Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is attending the 28th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP28) in Expo City, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, starting today (Thursday, November 30).
The 2023 summit is one of the most important in years because it will see what progress has been made to meet the targets agreed in the 2015 Paris Agreement.
Over the next two weeks negotiations will take place on how to cut emissions, produce more renewable energy, and use climate finance to limit the impact of climate change.
The Taoiseach will hold several bilateral meetings with world leaders, which will focus mainly on climate change but the ongoing wars in Ukraine and the Middle East are likely to arise.
He will make a national statement on Saturday (December 2), setting out Ireland’s commitment to vulnerable countries experiencing the greatest impact of climate change.
COP28
The first ever global stocktake will conclude at the conference and will assess progress being made by countries and stakeholders to limit global warming to 1.5°.
COP28 will be framed around four goals – mitigation, adaptation, finance and collaboration. Whatever will be agreed, the Taoiseach said, will have consequences for the future of the planet and people.
There have been record-breaking temperatures and alarming severe weather events over the past year, including some in Ireland, with disastrous consequences for thousands of people, he said.
Speaking from Dubai, the Taoiseach said: “One of the most effective ways to help individuals is a better system of climate finance.
“Sadly, the countries suffering most from climate change often have the greatest difficulty getting access to the finance and resources they need to deal with it.”
The establishment of a global Loss and Damage Fund was agreed at COP27 in Egypt last year, making it the first United Nations (UN) fund dedicated to addressing climate-driven damage.
The Taoiseach said he looks forwards to making progress on the fund. He added that Ireland has committed to €225 million a year from 2025 to climate finance.
Climate change
Climate change is happening even faster than most people anticipated, the Taoiseach said adding that the international community must achieve the goals it has committed to.
“At a time when the world is divided in so many ways, the urgent need to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and bring down our emissions is one challenge that unites us all.
“We also need to scale up and prioritise adaptation. There are a lot of opportunities too, particularly for Ireland in renewable energy,” the Taoiseach said from Dubai.
In Ireland we have vast natural resources, which we can harness, making us energy independent and fuelling our economy with cheap, reliable, secure energy, he said.
Stressing that the most vulnerable must be protected, he said he is conscious that both the effects of climate change, and the actions needed to prevent it, do not affect people equally.