Tánaiste: Ireland should be empathetic towards vulnerable island nations 

Tánaiste Micheál Martin said Cop28 was 'a good opportunity to link up with those countries who are on the front line in respect of climate change'. Picture: Colin Keegan/ Collins 

Ireland should be empathetic towards some of the most vulnerable island nations in the world because similar climate change effects are heading our way, the Tánaiste has said.

Adaptation to the ravages of climate change must be as important as phasing out fossil fuels, Micheál Martin has said ahead of his arrival at the UN's Cop28 summit in Dubai.

The Foreign Affairs Minister said he would use his time at the global climate change summit to make progress on Ireland's Small Island Developing States (SIDS) strategy while in the United Arab Emirates.

The strategy, which was unveiled in 2019, is aimed at assisting 38 countries and 20 non-UN members in the Caribbean, Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans, and the South China Sea that have a vulnerable combined population of 65 million due to climate change and extreme weather events.

Mr Martin said Cop28 was "a good opportunity to link up with those countries who are on the front line in respect of climate change".

It is existential to them and Ireland has always taken a strong line in terms of supporting them. I made a pledge at Cop26 in Glasgow in 2021 that we would reach €225m per annum on climate finance which we are in line to do. 

"We had an extra €50m allocated this year to that area alone within our overall programme. We are on track to make that next year — in other words, we made a pledge two years ago and we are going to make it."

Climate finance refers to major nations paying a fairer share towards climate change bolstering in smaller nations, while loss and damage refers to the consequences of climate change that go beyond what people can adapt to.

The Tánaiste called for adaptation to be a focus at Cop28 as well as the phase-out of fossil fuels, which has dominated the discussions among nations and delegates in recent days.

Adaptation refers to taking action to adjust to the present and future impact of climate change.

Mr Martin said: "Adaptation in my view is an absolute priority. We in Ireland have to do that as well. We are already seeing significant flooding in what was good agricultural land. We have to protect food production systems in Ireland, Europe, and across the world."

While the language around phasing out fossil fuels is a vital part of Cop28, the "unstoppable momentum" of renewable energy should be a source of encouragement, Mr Martin said.

"Declarations [on fossil fuels] are important but what I am witnessing is an acceleration towards the renewable destination. That has been added to by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the decision of the EU to accelerate that process as well, and reduce the dependency on Russian oil and gas," he said.

"I was in China last month and it was interesting that the European Chamber of Commerce in Beijing was very clear that the renewable momentum is unstoppable in China, in the sense that it is manufacturing solar panels and wind energy infrastructure at an incredible rate, and will enable the world to transform to renewables."

More than 80 countries at Cop28 are pushing for agreement on the phase-out of fossil fuels, while major producers like Saudi Arabia are resistant.

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