Mr. Niall McLoughlin:

As a country facing significant threats posed by climate change, Egypt, as incoming COP27 presidency, is emphasising that the focus of this conference must be on moving from planning to implementation and action. Its foreign minister and the president-designate of COP27, Sameh Shoukry, has pointed out that the African continent is the party most affected by the negative repercussions of climate change despite contributing least to emissions. Therefore, Egypt has emphasised that COP27 will be "an African COP" placing adaptation at the forefront, while recognising that a just transition remains a priority for developing countries worldwide. As we move closer to COP, loss and damage discussions are increasingly coming to the fore as developing countries set high expectations for progress on finance for loss and damage due to the adverse effects of climate change. Climate finance, in particular adaptation finance, will also be a priority, both in terms of developed countries catching up on the missed target of $100 billion by 2020, but also agreeing the implications and process to double adaptation finance by 2025 as well as commencing discussions to determine the post-2025 climate finance goal for the Paris Agreement.

Ireland looks forward to a comprehensive and balanced outcome from COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh. I will highlight a few of the priorities the Irish delegation will be focusing on in the negotiations. Climate-induced loss and damage is a key priority for Ireland's work on climate change. Parties urgently need to scale up and improve access to climate finance to avert, minimise and address the loss and damage currently facing communities in countries most vulnerable to climate change. Ireland will continue to engage constructively in the Glasgow dialogues on loss and damage and explore concrete solutions and frameworks to assist those in need. To avoid exacerbating existing inequalities and vulnerabilities, Ireland's financial support is overwhelmingly grant-based and emphasises sectors that are of most relevance to the poorest, such as agriculture and food security, energy and social protection. At COP26 we also committed to more than double our funding for developing countries to tackle climate change by 2025, rising from €93 million to €225 million over the next four years, which Ireland's recently published international climate finance roadmap sets out with clear, time-bound items to be delivered.

The "African COP", as the Egyptian presidency has described it, is taking place in the context of devastating droughts and failed rainy seasons. We recognise that such climate extremes are a threat to food production systems and water security, and that food production needs to be resilient and environmentally sustainable. Challenging discussions, particularly on loss and damage, are anticipated. Developing countries have made it clear they expect a finance facility for loss and damage to be established. In practical terms, there must be an agenda item on the issue at COP27 for this to happen. The EU position on loss and damage is evolving and we are centrally involved in this process.

In discussions to date, the EU has focused on strengthening and scaling up support, including financial support, for existing institutions and initiatives that assist vulnerable communities. Reservations remain about creating a new, potentially duplicate financing facility, given that some mechanisms already exist which partially fund loss and damage, such as the Green Climate Fund. The EU sees the Glasgow dialogue, which is under way, as a valuable space with relevant stakeholders to discuss and plan financing on this area further.

Ireland also recognises the negative impacts that short-lived climate pollutants, including methane, can have on the climate and air quality and ,in turn, acknowledges the threat posed to health, especially in urban areas. Ireland is committed to advancing work on short-lived climate pollutants, including through the Climate and Clean Air Coalition and our continued support of policy based on the best available science. We look forward to engaging with our EU colleagues in the second technical dialogue of the global stocktake, which brings all parties together to reflect on best practices and lessons learned in our implementation of the Paris Agreement, to strengthen our efforts.

Recognising that the voices of the most affected are those that should be amplified and receive greatest attention in such dialogues and beyond, we will continue to promote the participation of representatives of least developed countries and small island developing states, including through financial support to non-governmental organisations.

We are committed to the Paris Agreement as the primary multilateral mechanism to drive global climate action. Recent IPCC reports demonstrate that national efforts alone are not enough. International co-operation through strong institutions is essential.

Significant progress was made at COP26 in Glasgow last year, with the international community coming together at an unprecedented level. However, the geopolitical context has changed radically since then, with the war in Ukraine often knocking climate change down the agenda. The Russian Federation's unprovoked and unjustified military aggression against Ukraine has exacerbated the imperative for Europe to end its dependency on imported gas to heat homes and power industries. Ireland supports the Egyptian presidency in its view that the energy and food crises fuelled by the war in Ukraine are an unacceptable pretext for backsliding at this COP.

To address all these issues, we must rediscover the spirit, energy and hope from COP21, where 192 countries created the Paris Agreement, and bring that same unity of purpose to the table at Sharm el-Sheikh. The UN Secretary General, António Guterres, said we need "a coalition of the world" to tackle the challenges ahead. I would expand that by stressing the importance of civil society, youth, scientists and other non-party stakeholders in that coalition. Ireland, along with our EU colleagues, continues to make that point clear to the Egyptian presidency. We continue to advocate for COPs to be transparent and inclusive for all, in particular the active participation of women and young people in negotiations and the facilitation of civil society attendance and engagement.

It is clear we face many challenges in the coming weeks, but there is room for hope if all parties come together to develop and agree concrete, sustainable solutions. The Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications will work collaboratively with all parties in preparing for and framing the nature of the debate and will work as part of the EU team to bring countries together to agree a comprehensive, ambitious and balanced outcome taking forward co-ordinated climate action, remaining true to the Paris Agreement and keeping 1.5° alive.