EU tells Ireland that tackling climate change is too expensive

Ireland has been told that it is not allowed to change its targets for climate change because it cannot afford to.

Jose Manuel Barroso, the European Commission’s president, has told Ireland that to implement its plans of reducing emissions of greenhouse gases 20% by 2020 would be too expensive.

Barroso was asked by Ireland if he would consider rethinking the methodology used to set Irish targets. He responded in a press conference by saying that a country’s gross domestic product (GDP) is the best way of determining the emissions reductions that a country is able to achieve.

He said: “Our proposal is equitable, fair and technically sound - we will not change it.

“Ireland has benefited so much from structural aid from the EU because its GDP was much lower than the average and now it is higher than the average.”

Bertie Ahern, however, completely disagrees. Taoiseach Ahern believes that Ireland’s emissions targets are unfair because Ireland’s GDP does not give a true picture of its economic situation. Ahern backs up his claim by pointing to the high profits made out of Ireland by transnational corporations.