A scientist at NUI Galway has called on the Government to impose measures which would curtail the sale of sports utility vehicles (SUVs).
Prof John Simmie, a chemist attached to NUI Galway's new Environmental Change Institute, has also called on the State to encourage reduction in the size of car engines.
He was speaking at yesterday's opening of the new institute by Fine Gael's Mr Jim Higgins MEP.
"The rising level of affluence in Irish society is having detrimental effects on our environment, especially with the introduction of larger engines and the growing attraction of SUVs," Prof Simmie said
The vehicles "guzzle fuel" and emit twice as much carbon dioxide as ordinary cars, he said.
Biodiesel alternatives for Irish motorists are being studied at the Environmental Change Institute, given that oil reserves may be fully depleted by the year 2030.
Biodiesel is a renewable fuel derived from vegetable oils and animal fats, has a positive impact on global warming, and can limit dependence on foreign-derived fuel supplies. Tests have also shown that it can reduce cancer risks by 90 per cent.
Prof Emer Colleran, the director of the Environmental Change Institute, said they were tackling a wealth of research projects, including work on contamination in drinking water, the effects of landfill gas emissions and the transport of pollutants discharged into coastal waters.
The institute, which co-ordinates the work of several faculties and departments in the university, was established with €10 million from the Government's Programme for Research in Third-Level Institutions.
