Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We meet at a critical moment. This year alone, we have witnessed record temperatures, wildfires, calamitous floods, and prolonged droughts across the world. Populations are on the move because, before our eyes, parts of our world are becoming less amenable to human habitation. On every continent of the planet, our people are living with the reality of climate change.

I am particularly concerned about the plight of the least developed countries. These countries are not only experiencing the overlapping impacts of Covid-19 and the devastating consequences for food supply of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, they are also bearing the brunt of the climate change that is unfolding.

In Sharm el-Sheikh, I heard at first hand from the Prime Minister of Pakistan of the devastation caused by the floods in his country. More than one third of Pakistan and over 30 million of its people have been affected. Crops have been destroyed. Vital infrastructure was damaged beyond repair. People had the sum of their lifetime's efforts simply swept away. In Africa, people are living through some of the most extreme effects of the climate crisis. This year more than 20 million people in the drought-hit Horn of Africa are mired in a severe hunger crisis.

We in Ireland do not sit in splendid isolation on this. Last month was the warmest October Europe has experienced singe records began, with temperatures 2°C above a 1991-2020 reference period, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service. According to the World Meteorological Organization, temperatures in Europe have increased at more than twice the global average in the past 30 years; the highest of any continent in the world. As the warming trend continues, it expects exceptional heat, wildfires, devastating floods and other impacts to wreak a worsening toll on our societies, economies and ecosystems. It was against this serious backdrop that I attended the recent World Leaders' Summit at COP27.

What we are increasingly seeing around the world are not natural disasters; they are the consequences and the impact of human activity. The people who are too frequently bearing the brunt are those least equipped to deal with it. The challenge is profound and demands our attention now but as I said at COP27, it is not yet too late to ensure a liveable planet. Indeed, that can and must be our legacy to future generations. The latest report of the UN environment programme clearly outlined the scale of the task that we share and the urgency with which we must act. The report tells us that the commitments into which countries have currently entered do not provide a credible pathway to holding temperature increases to close to 1.5°C. In fact, unless we do more collectively , the most recent data indicates that the world is on track for a temperature rise of between 2.4°C and 2.6°C by the end of this century. That is why I said at COP27 that, as leaders, it is our responsibility to drive the transformation that is necessary.

At COP27, I also set out how we in Ireland are playing our part. As the House is aware, we have set a legally binding target of reducing our emissions by 2030 to 51% below 2018 levels and to becoming a climate-neutral economy by 2050. In July of this year, we fixed limits on greenhouse gas emissions for each sector of the economy from now until 2030, to ensure we remain within legally binding carbon budgets that are consistent with our targets. The work of achieving those targets will be, as we have been clear, challenging, our work has only started, but the sectoral emissions ceilings provide an essential framework to guide our efforts. No sector is or can be unaffected by the transition we all need to make.

The climate action plan 2023, which will be published shortly, will set out the ranges of emissions reductions for each sector of the economy and the actions needed to deliver on our domestic climate targets. If we are to achieve our goals, the period ahead will have to be one of delivery, with all shoulders to the wheel.

We are also working in close partnership with our EU colleagues. The launch of the European Green Deal in December 2019 brought a new impetus to climate policy and action. The European climate law sets a binding target of a climate-neutral EU by 2050 and a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared with 1990. The associated Fit for 55 package aims to strengthen Europe's position as a global climate leader. Ireland supports its increased ambition and favours its quick adoption.

Putin's weaponisation of energy in his war on Ukraine has only underscored the need to transition away from dependence on fossil fuels as swiftly as we can. This swift transition is essential if we are to make the radical transformation needed to tackle the climate and biodiversity crises, make our economies and democracies more resilient, our industries more competitive and our societies fairer.

As already stated, the impacts of climate change are not being felt evenly around the world. Countries that contributed least to climate change are dealing with its worst effects and will need support if they are to cope, or in some cases, to survive. I therefore welcomed the focus on loss and damage at COP27 and welcome agreement on the establishment of a fund. At the summit, I made it clear that Ireland stands with the communities and people who are fighting the devastating effects of climate change in their daily lives and that we are committed to playing our part.

In July, the Government published our international climate finance roadmap, which reaffirms Ireland's steadfast commitment to supporting people and communities in developing countries that are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. We have committed to increase our funding to €225 million per annum by 2025. The roadmap builds on the priority Ireland has long attached to supporting adaptation and climate resilience, while expanding our work with vulnerable coastal communities and small island developing states that are increasingly threatened by climate change.

While at the summit, I met the Prime Minister of Vanuatu, one of the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world. I heard directly from him about the existential nature of the challenge his country, which is made up of 83 small islands strung out over 1,300 km in the Pacific, faces. The country is living through more tropical storms of increasing ferocity and this is having devastating impacts on its economy and people. Indeed, the country is rated the most vulnerable to natural disaster by the UN. At the heart of our climate finance roadmap is a commitment to climate justice and to solidarity. We cannot simply leave the people of places like Vanuatu to fend for themselves.

At COP27, I also attended a round-table event hosted by the German Chancellor, Mr. Olaf Scholz, and the President of Ghana, Mr. Nana Akufo-Addo. At this event, I announced that Ireland will contribute €10 million to the Global Shield initiative for 2023 to protect the most vulnerable from climate loss and damage. This initiative is sponsored by the G7 and the V20 group of vulnerable countries and is aimed at scaling up the finance needed to protect against climate risks in poor countries. Given the impact of climate change on global food security, I also highlighted Ireland's commitment of over €800 million to support nutrition over the next five years and more than €100 million in response to the devastating drought and food security crisis in countries in the Horn of Africa.

I pay tribute to the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, for his tireless efforts in securing agreement on a loss and damage fund at the COP. I acknowledge the work of the official Irish delegation and its dedication and commitment.

The outcome of the summit offers hope to the vulnerable, whose land, water sources and livelihoods are being eroded every day because of the impacts of climate change. They can begin to look forward to targeted and strengthened support and protection from the global community. Although the overall agreement reached at COP27 does not go far enough on the issue of mitigation, the commitment of the conference to "keep 1.5 alive" is important and welcome.

As Deputies will be aware, the leaders' summit is only a part of the wider work that is carried out at meetings of COP. The work of civic society at these meetings is vital in keeping pressure on governments around the world to step up and deliver. I very much welcomed the opportunity to meet Irish representatives at the COP, including Irish youth climate advocates, representatives of humanitarian NGOs and international delegates supported by Irish Aid, academics and students from UCC and UCD, and representatives from second level schools.

The message from COP27 is clear: there is no time left to waste. No nation, big or small, developed or underdeveloped, wealthy or poor, can escape the consequences of climate change, which is happening now. The situation could not be more urgent, but it is important to stress also that it is not hopeless. We have it within our power to turn things around, limit the rise in global temperatures and mitigate the worst impacts of change that is already under way. The most recent UN report shows we are bending the curve of emissions downwards even if we are not yet doing so fast enough.

As I said in my address to the COP, this generation holds a special responsibility, but it remains realistic for our legacy to be a sustainable planet, a world alive with an abundance of plant and animal life, with cleaner water and healthier air, liveable cities and sustainable rural communities. We in Ireland must show the world that we are resolute in our commitment to bringing it about.

See this speech in context