As COP27 enters its final stretch, the Stop Climate Chaos coalition [1] of Irish NGOs is urging the Irish Government’s COP27 delegation to push harder to make sure the final text includes a phase-out of fossil fuels and the establishment of a Loss and Damage Finance Facility that is aligned with the demands of developing countries. 

Commenting from COP27 Siobhán Curran, Head of Policy and Advocacy with Trocaire, a member organisation of Stop Climate Chaos said:

"COP27  hangs in the balance and in the final hours we urge Ireland and the EU to deliver meaningful and substantive progress on a loss and damage finance facility, based on equity. Affected communities can no longer be left to pay the price"

Speaking from the COP27 negotiations Clare O’Connor, Energy Officer, Friends of the Earth, a member organisation cautioned that: 

"If COP27 fails to explicitly call on countries to phase-out production of fossil fuels, it will be a colossal political failure and a win for an industry that is killing between 3 and 5 million people annually from air pollution. Staying below 1.5C of warming requires an immediate and complete phase-out of oil, coal and gas worldwide - a “phase-down” is not enough. 

“If global temperatures go above 1.5C, we will see a collapse of the ecosystems that we all rely on for survival. We are already beginning to see this, with vulnerable communities in developing countries suffering disproportionately. Ireland must show leadership internationally to prevent fossil fuel expansion and join the growing number of voices endorsing a global Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty."

Ross Fitzpatrick Policy and Advocacy Officer with Christian Aid Ireland, a member organisation of the Stop Climate Chaos coalition said:

“If this COP is to deliver on climate justice then it must deliver meaningful progress on loss and damage. It is patently unjust that developing countries be left to foot the bill for the destruction and devastation flowing from a climate crisis not of their making. Rather than trying to obstruct progress or drive down ambition by seeking to cherry pick elements of proposals that they find acceptable, wealthy countries should listen to the vast majority of countries in the world and ensure that this COP delivers a political decision to establish a loss and damage finance facility that is equitable, transparent and accountable.”

Simon Murtagh of Oxfam Ireland, a member organisation of the Stop Climate Chaos coalition said:

 “COP 27 is taking place amid the reality of climate breakdown, the devastating loss and damage of millions of lives and livelihoods across the Horn of Africa and Pakistan.

 'The Ugandan Fridays for Future striker, Vanessa Nakate, spoke for all of us when she said: “What will make it an African COP is ensuring that there is an establishment of a Loss and Damage Finance Facility”.

 'To be effective, that Loss and Damage Finance Facility must deploy funding rapidly, coherently but also reform the international financial system. 

 'That means cancelling debt, changing decision-making structures and releasing billions of Euros in IMF ’Special Drawing Rights’ to transform the international climate agenda.

 ‘All of these options are available, our Environment Minister Eamon Ryan is deeply involved in them, and now is time for the rich world to deliver.”

Karol Balfe, CEO of ActionAid Ireland, a member organisation of Stop Climate Chaos said:

“At COP27 there’s been huge pressure on rich countries to agree to a financing facility on loss and damage, so that communities on the front lines of the climate crisis can rebuild and recover after disasters. With Ireland leading the EU negotiations on Loss and Damage, we have a real opportunity to demonstrate political courage and answer this essential call for climate justice. As the pace of climate disasters thicken, with enormous costs paid by the Global South - economically, socially, culturally. Now is the time for real action, we mustn’t let technical issues, or mis-guided insurance schemes, distract from this. The eyes of the majority world are watching.

Inaction on a loss and damage financing facility will have far-reaching and long-lasting consequences on women and girls in particular. Women are several times more likely to die from climate disasters than men, and the greater the gender and economic inequality, the greater the disparity. Some 80 per cent of people displaced by climate disasters are women. In the aftermath of climate crises, girls are more likely to be excluded from accessing basic education; women lose access to some of the best opportunities for decent work in the public sector; and girls and women bear a disproportionate share of the unpaid care and domestic work that rises when public services fail.”

ENDS

Notes

1. Stop Climate Chaos member organisations are as follows: Action Aid, Afri, An Taisce, BirdWatch Ireland, Christian Aid Ireland, Clare PPN, Climate and Health Alliance, Comhlámh, Community Work Ireland, Concern Worldwide, Cultivate, Cyclist.ie, Dublin Friends of the Earth, Eco Congregation Ireland, ECO UNESCO, Feasta, Friends of the Earth, Good Energies Alliance Ireland, Irish Doctors for the Environment, Irish Heart Foundation, Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice, Just Forests, National Women’s Council of Ireland, National Youth Council of Ireland, Oxfam Ireland, Trócaire, Union of Students in Ireland, and VOICE.