The Government has been urged to commit to a major investment in alternative fuel and to inform the public on sustainable alternatives to petrol and diesel.
The call came from DCU scientist Dr Abdul Olabiat a conference on alternative fuels in Dublin City University yesterday. The conference continues today. The conference is being addressed by international and Irish scientists and is discussing alternative fuels.
DCU is already actively engaged in a wide variety of research in biofuels, wind and wave electricity generation.
Dr Mike Hopkins, who is leading the development of sustainable energy in DCU, pointed out that the Government has set ambitious targets in the roll out of wind energy. However, greater attention needs to be paid to the energy consumption of SUVs and other high-powered vehicles.
'If one out of ten people buy a SUV (Sports Utility Vehicle) rather than a standard 1800cc car then the extra oil required to run them is more than wind-power and hydro-electricity together can save, ' he said.
'All the Government departments must work together to develop a coherent and well planned reduction in our oil dependency', the scientist added.
