Global climate change is the primary environmental challenge of this century.
Evidence points to human activity as the primary casual factor of global warming. Climate change results in extreme weather events, such as floods, droughts, and heat waves.
Extreme weather events have already caused social, economic and environmental problems across the world, at a very high cost. It is a global problem requiring a global solution.
The European Union is taking the lead in this regard with the adoption of climate changes strategies, including the Kyoto Protocol, aimed at reducing the level of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Under the Kyoto Protocol, the EU has agreed to reduce its GHG emissions by an overall 8%. Ireland's target in the EU "burden sharing" agreement is to limit increases to 13% above 1990 levels by 2008-2012.
Figures for Ireland's Greenhouse Gas Emissions were formally submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency in March 2006 to the relevant international authorities.
The Environmental Protection Agency has compiled Ireland's Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission estimates for 2005 and submitted these figures to the European Commission.
