Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Green Party)
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Question 133: To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the long term target his Department has set for the reduction of greenhouse gases from the energy sector; and the means being introduced to ensure that Ireland meets such a target via annual incremental reductions. [38784/06]

Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)
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My colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, has lead responsibility for Government policy on meeting Ireland's target under the Kyoto Protocol.

The energy sector will make its contribution to meeting our obligations under the Kyoto protocol through participation in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. The Government has already decided, in the context of the preparation of Ireland's second National Allocation Plan under the scheme, that the emissions trading sector will be responsible for making approximately 3 million tonnes annual reductions in greenhouse gases out of the approximately 7 million tonnes per annum reductions needed to enable Ireland to meet its Kyoto target over the period 2008 to 2012, after existing abatement measures have been taken into account.

Under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, installations are granted a certain level of allowances and are required to either mitigate their emissions or purchase allowances for any emissions above the level of allowances. Accordingly it is a matter for the individual installations (which includes all commercial scale fossil fuelled electricity generation) to decide on the most cost effective mix of abatement measures for their business. In this context, annual incremental reductions are not a feature of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme.