The Green Party today outlined its alternative to the National Development Plan.
The party is highlighting the threat from ever-increasing greenhouse gas emissions by calling on the Government to ensure that infrastructure projects are climate-change proofed.
Their proposal "A Green NDP: future-proofing investment in infrastructure" urges departments and state agencies to take an environmentally-friendly approach to their spending programme for the next six years.
The Greens say that rather than investing in credits to offset growing emissions, new infrastructure projects should be designed and built to be carbon neutral. And the party warns that failure to do so could cost Ireland more than €750 million a year in extra credits.
The proposal would also see the party set aside five per cent of the NDP for a fund to support new low carbon products and technologies
Party leader Trevor Sergent said that if elected to government, the Greens would insist that any infrastructure "must also work in the new climate change future that we face".
"This Government's failure to tackle our greenhouse gas emissions now threatens our economy as well as the environment," he insisted.