I was reading through the Government's latest national climate change strategy and I concede that it makes interesting reading. The brazen statement that Ireland is meeting its commitments jumps out from page 15 and surely the Taoiseach knows this statement is false. Regarding the Kyoto Protocol, Ireland is 25.4% over 1990 levels and rising so the contents of this report are downright lies. I ask the Taoiseach to correct these fallacies because it is wrong for the Government to give out facts that are not in keeping with the truth.

The Government's first strategy on climate change was not implemented so how can we trust it to implement the second strategy? The Government did not implement the carbon tax and it promised that the Moneypoint power station would switch from coal which did not happen. The Government promised a rebalancing of vehicle registration tax, which did not happen under the first strategy and has been kicked into the future. There are many other examples of this nature.

In spite of the dishonesty already evident in this plan, that there is no costing for compact fluorescent lamp, CFL, light bulb plans and no timeframes that one might expect, the Taoiseach importantly said there will be a reduction of 20% below 1990 levels by 2020, based on the EU agreement. I take the Taoiseach at his word on this and presume he knows the implications. In 2005, the latest figures available, we were emitting 70 million tonnes and a level 20% below 1990 levels would allow us emit a maximum of 44.8 tonnes. This requires a reduction of more than 25 million tonnes of CO2, or a third of the current level.

If the Taoiseach thinks the Northern peace process was difficult, changing to a post-oil economy is of a far greater magnitude. Carbon trading will not be affordable; the Taoiseach has provided €270 million for this purpose but, according to experts on renewable energy, the actual cost will be €1.5 billion by 2020. Will the Taoiseach create legislation that will require us to reduce carbon emissions each year by, say 3%, on the previous year? Will the Taoiseach indicate when this will be done or how will he arrive at the 20% cut he has said will happen?

I will not go through the entire document as Deputy Sargent is reading it but it sets out in a detailed way the comprehensive measures we have put in place to enable us to meet the target set under the Kyoto Protocol. All of the preparatory work in this respect sought to set out how this could be achieved. The national climate change strategy requires co-ordination throughout the Government because without this it will not be possible to meet the commitments made under the Kyoto Protocol. The strategy builds on progress already made through the original national climate change strategy of seven years ago.

To what progress is the Taoiseach referring? The situation is worse than ever.

The strategy addresses measures across all sectors of the economy and encompasses energy, agriculture, transport, the residential sector and the commercial sector. It includes measures that have been enacted through the national development plan, Transport 21, the White Paper on energy and the bio-energy action plan, in addition to a series of measures to put Ireland on a path to a low carbon economy.

Transport emissions increased by 7% last year.

It is not just one issue; they all have to be looked at collectively. I assume the Green Party welcomes the fact that we have put all these updated documents into the strategy.

Doing a marvellous job.

The strategy is a fiction.

In light of the recent agreements of EU leaders to reduce emissions to at least 20% below the 1990 levels by 2020, the strategy looks beyond Kyoto. Deputy Sargent is right that this is a challenging task and we must take a longer term view. This was done, particularly in relation to renewable energy targets and investment in public transport to ensure the country is better positioned to meet the challenge of more ambitious targets in the post-2012 period. The strategy across all the areas is set out in detail.

On the flexible mechanisms under which developed countries will support the development of clean technology in the developing world in return for emissions, as Deputy Sargent said, we have allocated €270 million in the national development plan——

It is taxpayers' money.

——for investment in such projects over the lifetime of the strategy. In all of the other areas we have spelt out what are the targets and what action is needed to deal with them. If this is not in one document, it is taken collectively in the four documents I have mentioned.

The Taoiseach is the personification of a flexible mechanism but we need firm mechanisms. He is correct that we face a challenge. Why was he not present at the launch of the document, given the serious repercussions it has for the country? He sent along his royal smugness, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Roche, who does not carry the weight the strategy deserves. As this is a cross-departmental matter, the Taoiseach should have been present at the launch to let it be known that it would affect every Department. He had no problem leading from the front on the second referendum on the Nice treaty. I challenge the view that it does not have the same importance. Unless we achieve annual reductions in carbon emissions of 3%, we will not achieve the objective. The strategy does not have a commitment to a targeted annual reduction. The Green Party has worked out that, under this plan, the total reduction in emissions after four years will be 3%. That is not up to the mark.

The business as usual approach proposed by the Government will have a cost. For example, carbon trading will cost far more than the figure of €270 million cited by the Taoiseach. It will also have a cost in terms of flooding and it is having an enormous cost in terms of water contamination in Galway. The poor will be hit hardest internationally, resulting in increased immigration as many people ask why they should not come here given that Ireland will not be as badly affected by climate change as their home countries.

Britain has introduced a carbon budget system under which it will be able to measure its achievements annually, while Governor Schwarzenegger in California has established a strategy in law. Rather than dealing in fiction by engaging in spin in advance of an election, will the Taoiseach not accept best international advice and establish a climate change targets Bill? I ask him to use the Bill published by the Green Party as a template.

We will look at all proposals. The proposals made yesterday include a mechanism to check annually that we are delivering.

It will be to check that emissions are increasing every year.

Deputy Sargent will see this when he gets the proposals. The strategy includes a wide range of measures over and above those already in place from the review, as the Deputy must acknowledge. Fifteen per cent of electricity is to be generated from renewable sources by 2010 and 33% by 2020. It does not have to be a 3% figure in every year. It is an average figure.

An annual reduction of 3% is required to reach the target.

Biomass is to contribute up to 30% of energy input at peat stations by 2015.

All we hear from the Taoiseach is hot air.

There will be a shift to public transport as a result of Transport 21 investment and the rebalancing of VRT and motor taxation. I would have expected the Green Party to favour revised building regulations which aim for a 40% improvement in thermal performance. The grants for renewable energy heating available under the greener homes scheme have been an enormous success. The strategy also includes support for eco-efficient technology and practices, a top-up of EU premium for energy crops and the biomass harvesting scheme. A commission on climate change will provide high level advice to the Government on progress and increase awareness in all sectors. We argue that our strategy is better than the British system and helps to keep the economy efficient. Those are just a small number of the issues that have been outlined and the targets to be met. The strategy includes a commitment to publish another climate change strategy——-

When this one fails.

——for the period after the 2012 commitments. It is laid out for the long term. I hope the Green Party will take a look at it so that they will be able to get their heads around how it might work.