The Green Party has backed higher taxes on polluting cars and heavy goods vehicles.
In 2023, transport accounted for 21.4% of Ireland’s emissions and the Department of Transport is considering a levy on diesel and petrol vehicles.
The Irish Independent has reported that Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have refused to sign off on the strategy ahead of the election - with Simon Harris describing himself as “anti-carbon but not anti-car”.
However, Green Party candidate Hazel Chu said while the strategy is still only a draft, there is a “serious need” to slash emissions from transport.
“Just look at Spain, it showed the danger of climate change,” Cllr Chu told Newstalk Breakfast.
“It’s a long established principle that the polluter should pay.
“We’re providing huge investment in public transport - so, the alternatives are there.
“Public transport is more efficient, moving more people with less waste and less pollution.”
A train leaving MacBride station in Drogheda. Image: Anze Furlan / Alamy Stock PhotoCllr Chu admitted tackling transport emissions will require “sacrifice” from some but said her party remains determined to show “political leadership” on the issue.
“Some people might go, ‘We can’t do this because it’s a political loss’ or ‘people will frown upon it,’” she said.
“What we need to look at is political leadership here.
“When we talk about what makes political sense, no one can deny what happened in Spain this week was not only a tragedy but something that we could all prevent going into the future if we can.
“Those tragedies and events are going to continue to get worse if we don’t try and make sure that we are polluting less.”
In its 2021 Climate Action Plan, the Government set itself an ambitious target of one million electric vehicles on Irish roads by the end of the decade.
However, sales of new EVs have slumped after the Government cut the subsidy for new vehicles from €5,000 to €3,000.
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Main image: An exhaust cloud from a car. Picture by: Alamy.com
