Loss and Damage is a core priority for Ireland’s work on climate change, where Ireland has taken an active role in both the negotiations and in the Transitional Committee, established to set up the fund.
Ireland recognises that many vulnerable countries are acutely at risk to the impacts of climate change and that often it is the countries that have contributed least to global emissions that are bearing the brunt of these impacts. In line with our broader position on climate finance, Ireland seeks to prioritise particularly vulnerable countries, in the development of funding arrangements for Loss and Damage. Often these countries and communities struggle to access finance from other climate funds. Ireland advocates for the fund to be designed in a manner which enables the most vulnerable countries to access finance when it is needed.
Sources of funding for loss and damage is also a key issue for Ireland. The existing financial mechanisms are falling short of what is needed to address loss and damage. These existing mechanisms should be built on and strengthened, not only by leveraging finance to increase finance flows, but also by bringing different organisations together to ensure that there is coherence across the spectrum of loss and damage response.
The scale of finance is a big gap in the current loss and damage landscape and all possible avenues for finance need to be explored, including by inviting contributions from new donors, and encouraging contributions from the private sector and philanthropic donors. Opportunities within the reform of the multilateral development banks to increase climate finance, in a manner that supports people and communities in the most vulnerable developing countries, should also be explored.
Ireland also recognises the urgency of action on loss and damage and believes that a solution must be designed that will be operational as soon as possible, recognising the urgent need to scale up support to those who have not contributed to global emissions, but are bearing the brunt of climate change impacts.
