Written answers
Thursday, 24 March 2022
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Climate Change Policy
Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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159. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the position regarding a strategy to increase climate finance for developing countries under growing pressure from both climate crisis and conflict; the position regarding the development of a unit within his Department dedicated to working on Ireland’s response to the global climate crisis as committed to within the Programme for Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15473/22]
Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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The Programme for Government tasked the Department of Foreign Affairs with devising a strategy to scale up Ireland’s climate finance contributions. At COP26 in 2021, the Taoiseach announced that Ireland will more than double its international climate finance, reaching at least €225 million per year by 2025. The target represents a significant increase on current levels of climate finance, which totalled €93.6 million in 2019. Reaching the new target will assist in making significant progress towards the Programme for Government commitment to “at a minimum, double the overall percentage of our development assistance that counts as climate finance” by 2030.
Work on the Strategy is led by the Department of Foreign Affairs, working closely with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, the Department of Finance, and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and the Marine, along with other Government Departments. Consultation has also taken place with civil society. Work on the Strategy is well advanced, with a view to finalisation by Summer 2022.
The Strategy aims to provide a pathway to deliver on our targets, whilst ensuring that Ireland’s climate finance is effective and impactful in supporting developing countries to address climate change.
Following the commitment in the Programme for Government, a Climate Unit was established in the Department of Foreign Affairs in October 2020. This Unit is embedded in the Development Cooperation and Africa Division in the Department. There are currently nine officers working in the Unit.
The Climate Unit has built upon the climate work that was previously taking place across the Department, in particular the funding of climate action through the Irish Aid programme, and is significantly scaling up this work. More broadly, a key role of the Unit is to strengthen capacity across the Department, including at Embassy-level, for effective climate diplomacy and provision of climate finance. The Unit currently has three main areas of thematic focus. These are Adaptation and Resilience, including Loss and Damage; Climate and Security; and Oceans.
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