Press Release
November 3, 2021 • 2 min read
GOAL welcomes Tuesday’s commitment from Taoiseach Micheál Martin to increase investment in global climate finance contributions to €225 million by 2025. This represents more than double the current contribution of €93 million.
GOAL’s Deputy CEO, Mary Van Lieshout, said: “Given the financial uncertainty due to the economic impact of Covid-19, it is commendable that the Irish Government is committing to increase climate finance contributions, which will help vulnerable countries cope with the effects of the climate crisis.
She says: “Ireland has a rich history in contributing and has typically stepped up when it comes to international action. Furthermore, our seat on the United Nations Security Council is another indication of our global influence and is a great opportunity to grow our global contribution towards tackling climate change.”
Ms Van Lieshout said that while the increase in climate finance is a welcome step, Ireland can do more at COP26.
“We still need to see assurances that Ireland will ‘play it’s part’, as the Taoiseach said in his address at the COP26 Leader’s Summit. The conference will continue for almost two weeks, and while our call for increased climate finance has been answered, there is so much more that can be done to achieve meaningful climate action.”
GOAL has published a Climate Crisis Discussion Paper which makes a series of recommendations to the Irish Government and international community, to address the mounting challenge.
The Paper recommends that:
- Ireland reduces polluting emissions in accordance with Paris Agreement commitments.
- Ireland increases its annual climate finance contributions to help vulnerable countries cope with the effects of the climate crisis, and is additional to Official Development Assistance (ODA) funding, to ensure that resources for sustainable development and humanitarian action are not reduced.
- Ireland supports increasing action at EU level to ensure EU climate targets are increased to 65%, in accordance with the Paris Agreement commitments, by 2030.
- Governments use the Covid-19 recovery to take collective action for food systems that are more equitable, resilient, sustainable
- Ireland and all donors continue to protect the most marginalised and vulnerable girls and young women
The full Climate Discussion paper can be seen here:
https://www.goalglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/GOAL-Climatecrisis-briefingpaper2021-v2.pdf
