Fine Gael moved a Bill, in Private Member's time, requiring a biofuel blend for all petrol and diesel vehicles.
Party transport spokeswoman Olivia Mitchell said it was time "to take our heads out of the sand" and accept personal and national responsibility for climate change.
"The challenge now is not just to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, but do so while still encouraging and sustaining economic growth," she said.
Fine Gael believed that since transport was the biggest contributor to increased emissions, it must bring about the biggest reductions, Ms Mitchell said.
"Our policy of expanding the bus fleet, by encouraging competition for new and existing services, will help to start achieving that while the longer-term rail-based solutions are still being developed," she added.
Fine Gael agriculture spokesman Denis Naughten said it was time to kickstart mandatory blending and give wider support to rural communities to develop alternative energy-generating projects.
He said rural communities and farmers wanted to play their part in tackling Ireland's energy crisis and produce cleaner, greener energy.
Minister for Natural Resources Noel Dempsey claimed the Fine Gael Bill ignored the legal reality concerning mandates.
By comparison, the Government had taken a clear and ambitious approach. On Monday, he had announced that it would introduce a biofuels obligation that would ensure biofuels represented 5.75 per cent of Ireland's transport fuel market by 2009 and 10 per cent by 2020.
