Forget the climate for now says TD

THE government must wake up and abandon its climate change targets for now, so people can afford to heat their homes and travel in their cars this winter, a local TD has said.

Cork South West TD Michael Collins (Ind) says the government needs to drop ‘suicidal’ net zero targets in favour of a return to burning fossil fuels – at least for the short term.

And he criticised the government for blocking the storage of cheaper LNG (liquid gas) which, he claimed, could mean hundreds of euro in savings for consumers in their energy bills.

Speaking on behalf of the Rural Independent group of TDs, he accused the government of clinging to ‘the green nirvana’.

‘I’m as green as anyone, but I’m also a realist and what are our alternatives when experts say that 2035 is the earliest we’re talking about for wind energy?’ he asked.

He has proposed taxing companies to drill for fossil fuels now, in order to pay for future clean energy infrastructure.

‘I’m not saying to ruin the planet, but if there’s an alternative for right here and now, show it to me,’ he told The Southern Star. He said the situation is so dire the government must choose between saving the economy and ‘saving net zero’.

There isn’t any other option, he added.

However, local Green party representatives accused Deputy Collins of ‘fearmongering.’

Marc O’Riain, the Green Party representative for Kinsale and Bandon said Deputy Collins’ position was ‘emotional and not based on any reasonable considerations’.

‘Deputy Collins asks us to ignore Putin’s atrocities by continuing our reliance on gas,’ he said.

‘He asks us to ignore the future of our children who will pay the price of radical climate change.

‘He asks us to ignore West Cork which has seen increased flooding and increased drought in recent years,’ he said.

Green Party Skibbereen representative Rory Jackson said the end of drilling for oil and gas was a huge step forward for Ireland in recognising where our energy independence will come from.

‘If we don’t create targets and goals to reduce our carbon footprint, we will be condemning our children to a future in a polluted and destroyed world,’ the campaigner said.