Mr. Simon Murtagh:

I might refer to the report on the cost of delay. The lead figure is that 189 million people every year, on average, are affected by extreme weather events. We have heard some of the statistics on deaths globally and it is important that the issue can be raised more in the face of these unimaginable figures.

Reference was made to keeping loss and damage on the agenda.

That aspect of three decades of injustice springs to mind. Ms Curran, Mr. O'Neill and I were in Glasgow last year. The eloquence of some of the speeches by spokespersons from the global south towards the end of the conference, and even in the final plenary session, was incredibly moving, as it was for officials there who mentioned that. Ms Wathti said that lasting damage will become the defining issue of this COP, but it was, in a sense, the position with COP26 as well. People from the global north were surprised by the push and the sense of justice that had come up in respect of the issue as it was expressed in Glasgow.

Our report, entitled The Cost of Delay: Why Finance to Address Loss and Damage Must be Agreed at COP27, documents the delaying tactics that are used by rich governments throughout the world to stem this call for justice, which is one for compensation and historical justice. It relies on a Cambridge University journal article, entitled "Discourses of Climate Delay", which shows the different tactics used. I think all we can do is to address those tactics and confront them at a policymaking level, and insist that Ireland takes a more active role through the committee. I do know if the other witnesses want to comment on the publicity-raising aspect of it.