Green Party leader, Eamon Ryan, has accused the European Commission of delivering an unambitious and uncertain Climate and Energy plan for 2030. He said: "We now need a real debate on our own national energy plans. By proposing to switch to a 'bottom up approach', the Commission is putting the obligation back on the member states to show how we will meet the carbon reduction target. The choice we face is to go with the UK in relying on expensive nuclear power and fracking of shale gas, or else follow Germany and other countries by developing our renewable resources. More than anything, it is a choice between supporting big international energy companies or facilitating greater public ownership of new renewable power supplies."

Commenting on the news, Green Party MEP candidate for Ireland South, Grace O'Sullivan, said: "The announcement is a sad indictment of Europe's surrender to corporate interests and the fossil fuel lobby. Whereas Europe was once a leader in the fight against climate change, we are now handing that torch over to the Chinese and other Asian economic powers. The scaling back of investment in renewable technologies is going to hurt jobs and negatively impact our competitiveness. This move is short-sighted and simply delays the day when we have to make these changes anyway. If elected to the European Parliament, securing long-term, binding targets for both renewable electricity generation and emissions reductions would be one of my key goals. Our current representatives in Europe have failed us on this issue once again and the need for more Green MEPs is clearly apparent."

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Green Party Environment Spokesperson, Malcolm Noonan, said: "We enter this debate with the evidence that we are already willing as a country to play our part in the global response to climate change. We are confident that the decarbonisation of our power system represents a great economic opportunity for our country. The separate economic analysis presented today shows that in Ireland in particular, the development of renewables is helping to reduce energy price increases for domestic and business consumers. Our farming, transport and waste policies are also going to have to be re-evaluated. It is only when you consider the whole package of measures that you can come up with the best choice for immediate action. This debate must become a key issue in the upcoming European election campaign. The new Parliament will have a crucial role in either supporting or blocking our climate ambitions. Each political party is going to have to set out their own vision as to how we meet the 40% carbon reduction target, which represents a doubling of our existing commitments."

(CD/MH)