The Green Party will make the introduction of a carbon tax a nonnegotiable condition for going into any future coalition government. The party called for the tax on industrial energy uses in a document, Ways Out Of The Climate Crisis, published yesterday.
Mr Trevor Sargent, the Green Party TD, said it was now clear that global warming was occurring at levels far greater than predicted. He called on the Government to accept that climate change was responsible for the recent flooding.
The document calls for the carbon tax to be introduced immediately and the money directed to measures to counteract the effects of climate change. The party also wants short-term measures to deal with worsening weather conditions, including new local authority emergency plans.
Mr Sargent said that a carbon tax would be a priority in any future talks on coalition. "This will be non-negotiable."