Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Loss and damage is a key priority of Ireland's climate diplomacy. For the last year, Ireland has been working on the transitional committee for loss and damage to develop strong recommendations on the new funding arrangements. Ireland is committed to delivering a strong outcome on loss and damage at COP28, including the operationalisation of new funding arrangements for assisting vulnerable developing countries to respond to the impacts of climate change. The scale of finance needs for loss and damage is huge and we need contributions from all government parties that are in a position to contribute, as well as the private sector and philanthropies. It is a key priority for Ireland that innovative approaches such as capturing revenue from fossil fuel intensive activities be fully explored. It is envisioned within the transitional committee that grants will be an important component of the new fund and debt sustainability must be a key consideration given the difficult situation of many developing countries in terms of their debt profile in the context of climate disasters. Ireland’s main priority in this process is to deliver for the most vulnerable countries, recognising that countries that have contributed the least to global emissions are often the countries most affected by the impacts of climate change.

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