Analysis

Greens forced to hit the brake on climate plans after political pushback

The flurry caused by last week’s proposal to decrease cars on our roads does not augur well for our climate targets

Transport has been given a target of reducing emissions by 50 per cent by 2030, but this is widely considered the most difficult of all targets

The political reaction to the suggestion that the government was to start devising a plan to reduce car use last week was very telling.

As first reported by this newspaper, Eamon Ryan, the Minister for Transport, had intended to bring a memo to cabinet on Tuesday which would have kick-started the formation of a strategy to cut the number of cars on Irish roads.

It was to be the first step towards formulating a suite ...