Mr. Ross Fitzpatrick:

I might comment briefly on the kind of obstacles mentioned regarding the quantum and the fact the EU and Ireland have avoided even mentioning any kind of number at this stage. Many developing nations and NGOs are advocating for at least €1 trillion in public climate finance. One of the major problems with the goal of €100 billion was that there was no discussion of a figure until the very last days of COP15, and then one was plucked out of the air.

I think the political calculus this time around, from certain developed countries, is that the same thing will happen, that there will be no discussion in the lead up to this COP. To note as well, there have been three years of preparatory negotiations on the NCQG to date. Developing countries have tried to discuss a quantum and developed nations have been resolute in their ambition to leave that to the final few days. There is a certain amount of cynicism and Ireland should avoid getting dragged into that.

On the importance of grant-based finance, it is worth noting that Ireland's track record here is really strong. We should use the fact that we provide most of our climate finance in the form of grants as a negotiating tactic and push for that. There are both moral and practical reasons we should provide grant-based finance. On the moral side, it is recognition that the responsibility for causing the climate crisis is a developed-country responsibility. From a practical perspective, it simply does not provide sense to provide climate finance in the form of loans which only add to the indebtedness of the recipient national or local governments and essentially hamper further climate action.

Another important point worth mentioning here is access to climate finance. For years it has been a persistent barrier for many of the local communities we work with in their efforts to fund measures to tackle climate change. At present, I think less than 3% of global climate finance goes to the least developed countries. For many, the issue is not so much the quantum or amount of money agreed in Baku, which is critically important, but ensuring that money is made readily available and can start flowing to where it is needed most quickly.

Ireland provides the majority of its bilateral climate finance to least developed countries. Again, there is a reason there for the Minister, Deputy Ryan, to consistently highlight this at COP29 and push for it. He mentioned in his presentation to this committee that Ireland can play a bridging role between the global north and south. There is a case for him to do that on a number of different issues, including the need for high-quality grant-based finance for subgoals for each of three strands of climate finance and for better access for local communities.