Is environmental minister John Gormley's house in darkness today? Has he dialed down the thermostat to a temperature just about freezing? Time to get those greenhouse gas emissions down, Mr. Minister.
The Kyoto Protocol comes into effect today. Ireland must reduce its carbon footprint to a level that is 13% below the amount of carbon dumped into the air back in 1990. Where might the nation be today? Spewing 25% more than it did in 1990. Clearly there's a sizable carbon mountain to climb.
Damn the Budget for not including a levy on fossil fuels. The average citizens would then have had to pay a premium for their excessive usage, and how better to bring home the whole man-made global warming problem than to hit folks in the wallet? Too much worry about damaging the economy, taking a page from the non-Kyoto agreeing Yanks, and so Ireland will have to pay.
The people of Ireland will have to pay, actually, since the government gets its money from the taxes that the public provides. Don't reduce the gasses to Kyoto limits and Ireland will have to buy EU100 million in credits.
Who gets that EU100 million exactly? Who benefits from the Kyoto accord? The amount of carbon being dumped doesn't go down at all, does it? But some other country or government or business entity makes a profit. Any wonder, then, that the U.S. didn't sign on? Must have been all those University of Chicago economists having their say....and a good laugh.
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