"Green" policies are destroying this country

Dafuq did you just claim there? Aren't they, and other like them told to stop that bullshit claim as it's, well, bullshit.

We should be thinking about it as a way of freeing ourselves from the tyranny of car ownership, instead of fighting for car rights

I'd love to be able to send my kids to school on a bus, hop on a bus to get into town, meet people, hop on a bus and come home. But my town doesn't have a public transport system. at all. And because everywhere is dominated by roads and cars, the footprint of the towns is much bigger than it needs to be. Everywhere having to have large car parks means the town sprawl makes walking or cycling an ordeal instead of a viable way of getting around.

People who have always lived with a car cannot imagine not having a car. Many people who have always lived in cities and taken public transport, can not imagine ever wanting to own a car, or where they do own a car, they have them for leisure, trips outside of the city, not for day to day transport.

We need to make active travel and public transport so good, that it is a pain in the ass to own a car compared to getting on the bus/train/tram/ebike whatever

You may want to read my post again.

I didn`t say Germany shut down coal for electricity. I said Germany shut down their three remaining nuclear plants which were providing 6% of their electricity and used coal to fill that gap. Even going back to strip mining for coal.

From your own post it is evident from the same 6% increase of coal from 24% to 30%.

Unlike here they have no problem nowadays with LNG or going back exploring for gas and I doubt they would disregard any oil deposits should they come upon them. Germany may talk a good game, but when there is any threat to their economy, game plans are not long going out the window.

So anybody that questions the green ideology on the basis of economics or expense to households due to uncosted plans are "anti environmentalists"? You really need to cut out the hyperbole and get a bit of sense.

In other words carbon taxes are avoidable if you can afford to avoid them, and I`m not that sure Airtricity is a 100% renewable electricity provider after we have seen how the Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland ruled on the claim by another "100% green energy supplier" where what qualifies for such a claim is legal under the CRU and the E.U. was far removed from the reality by the use of Guarantees of Origin Certificates.

So you posted that smart meter tariffs are extremely uncompetitive but not that they are a con. There really is a world of difference there all right🙄

Being apparently one of your "anti environmentalists" whatever that is supposed to mean, other than not cheerleading every proposal the greens come up with, it will surprise you to learn that I have no problem with the objective to "improve public transport, and reduce carbon emissions, and replace our fossil fuel infrastructure with renewables over time" . What I do have a problem with is this this green belief that somehow we should fund every green wet dream that the cannot even give costings for at breakeck speed and be the poster child that the rest of the world will look to and follow when the rest of the world could not give a tinkers damn. Especially where the most recent poster child country, Germany, who banked their transition on Putin`s gas, wasn`t slow in reversing course at the first sign of it threatening their economy.

The ASAI is a non-statutory non governmental advisory group like An Taisce or Social Justice Ireland. It doesn’t ‘rule’ on anything.

Costing a program that is going to take decades is just daft. I notice you still haven’t produced your alternative proposals (other than to wait for the EU to collapse perhaps).

it seems a lot like you are only in favour of protecting the environment ‘in principle’.

I was indeed. And the post was not a criticism of your valid points. I just jumped on yr bandwagon..😊

What company supplying electricity charge a carbon tax? That's news to me if any do.

Did ya figure out what continent you live on yet? 😂

The confusion is their's alone, dear boy.

Leaving aside their environmental policy, The Irish Green Party's social and economic policies are slightly left of centre-left.

But then you factor back in their climate and diversity policy and you find that the bottom line of those, is that it hits the pocket the most, of those least able to bear it.

So maybe they should clear up for the electorate which it is that they are, before its too late for them.

Basf is a huge company. Part of the german industrial heartland. I think they have moved 60% of their production outside the EU in the last 10-12 years, but i don't have the data at hand. The trouble is that those green policies simply lead to international operating companies leaving the EU. They might keep their head office in the country of origin if the taxation is favourable (or move to Ireland). Germany lives on exports. Disruption and uncertainty of supply chains are already damping development down. Put green policies on top and its an easy choice. It only works if every country cooperates. Half the world simply says no or does no even if countries signed up to the Paris Climate agreement like India.

So are you saying the ASAI were incorrect in their findings that adverts from Energia, SSE Airtricity and Flogas stating that they provide 100% green energy were misleading.

If you are, how do you explain that when we were producing 34% of electricity from renewables they were magically supplying 100% to their customers ?

We already have poor enough form when it comes to pricing state contracts without going down your road of using open cheque books.

It seems a few like you really do not care what it costs the taxpayer or consumer as long as they get their pet wish.

Attempting to explain anything to you is a bit of a fruitless exercise as you just ignore and go off on another tangent, but for what it`s worth.

On Germany strip mining check out Greta Thunberg detained in Lutzerath January 2023 and that environmentally friendly coal mine in Colombia know by locals as La Cerrejon.

German consumption of electricity dropped by 4% in 2022 and the last of their nuclear generating plants didn`t shut down until December 2022.

I`ll leave it to you to join the dots or altrnatively too believe that by increasing their use of coal by 25% they reduced their emissions