Stop Climate Chaos Coalition – Press Statement
Immediate release 11th December 2019

The Stop Climate Chaos coalition has today (December 11th) said that the Minister’s national statement at COP 25 this morning, was a missed opportunity to show that Ireland is ready to take leadership to avert climate breakdown. The Minister participated in the high level segment, where Heads of State and Government make national statements on increasing their targets.

Earlier this week, Stop Climate Chaos wrote to the Minister in advance urging the Government to align Ireland with other EU member states calling for an increase of the EU’s 2030 target to at least 55%, and for Ireland to urge the European Commission to advance a proposal to increase the EU NDC target (in line with the science and the EU’s fair share of the global effort) in the first 100 days in office.

Catherine Devitt, Head of Policy with the Stop Climate Chaos coalition commented,

“2020 marks the beginning of a decade in which global emissions must reduce by 55% before 2030 if the 1.5oC limit in the Paris Agreement is to remain at all feasible. We need bold political leadership now more so than ever, and this needs to be matched with bold commitments that will drive deep and sustained emissions reductions over the next decade. Therefore, it’s deeply disappointing to hear nothing new from Minister Bruton’s contribution at COP25.”

“Ramping up emissions cuts before 2030 is in line with the commitments made by Ireland at COP 21 in 2015, and a higher target will increase the chances of reaching global net zero emissions well before 2050. The longer we delay, the costlier and sharper the social and economic adjustment will be. It is disappointing that the Minister did not use the opportunity at COP 25 in front of the global community, to explicitly express Ireland’s support for a higher EU 2030 of at least 55%, and to put pressure on the Commission to urgently increase 2030 ambition in line with the science and the EU’s fair share of the global effort.”

“We very much welcome the Minister’s commitment to enshrine net zero by 2050 into law. 2020 will be a crucial year for the climate, as will be the next decade. If this Government is now serious about stepping up to the challenge, we need to see the new draft Climate Law before Cabinet before Christmas and the new law being passed without delay in 2020.”

In reaction to the Minister’s national statement in Madrid, Christian Aid’s Policy and Advocacy adviser, Jennifer Higgins, said,

“We need the enthusiasm in Minister Bruton’s speech to translate into concrete and ambitious climate action. We’ve learnt nothing new in terms of Ireland’s planned response to the climate crisis, and the existing climate action plan still places Ireland as a low performer on climate action in the EU.”

“Ireland needs to be doing far more than doubling our contribution to the Green Climate Fund if we are to fairly contribute to efforts to prevent catastrophic climate breakdown. Ireland’s overall annual climate finance contributions will need to increase six-fold if we are to meaningfully support developing countries, who on the frontline of the climate emergency, to cut their emissions and adapt to the worsening impacts of climate change.”

Later this month, Ireland is required to submit to the EU its national energy and climate plan for the coming decade. Stop Climate Chaos has called on the Government to use this opportunity to close Ireland’s glaring emissions gap, to drive sustained and deep emissions reductions, and pave the way for Ireland to move from laggard to leader at European level.

Ends