Cop26 must be about action, not rhetoric, warns Micheál Martin as crucial climate summit begins

Taoiseach Micheal Martin told the Irish Examiner  that as big as the Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit crises are, climate change is even more pressing. Picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins

Climate change is “without question” the most serious challenge in our lifetime, an existential crisis if it is not tackled with action instead of rhetoric.

Those were the words of Taoiseach Micheál Martin as the United Nations Cop26 climate change event in Glasgow began, with world leaders descending on the Scottish city today.

Mr Martin told the Irish Examiner that as big as the Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit crises are, climate change is even more pressing.

The Taoiseach will be involved in roundtable discussions with his fellow government leaders in Glasgow today, before addressing the world on Tuesday along with other countries.

“It is once in a hundred years that you face a pandemic," Mr Martin said. "But I’m convinced that climate change is an existential crisis. 

"I worry for our younger generations, for children yet to be born, what kind of planet they will be born into if there are very severe weather events, such as droughts and floods.

“Climate change is the most serious challenge in our lifetime, without question. This affects the whole food production chain, and I link it with biodiversity."

The plus side of it is, if we meet it head-on, we can create a better life for people, safer and healthier.

“For example, if we took out all the fossil fuels from our cities, we’d have a remarkable urban environment in terms of health. 

"I think this can happen rapidly, there is nothing worse than going down Patrick Street in Cork and seeing a bus belch out diesel fumes. EV buses can be transformative,” he said.

Cop26 must be a seminal event in the fight against climate change, Mr Martin said.

Pilgrims march through Glasgow on Saturday to raise awareness of the climate crisis and demand a fair deal at COP26 for the Global South. 

“Fundamentally, it’s about translating rhetoric into action. That is what Cop26 has to be about. 

"I think the Paris Agreement was a very significant agreement. Then there was a setback when Donald Trump led the US out of Paris. 

"It was four years before the return to the Paris Accord by Joe Biden, and that gives Cop26 a very strong platform to increase momentum," the Taoiseach said. "The G20, this week, did something similar.

“There are still challenges, notwithstanding China and Russia. Nonetheless, it is expected that there will be commitments, they may fall short of what people want, but I think overall there will be a very positive momentum coming out of Cop26." It’s about momentum towards action — accelerating the phase-out of coal, for example.

Ireland will more than double its commitment to vulnerable countries to combat climate change, he said.

Some $100bn (€86bn) a year from 2020 was committed at Cop15 in 2009 to support developing countries to cut their carbon emissions and adapt their economies to deal with climate change.

However, that target has fallen well short in the intervening years.

Mr Martin said: “Climate finance is a significant area and we’ll be signalling on Tuesday that we’ll be upping our commitments in respect of that. 

"The Government has committed to a doubling of our global finance commitments by 2025, and we aim to go above that. 

"Our commitment is stronger as well because it’s very focused on adaptation, so those countries can benefit from climate finance."

It is not just rhetoric from us, it is a pledge that is provided for in subsequent budgets. 

"They are trying to get to $100bn and every country has to make its own contribution per capita. We’re about $20bn (€17.3bn) off that. 

"The US has upped its pledge at the UN Security Council and we are going to increase ours, to more than double our commitment over the next number of years.

“On climate finance, we were around €93m in 2019. We’ll be over €200m by 2025, for countries in need,” he said.