The US has declared war on the planet by refusing to accept the Kyoto protocol, the Green Party’s Mr Trevor Sargent declared today.
Speaking at the "Keep the Kyoto agreement" rally outside the US embassy in Dublin, Mr Sargent said that the world is facing its greatest crisis and dealing with the problem required a more revolutionary approach than that being celebrated today on the 4th of July.
"America produces 40 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions but makes up just 5 per cent of the world’s population. The Green Party accuses Mr Bush of shirking his responsibility in lowering these levels.
"The US President will find himself implicated in more deaths causing hurricanes, cyclones, floods and drought resulting from climate change," said Mr Sargent.
He pointed out that Ireland will also be affected. Winter temperatures are set to fall by 10 per cent over the next 50 years as the Gulf stream becomes more destabilized.
Mr Sargent criticized the Government’s national Climate Change document as being aspirational rather than dealing with the problem.
"Any hopes that the Government were prepared to take their obligations seriously were finally dashed when Minister McCreevy produced a Budget which reduced tax on fuel and failed miserably to take account of the seriousness of the situation," he said.
