Ireland will not be obliged to purchase any more carbon credits in order to comply with the Kyoto Protocol because of the fall-off in greenhouse gas emissions due to the recession.
The Environmental Protection Agency has, however, warned that more stringent EU emissions reduction targets for 2020 will require significant action by the Government - even when assuming that carbon sinks, like forestry, are allowed to be factored into the calculations.
Even based on the most optimistic forecasts the EPA says the EU targets will be very difficult to achieve.
During the Celtic Tiger years, Ireland's greenhouse gas emissions spiralled out of control and it was speculated that the Government might have to spend more than €1bn purchasing carbon credits to comply with Kyoto.
The latest projections from the EPA, based on data from the Economic and Social Research Institute, suggest Ireland will not have to spend any more money for Kyoto compliance because the emissions have simply reduced.
