The Irish government's Environmental Protection Agency, Tuesday, reported a 0.8% fall in greenhouse gas emissions in 2006 compared with 2005, but said that it would have to rely on buying carbon credits to meet the country's Kyoto protocol emissions target.
The Irish government's Environmental Protection Agency, Tuesday, reported a 0.8% fall in greenhouse gas emissions in 2006 compared with 2005, but said that it would have to rely on buying carbon credits to meet the country's Kyoto protocol emissions target.
According to the report Ireland's emissions in 2006 were 69.77 million metric tons, but according to the country's Kyoto protocol target Ireland must limit its emissions to just 62.84 million tons a year by 2012.
"While the figures are encouraging, the remaining distance to our Kyoto target is substantial and shows that we continue to face a very major challenge," Mary Kelly, director general of the EPA said, adding that "transport figures remain particularly worrying. In 2006, they increased by 5.2%" and that "major efforts will be required to reverse this trend".
Transport emissions made up almost 20% of the 2006 total, most of which, 97%, were generated by road transport, the report said citing the increase in vehicle numbers, a trend towards buying larger vehicles and increased reliance on private cars and increasing road freight transport.
The power generation sector meanwhile saw a 4.6% cut compared with 2005 levels and agriculture emissions were down 1.4% on the year. Agriculture emissions are the single largest contributor to the country's overall emissions at about 28%.
"The Kyoto target will be met by a combination of domestic actions with some purchase of carbon credits as allowed for under the Kyoto Protocol," Kelly said.
Under the Kyoto protocol, developed countries can invest in emission-cutting projects in developing countries or eastern Europe, such as wind farms and installations that capture methane emissions from farms, instead of cutting emissions domestically. So developed countries, like Ireland, pay for emissions cuts to be made in the developing world, where it costs less due to cheaper labor and construction costs.
Greenhouse gas emissions, are blamed for causing a rise in the earth's temperature. Scientists say these greenhouse gases, the most common of which is carbon dioxide, add to the atmospheric layer that allows solar radiation to pass through but traps heat reflected from the Earth, leading to the steady rise in global temperatures.
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