The Government has this evening said Ireland will meet the European Commission's new target to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20 per cent by 2020 from 1990 levels.
The new plan extends the existing target agreed by the 15 members of the EU before the 2004 enlargement, which sought to cut emissions by eight per cent from 1990 levels between 2008-2012 and which several nations are already struggling to meet.
However, a spokesman for the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government told ireland.comthis evening: "Whatever the EC says, Ireland will abide by it. We have to".
Announcing the new target in Brussels today, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said: "If this was adopted it would be by far the most ambitious policy ever - not only in Europe but the world - against climate change".
He also called on all developed nations around the world to cut emissions by 30 per cent by 2020 and promised the EU would match this plan if others joined in.
Reacting in Dublin this evening Fine Gael welcomed the new proposals and said passivity on environmental issues was no longer an option in Ireland.
Fine Gael spokesman, Fergus O'Dowd said his party would pursue an aggressive environmental policy, if elected into power during the next General Election and would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by placing significant new responsibilities on local government and reaching local targets.
Labour Party MEP, Proinsias de Rossa, meanwhile said the EC proposals were the "very minimum" required over the coming years. He said they posed an enormous challenge for Europe and an even greater one for Ireland because of the "gross negligence of our current Government".
Mr de Rossa said: "So far Ireland's record under this Fianna Fail/PD Government has been a disastrous 'pollute now, pay later' approach. As a consequence we face a whopping bill of €750m for failing to meet the current EU targets.
"It would make far more economic sense in the longer term to have spent that money actually dealing with the problem than turning our backs on it. It won't go away just because we shut our eyes to it".