John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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Ireland's commitment under the Kyoto Protocol is to limit emissions to 13% above 1990 levels. The Government's approach to meeting Ireland's Kyoto Protocol commitment is set out in the National Climate Change Strategy 2007-2012, published in April 2007. This Strategy provides a framework for reducing emissions across all sectors of the economy and sets out a series of measures that, collectively, will reduce emissions by over 17 million tonnes each year over the period 2008-2012.

The Agreed Programme for Government sets a challenging target of a 3% reduction per year on average in our greenhouse gas emissions over the lifetime of the Government. While my absolute priority is to ensure that Ireland meets its legally binding Kyoto Protocol commitments, progress in reducing Ireland's emissions can now be measured with reference to our international commitments under the Kyoto Protocol and to this Government's commitment to a 3% average annual reduction over the same period. The target to which the Deputy refers is therefore already in place.

In meeting these commitments, I will be aiming to introduce further measures to reduce national greenhouse gas emissions and minimise the requirement to supplement domestic action through the purchase of credits through the Kyoto Protocol flexible mechanisms. This will leave Ireland better prepared to manage more demanding emissions reductions in the period to 2020 and beyond.