Ms Fati N'Zi-Hassane:

Thank you very much. Chairperson and members, I come before you today with a simple message: your inaction and apathy is killing us. The apathy of the rich world is killing us. Please let that sink in for a moment.

The number of African lives that were lost to hunger over the last two years is simply uncountable. Some say that lives are being lost at the alarming rate of one every 48 seconds. We know that roughly 27 million people are at crisis point in just four countries in east Africa. The region was still reeling from one of the most severe droughts in 40 years when heavy rains and floods hit Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and South Sudan, killing at least 130 people. In Somalia alone, 1.5 million people are affected by the floods, more than 456,000 people have been displaced and 53 were killed. This should not be a surprise.

Back in 2022, Oxfam was already raising the alarm for communities in South Sudan, where 8.3 million people are about to experience severe food insecurity following floods. We shared the stories of the many families who have been unable to feed themselves after their livestock died and livelihoods were destroyed. We know more than anyone how these numbers are already overwhelming yet we cannot account for all the victims of these disasters.

In Africa, we found ourselves helplessly confronting and navigating through cycles of increasingly frequent and intense climatic shocks, transitioning from one to another. What we know for certain is that these droughts and floods would not have been so intense and frequent in a world without climate change. No one could dare say that five failed rainy seasons followed by devastating floods and several years' worth of heavy rains are not the product of a climate crisis. Yes, there are other causes of the hunger crisis, such as conflict and inequalities, but these factors existed before the five failed rainy seasons. This is what the reality of life in east Africa looks like today. This is what global warming looks like as we speak for my people here in Africa. What will it look like when we reach the 2°C or 3.2°C mark? Where are we heading? We need urgent action now from everyone.

The regions most affected by climate change and the communities most impacted by climate disasters are also the smallest contributors to global warming. Climate mitigation cannot and will not be understood and properly addressed without climate justice measures.

Some members may think of COP28 as a conference far away without too much relevance to their daily lives. The most informed sceptics in the room may even see it as the last chance for the fossil fuel industry to clean up its act in some unlikely technological way. Let me emphasise that we do not have the luxury of thinking in abstract terms. To us, this conference is vital for both our present and future.

Oxfam will make the following recommendations to COP28. We must limit global warming to 1.5°C and to do so, we must phase out fossil fuels fairly and at a much faster rate. We must reach the $100 billion climate finance goal, taking into account the shortfalls of unmet commitments of recent years. We must establish a loss and damage fund that does not repeat the mistakes of the past and instead gives agency to affected communities.

At Oxfam in Africa, we bring additional expectations to COP28. We must recognise the bottom-up approach, emphasising the importance of empowering local leaders in climate negotiations. We call for empowering local communities and local knowledge to co-create solutions. We urge just levels of support and prioritisation of locally-led adaptation solutions to address the impacts of climate change and we emphasise the need for actionable measures and a collaborative, inclusive approach to ensure a sustainable future for all.

Oxfam in Africa asks Ireland, which has been an ally and long-term supporter in the fight against all forms of oppression, to do this at COP28. It should be a champion of a loss and damage fund and support us to make the fund fair, gender-responsive and grounded in human rights to reach people and ecosystems quickly.

Members have heard the phrase “Nothing about us without us”. We must make this a reality with the loss and damage fund. Ireland must help us enshrine locally-led delivery in the DNA of the loss and damage fund from the beginning. Through the global stocktake, it should make sure our food systems are balanced, resilient and fair both in production and consumption. This is vital in Africa, just as members know it is in Ireland.

Ireland should also be imaginative. The richest 1% are amassing two thirds of all global wealth and creating at least a quarter of all carbon emissions. Ireland's environment Minister, Mr. Ryan, has said:

This is wrong. This cannot go on. This has to change.

Will the committee help us tax the super-rich to stop them and, in doing so, take the necessary steps to gain a vital new source of climate finance? We know that Ireland was always one of the best partners in development aid. It does not provide loans but life-saving grants, and there are no ties to its aid. We urge Ireland to stand by these principles again, this time with regard to climate finance and the loss and damage fund.

All of these questions are highly political but Ireland is a powerful voice that the European Union, the United States and the world cannot ignore. Just last year, this committee played a vital role in establishing the loss and damage fund by pushing the Irish Government to advocate for it as lead EU negotiator at COP27. I ask it to please stand with us again at COP28 and to help us to make the loss and damage fund locally led, gender-responsive and grounded in human rights. I ask it to join us in co-creating the fairness of tomorrow. I thank the committee.