Island has identified the Republic's massive expected spend on national infrastructure as a significant niche market and says there is an increasing need for expertise in contaminated waste treatment and recycling as more construction takes place in brownfield sites. Island also hopes to provide consultancy to businesses trying to comply with future 'green' legislation.

'GM CROPS SAFE', SAY ECONOMISTS TWO UN
Food and Agricultural Organisation economists have claimed that geneticallyenhanced crops are no more dangerous to people or the environment than conventional agriculture.

In an article for Scientific American, Terri Raney and Prabhu Pingali survey research on genetically-modi"ed crops by national food safety authorities and conclude that "no verifiable toxic or nutritionally deleterious effects resulting from the consumption of transgenic foods have been discovered anywhere in the world". They also find that no ecological changes have been observed in commercial fields where transgenic crops have been planted.

The argument is a direct challenge to environmentalists, who have long campaigned against genetic modification on the basis that the altered plants could spawn herbicide-resistant weeds and insecticide-resistant pests.

REFORESTATION BEATS BIOFUELS . . . RESEARCH
BRITISH researchers have suggested reforestation and habitat protection is more likely to curb carbon emissions than the EU target of ensuring 10% of petrol and diesel comes from renewable resources by 2020.

Writing in Science, they said forests could absorb up to nine times more CO2 than the production of biofuels on the same area of land.

The study, by Renton Righelato and Dominick Spracklen, has reignited debate in the scientific community on the long-term viability of biofuels as their estimates show a 10% substitution of fossil fuels would require 43% of America's croplands and 38% of Europe's.

"We cannot afford that, in terms of climate change, " said Righelato.