Mr. Michael Gaffey:

In advance of the COP, there was some scepticism that it would be possible to reach any agreement on this. Loss and damage is a big priority for Ireland. Consider what loss and damage is: it is necessary when adaptation has not worked. In climate justice terms, it is also clear what it is. It is countries that have suffered irreparable damage and we then have to work with them to withstand the impacts of climate change in the future. In our work on loss and damage, we have focused on the most vulnerable countries. It has been a controversial issue in UN negotiations and it has been hard to progress it through climate diplomacy. This is why we were offered and accepted a seat at COP27, which we shared with Germany because there are only a certain number of seats for developed and less developed countries. At Sharm el-Sheikh it was agreed to spend the next year working out how a fund might be established. It was not widely expected that agreement would be reached on establishing the fund but it was. This was a major achievement in Dubai. Our main priority was to ensure that the newer fund would deliver for the most vulnerable countries. We proposed a minimum allocation floor for less developed countries and small island developing states within the fund. This was agreed.

The next two years are going to be spent establishing the fund and agreeing how it works. The Deputy will see the answers to his questions being developed over the next two years. The board has not been established yet and that is under way. Pledges have been made for this two-year period. Ireland pledged €25 million, the EU, UAE, the US and Japan have pledged just under €800 million in total. EU member states have pledged more than €400 million. That is not remotely the type of money that will be sufficient for loss and damage for less developed countries and small island developing states. The whole point now is to generate new forms of finance, not just from government but also from the private sector, through international financial institutions and through innovative ways of finance. This will all be negotiated and discussed. The Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, on behalf of the EU, put forward ideas on just how fossil fuel companies might be able to make a contribution. A lot of that is still being negotiated. We have the broad framework, the establishment of the fund, and how it will work. Through our participation we will ensure that it really does focus sharply on least developed countries and on small island developing states.