'Time to plan seriously' - State facing fines of up to €20bn for missing carbon targets

The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council has warned that the State could face fines of up to €20 billion if its carbon emission targets are not met by 2030.

The Climate Change Advisory Council has previously estimated that the cost (of failing to meet targets) would be around €8billion assuming the State follows through on targets.

However, speaking this Thursday morning, Seamus Coffey, Chair of the IFAC, said that figure has the potential to be much higher.

Commenting following the publication of the latest IFAC report, he said the State is over-reliant on corporation tax receipts "that will eventually catch up on you."

In relation to tax receipts, he noted that only a small number of companies are responsible for between 30% and 40% of those revenues and they are all American. This is a problem, he says, because it is income "that is not under our direct control."

Mr Coffey has called for a more medium to long-term approach when it comes to the position of the economy and calls for a steady plan for the future.

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Speaking on Morning Ireland on RTE Radio 1, he explained that if a country fails to meet its EU (climate) targets, you must buy credits from other EU countries which could rack up fines of close to €20 billion for the State. 

"We don't know the demands for these credits," he explained  as other countries are also likely to fail in their efforts to reach their carbon targets.