that the conference comes up with real outcomes which helps the world frame new Millenium development goals.  Rather than telling African countries what to do I hope we might learn instead a few lessons about what we need to do here in Ireland." 

ENDS