THE USE of nuclear power should be open for debate, Minister for Environment John Gormley told the climate change forum in Dublin yesterday.
He said: “The technologies being developed, which people claim are 100 per cent safe, are still in their infancy. I’ve seen presentations on chlorine fluoride reactors and on pebble-bed technology but problems continue even though they say they are addressing the waste problem. I remain to be convinced but I’m not closing the door . . . I do think we have to have a continued debate on those issues.”
Mr Gormley told the forum, What is at Stake in Copenhagen?, he felt a fully fledged treaty is unlikely to be achieved at the climate conference in Denmark next month as "time had run out".
“I believe we are now looking at the possibility of a politically binding agreement rather than a legally binding treaty. It is disappointing and, in my view, it flies in the face of the fact that we are all too quickly approaching a point where the impact of climate change will become significantly more challenging and cost a lot more to address,” he added.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) director general Mary Kelly said time is of the essence when dealing with the issue of carbon emissions. She said the country is projected to exceed its 2020 emission target by almost 3 per cent, even if all current measures reach their goal.
In Ireland, 104 industries are covered by the European Union’s Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) and, year-on-year, these have seen a reduction in emissions. However, emissions in the non-ETS sector are more difficult to reduce she said in her presentation.
With agriculture and transport accounting for 70 per cent of Ireland’s non-ETS emissions, she said there is a need to look at different measures, including congestion charges. She said transport demand should be decoupled from economic activity and warned of the dangers of “depending on a recession to cover our international obligations”.
Michael Barry, of the Irish Dairy Industry Association, spoke of the need to find sustainable solutions to the climate change debate. He said there is no point in basing the green economy on a system of target verification if it is not monetarily self-sufficient.
Mr Barry also said although Irish farmers are not experiencing climate change through droughts and extreme weather conditions, rising temperatures are leading to diseases such as blue-tongue.
Earlier Cristian Dominguez Noco, from the Bolivian Confederation of Working Farmers, spoke of the effects of climate change on people of the Amazon region. In an emotional presentation, he strongly criticised World Bank programmes as “destructive models” that encourage farmers to clear forests for beef production.
Mr Dominguez Noco challenged the EU to “stop hiding behind the US” and take the vanguard during the Copenhagen summit. “Those who can read and write should protect those who can’t. My challenge is for you to accept responsibility.
“We are not looking for money, we are looking for you to recognise the climate debt you owe us,” he added.
