After years of delays, a world plan to fight global warming went into force today, feted by its backers as a lifeline for the planet but rejected as an economic straitjacket by the United States and Australia.
Minister for the Environment, Mr Roche
The Kyoto Protocol formally took effect at 5 a.m. (Irish time). A ceremony in the ancient Japanese city of Kyoto, where the pact was signed in 1997, is set for later today.
The Minister for the Environment, Mr Roche, said it was "a milestone in the international response to climate change and an occasion to be celebrated".
"The Kyoto Protocol is just the beginning of a long-term process to reduce global emissions," Mr Roche said.
"Climate Change is the most significant environmental challenge facing our planet and its solution will require global effort and participation," he added. He said Ireland would meet its Kyoto target. This target is to limit greenhouse gas emissions to 13 per cent above 1990 levels for the period 2008-2012.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said although Ireland's emissions had reduced, they were still about 25 per cent above 1990 levels. EPA Director General, Dr Mary Kelly said: "Factors such as the build-up of atmospheric greenhouse gases are contributing to the ovserved changes and extreme events seen in recent years. Kyoto marks the first step in facing up to this reality."
The Green Party is calling on the Minister for the Environment, Mr Dick Roche, to immediately take action to cut carbon emissions in Ireland by improving energy efficiency in homes; investing in and promoting renewable energies; reducing car dependency through investment in public transport and better planning; and introducing a carbon tax.
Green Party Leader Trevor Sargent welcomed the introduction Kyoto Protocol calling it a "small but vital step in tackling climate change." He criticised the Government saying they "continue to deny the gravity of climate change and is guilty of total inaction on this issue.
Mr Eamon Ryan, Green Party spokesperson for Transport, said, "it is impossible to understand, given the scientific information on climate change which is now emerging, why the Government is spending four times more of our capital budget on new roads than on public transport."
Internationally, green groups and the United Nations say the 141-nation pact is a crucial first step in trying to limit the onslaught of higher temperatures, rising seas and greater extremes of weather.
But some developed nations say the pact is unfair because it excludes major developing nations India, China and Brazil, whose growing economies comprise more than a third of humanity.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan called for global unity. "Climate change is a global problem. It requires a concerted global response," he said in pre-recorded remarks to be aired during the ceremony in Kyoto.
"I call on the world community to be bold, to adhere to the Kyoto Protocol, and to act quickly in taking the next steps. There is no time to lose!" The pact is the first legally binding plan to tackle climate change, building on a scheme launched at an Earth Summit in 1992 to stabilise emissions at 1990 levels by 2000, a goal not met.
In Sydney, ice sculptures of kangaroos and koalas melted during a protest by green groups over Australia's refusal to ratify the pact. Prime Minister John Howard says Kyoto is bad for industry and unfairly excludes rapidly growing India and China. Australian Conservation Foundation vice-president Mr Peter Christoff berated Howard for his stance.
Additional reporting: Reuters