FF versus the environment

Wednesday May 15, 2002 21:12

by Up the Dubs!

- and the planet!

Climate Change is happening and will get worse. Peat is the worst offender(worse than oil or coal)though on a global scale doesn't matter. Ireland has a commitment under Kyoto to cap its increace its Greenhouse Gas Emmissions at 13% above 1990 levels by 2010. At current rate of growth they will increace emmissions by 40%. The Celtic Tiger has no small role to play in this. The govt. could do a lot about this and has great plans such as carbon taxes which will a long time to fruition(you thought the plastic bags took a long time:-)). Today though they may as well have thrown those plans in the bin. Lip service how are ye? Then theres destruction to peatland, and a a whole gamut of knock on effects. Read on to see what Friends of the Irish Environment have to say and then the words from the horses mouth after

PRESS RELEASE

15 MAY 2002

CABINET INTERVENS IN PEAT POWERED ESB STATIONS LEGAL CHALLANGE

Background
Friends of the Irish Environment is engaged in a campaign to prevent the construction of two new peat fired power plants on the grounds that they are in breach of the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive, the Habitats Directive and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

FIE have taken the first two of these grounds to the High Court and are awaiting hearing.

The European Commission issued a Reasoned Opinion on 21st December 2001 which details the Commission's view that the failure to subject the
extraction of peat to EIA amounts to a failure by Ireland to fulfill obligations under the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive. This
Reasoned Opinion is the last step before bringing Ireland to the European Court of Justice for the second time for failing to apply this directive to
the destruction of peatlands.

The simple fact is that there has never been an environmental impact assessment of the extraction of peat in Ireland, in spite of the clear
impacts through flooding, siltation, and habitat destruction.

FIE now learns that in the middle of an election campaign, the Cabinet has decided to take unspecified measures to ensure that notwithstanding our challenge to the validity of the planning permissions and EPA licence, the
power plants are built. The only measure we can imagine in this regard is a guarantee to the ESB that the taxpayer will foot the bill if it finds it has built a power plant which then is declared illegal.

The questions are:
* What are these unspecified measures?
* Why have they not been specified?
* How much money has been committed?
* What is the Government's answer to the European Commission?

STATEMENT BY FRIENDS OF THE IRISH ENVIRONMENT

Friends of the Irish Environment, who have brought the Judicial Reviews, said
today that they "have every confidence in the High Court to vindicate citizens' rights to challenge decisions and believe the Court will enforce European Law and protect the remaining Irish peatland habitats." The group
said it has taken legal advice about the Statement issued by the Minister
for Foreign Affairs. "We have received no communication from the ESB or any Government department have no information as to the measures allegedly approved by the Cabinet."

Attribution: Spokesman

COPY OF BRIAN COWEN STATEMENT
Brian Cowen, Foreign Affairs 8 May, 2002

GOVERNMENT APPROVES MEASURES TO ALLOW ESB
POWER STATIONS TO PROCEED, ANNOUNCES MINISTER COWEN

Mr Brian Cowen, Minister for Foreign Affairs has announced that, at the Government meeting earlier today measures to allow the ESB proceed with the
building of new Power Stations at Shannonbridge and Lanesboro were formally approved by the Cabinet.

Minister Cowen went on to say,"The decison taken today by the Cabinet, which I warmly welcome, means that there is no obstacle to the commencement of construction work on the new Power Stations regardless of the judicial
review proceedings recently initiated in relation to planning permission. These proceedings had threatened to seriously delay construction work on the Power Stations.

I believe that it is critical to maintain the momentum for these large scale projects to proceed at this time and I am grateful to my Ministerial colleague, Mary O'Rourke for her early intervention to ensure that there is
no undue delay in the construction of these stations at Shannonbridge and Lanesboro. I was aware of the potential difficulties posed and was glad to support the measures put forward to allow work to commence at an early date."

ENDS

save preference

Comments (5 of 5)

Say no to bureaucrats.

by Joe Barry

Wed May 15, 2002 23:45

Why should a bunch of unelected bureaucrats in Brussels, the EU Commission, determine what happens to Ireland's bogs? That the world is warming up is obvious to anyone thats alive, but there is no scientific evidence that this global warming is caused by human activities, or that it can be ameliorated by human effort.

I suppose there's no scientific evidence for evolution either?

by fuinseog

Thu May 16, 2002 00:06

If you want to know what the mainstream scientific consensus is, read the reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Meanwhile, there will be a special levy on everyone's electricity bill (no waivers or exemptions) to subsidise the production of electricity from peat, which is the most expensive way to produce electricity being used in Ireland. Then when we exceed the very generous 13% increase allowed under Kyoto, (sorry, we've actually exceeded it already), we'll have to pay even more to buy the carbon credits from other countries to bring ourselves back to our target. And that also will be on everyone's ESB bill.

All so that Bord na Mona can continue to exist, by destroying the last of the raised bogs and the climate.

Future generations will hate us, and books will be written about how we allowed this to happen. Something like "Industrialism's Willing Executioners", maybe. Justifications like yours about unelected bureaucrats implementing democratically agreed legislation being inferior to noble statesmen like Brian Cowen will be pored over by historians wondering if your view is real or a crude justification by those who are profiting from the current system.

Prediction

Thu May 16, 2002 01:04

Your confidence in knowing the emotional state of future generations should be treated with the same scepticism as your confidence in the scientific objectivity of inter-governmental reports. Has an inter-governmental report, ever, anywhere, told the truth about anything?

knowledge

by vert-et-noir

Thu May 16, 2002 03:31

Joe,

I wouldn't normally go replying to individuals but I just wanted to compliment you on a firmly held opinion. Obviously you could research climate chaos (a more accurate description than change), you could read reports, both pro and anti (there are pro and anti everything reports), you could study science for years then analyse all the raw data thats out there, you could even just make up a happier ending than the previous poster. Instead you have taken the truly corageous stand that no-one knows anything, and there's nothing we can do anyway.

Has there been any witch-hunting or fianna-fail voting in your ancestral history?

- this is what democracy looks like:-)

Thu May 16, 2002 12:58

In fairness to Joe Barry if he must be a member of Fianna Fáil.

[!!Get ready for conspiracy theory!!]

He might be one of the those well trained people who have been employed by the state to watch the posts to this and other fora to respond with the pro state, pro American, pro big buisness, pro war, pro celtic tiger view to disuade anyone who has just surfed on in to the site and is open to all opinions especiallly ones that reassure them that everything is all right. We are in safe hands - we never had it so good.
Well I guess Joe never had it so good:-)

[!!End conspiracy theory!!]

Does a vote for Fianna Fáil equal these executive "measures". I echo the FOIE question - what are these measures that have bypassed
the courts and have they also bypassed An Bord Pleanála? As to whether man has an influence on climate change. Just read your own parties words:

http://www.environ.ie/environ/env5.html

And I quote:

"human interference with the global atmosphere system through the emission of very substantial amounts of greenhouse gases is causing a discernible effect on global climate"

If its good enough for Noel Dempsey then it should be good enough for you.

Upcoming Events

New Events

Other Press

User Preferences

Feeds

Blog Feeds

Anti-Empire

The Saker

Lockdown Skeptics

Voltaire Network

FF versus the environment

Comments (5 of 5)