Stay up-to-date with Trócaire's work overseas, get news on key global social justice issues, and find out about our latest campaigns in Ireland and how you can get involved.
Climate finance announced in today’s Budget “doesn’t go far enough” to meet Ireland’s UNFCCC obligations
Trócaire has run the health services in the Gedo region of Somalia for over 30 years. Irish Aid funding has been crucial to the development of this programme. Photo: Miriam Donohoe.
Trócaire has welcomed the additional €60 million allocated in Official Development Assistance (ODA) in today’s Budget, but warned much higher increases are needed given the scale of humanitarian crises and for the Government to meet its commitment to spend 0.7% of Gross National Income on ODA by 2030.
Trócaire CEO, Caoimhe de Barra, said: “Investment in global humanitarian and development needs is vital given intensifying crises globally. Protracted conflict and violence, political instability, economic crises, along with climate impacts, mean that overseas aid is more critical than ever for millions of people living in poverty globally, particularly women who bear the brunt of these crises.”
Ms de Barra added that the climate finance announced in today’s Budget “doesn’t go far enough” to meet Ireland’s UNFCCC obligations.
“It is the world’s most marginalised people who are suffering the most due to the failure of global political leadership to act with urgency on the climate crisis and also due to decades of broken promises on overseas aid and international climate finance,” Ms de Barra said.
Ms de Barra called on the Government to urgently deliver on its commitment to provide €225 million per annum of international climate finance, at a minimum, with a view to rapidly increasing this allocation in the context of actual needs of developing countries and in line with Ireland’s fair share of climate finance. Latest figures show that €99.6 million was delivered in climate finance in 2021.
Ms de Barra said: “Given the rapid pace of climate breakdown, there is a real need to ensure that climate finance is additional to overseas aid and that there is full transparency. Otherwise, there is a risk of simply re-labelling existing aid as climate finance, rather than allocating additional funds.”
“We have seen the stark picture of climate breakdown this year, including the devastating drought in the Horn of Africa and Cyclone Freddy in Malawi. This requires additional commitments on loss and damage finance for Global South countries.”
“Along with a new global goal for climate finance need in the near future, the existing climate finance commitment by Ireland will need to dramatically increase in coming years – this is part of Ireland’s agreed obligation as a richer country that has disproportionately contributed to global excess emissions.”
