Trevor Sargent
Question:127 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the quantifiable measures, if any, he has to comply with Chapter 33 of Agenda 21 as agreed at the Earth Summit. [14481/97]
Written Answers - Earth Summit.
Among the objectives set out in Chapter 33 of Agenda 21, the blueprint for international action for sustainable development agreed at the Earth Summit in 1992, is the provision to developing countries of substantial new and additional financial resources for sustainable development and implementation of Agenda 21. In particular, this involved a reaffirment by developed countries of their commitment to reach the accepted United Nation target of 0.7 per cent of GNP for overseas development assistance (ODA).
Ireland has adopted a range of measures to honour this undertaking and, specifically, the Government is committed to making steady progress towards the UN target figure. Since the Earth Summit, Irish overseas development assistance (ODA) has increased from £40 million — 0.16 per cent of GNP — in 1992 to £122 million — a projected 0.3 per cent of GNP — in 1997, giving Ireland the fastest growng aid programme of any donor country.
New and additional resources have been provided under the Irish aid programme for expenditure on key conservation and development sectors identified in Agenda 21. Chapter 33 also urged that the new and additional financial resources be provided on grant and concessional terms. All of Irish aid funding is provided on a grant basis.
Chapter 33 also called for bilateral assistance programmes to be strengthened in order to promote sustainable development. The principles of Agenda 21 have been fully integrated into the Irish aid programme. It is a fundamental principle of Irish aid that sustainable development demands that adequate attention be paid to environmental issues. Accordingly, systematic attention is given to environmental questions at all project stages, including project identification, appraisal, implementation, review and evaluation.
In addition to the Irish aid programme, Ireland also contributes to a series of multilateral agencies and funding mechanisms concerned with the promotion of sustainable development. Since the Earth Summit, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) has been restructured in line with Chapter 33. Ireland has become a party to the GEF since 1992 and is committed to conributing a total of £1.64 million over the 1996-8 GEF funding cycle, of which £825,000 has been paid to date, in fulfilment of our obligations under the UN Biodiversity and Climate Change Conventions.
Since the Earth Summit, Ireland has also increased its annual contribution to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) from £60,000 in 1992 to £100,000 in 1997. Over the same period, our annual contribution to the multilateral fund under the Montreal Protocol, which assists developing countries in phasing out ozone depleting substances, has increased from £94,000 to £260,000. Voluntary contributions of more modest sums have also been made to the UN trust funds for the Climate Change Convention, the Desertification Convention, Small Island Developing States, and the Commission on Sustainable Development.
Ireland is a participant in European Union programmes to assist developing countries in the field of sustainable development and in the provision of funding for Agenda 21 related activities. The EU has strongly argued at international level for efforts to deal with global environmental problems and to promote sustainable development. It allocates considerable resources to environmental programmes in developing countries under Lomé IV. Its aid programmes are environmentally assessed in order to ensure that they make a positive contribution to environmental protection and sustainable development.
The World Bank, of which Ireland is a contributing member, has taken increasing account of environmental considerations since the Earth Summit and of the need to promote sustainable development. In addition, the bank in association with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has launched a debt relief initiative for highly indebted poor developing countries, the HIPC Initiative, which responds to the call in Chapter 33 of Agenda 21 for durable solutions to the debt problem of developing countries in the interests of their sustainable development.