Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 2 October 2013
68. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will outline the proportion of Irish Aid which is directed towards efforts to combat climate change, the effects of which are likely to be more intense in the developing world; and the projects operated or supported by Irish Aid. [41096/13]
View answerIn 2012, over € 33 million of Irish Aid programme funding was directed to actions to address the impact of climate change on developing countries. The Government's new policy for international development, ‘One World, One Future’ , recognises that the majority of the world’s poor are directly reliant on the environment for their survival. We aim to meet our commitments to reducing hunger and poverty by putting the issue of climate change at the heart of our programmes. Reducing the impact of climate change is intrinsically linked to development and our ability to tackle global hunger. We have prioritised reducing global hunger and climate change in our new policy .
Irish Aid supports programmes to adapt agricultural nutritious food production to changing climatic conditions to assure long-term sustainability of food for poor farmer households. Several programmes support the development of integrated farming systems and food crop diversification to maintain a nutritious diet for rural families. Climate adaptation is key to improving the production of sufficient nutritious food and fuel for poor households while sustaining the fertility of the land and maintaining the natural and water resources.
In our key partner countries, Ireland supports sustainable resource management, agricultural research into climate-smart agriculture and conservation agriculture to protect soil fertility and the livelihoods of smallholder farmers and pastoralists. Irish Aid prioritises promoting sustainable development and programmes include funding for social protection schemes, income diversification projects, and projects that promote empowerment of local residents in urban areas on the issues of saving energy, reducing waste and water use.
Irish Aid supports the promotion of solar light and water pumping systems in Ethiopia and energy efficient cookstoves programmes in both Malawi and Ethiopia. We also support a number of countries to increase the accuracy and use of long-term weather forecasts in agricultural planning, and to reduce the impact of disasters on local communities.
