(Podcast) Ireland’s Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources has claimed that some form of energy rationing system would be a “common sense approach” to the twin challenges of peak oil and transport carbon emissions.

Speaking on the sidelines of a conference held by the Association for the Study of Peak Oil in Cork, Eamon Ryan argued that it would be politically difficult to raise carbon taxes high enough to cut booming oil demand in Ireland, and confirmed that his government is investigating the possibility of introducing some kind of energy rationing scheme, perhaps starting with transport. Ryan, whose Green Party formed a coalition with Fianna Fail in July, is one of the first Western energy ministers to publicly acknowledge peak oil. In a lengthy interview with Lastoilshock.com, Ryan went on to discuss Ireland’s particular energy vulnerability, and plans to transform the country’s transport system.

Listen to the interview with Eamon Ryan