Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)

Arising from the Minister's reply and his reference to the national climate change strategy, I acknowledge that is the ballpark at which we are aiming. In the programme for Government, a 3% reduction, as the Minister pointed out, is an ambitious target. The measures he took in the carbon budget and in the Budget Statement of the Minister for Finance did not clearly set out how we are to achieve a reduction of 2 million tonnes of carbon emissions in 2008. I ask the Minister to set out explicitly how we are to achieve his objective of a 3% reduction in the first year, 2008. We have seen some changes in vehicle registration tax which will achieve a reduction of only 50,000 tonnes. How are we to achieve a reduction of 2 million tonnes of carbon emissions in 2008?

See this speech in context