The Taoiseach Micheál Martin will attend the World Leaders Summit at the start of COP27 on Monday and Tuesday (November 7 and 8).

At the summit, the Taoiseach will lead the Irish delegation and will participate in a number of events and roundtables, including on food security and on the sustainability of vulnerable communities.

He will join the President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, and the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, for a working breakfast on ‘The Global Shield Against Climate Risks’, a new initiative sponsored by the G7 and the V20 group of vulnerable countries aimed at scaling up the finance needed to protect against climate risks in poor countries.

On Tuesday afternoon he will deliver Ireland’s National Statement, setting out Ireland’s climate ambition for the years ahead.

Speaking ahead of the summit, the Taoiseach said:

“Climate change is the single greatest challenge the world faces. Its effects are already being felt in more extreme weather events, and its consequences are fuelling conflict, global instability, competition for resources and abject human misery in some of the world’s poorest countries.

“Political leaders meeting at COP27 have a special responsibility to urgently drive the transformation needed to secure the sustainable future of our planet and its people.

“It is very clear that some of the countries that contributed least to climate change are bearing the worst brunt of its impacts.

“Many of these vulnerable countries lack the resources they need to deal with the challenges they face.

“I expect that climate finance will be a prominent issue in our discussions at the summit, and I hope that developed countries will step up, ensuring that commitments entered into at previous meetings are delivered.”

Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan added that the devastating effects of climate change are “clear to all”, with extreme weather events becoming ever more frequent across the world.

“We know we must act now to protect people and the planet, and it is vital that we act together,” he added.

“We have to move as hard and as fast as possible to reduce our emissions. Every kg of emissions saved matters at this stage.

“COP27 is an opportunity to work together to keep commitments already made on track and to make further progress on net-zero ambitions.

“Ireland is committed to reducing our emissions by 51% by 2030 and to reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, as set out in the Climate Action Plan 2021.

“This year’s successor to that plan which we will publish in December, will emphasise the need to speed up measures to decarbonise our economy and move towards renewables.

“The scale of change we need to make is beyond compare but I am optimistic that we can do it and that we will play our part in ensuring that we have a greener, healthier, more prosperous globe to pass on to our children and their children.”