The Taoiseach Micheál Martin has addressed those present at climate summit COP27, saying that the Irish government has set legally binding emission reduction targets of 51% by 2030, and has committed to becoming climate-neutral by 2050.
Taking place in Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt, Martin told the conference that achieving these targets will be challenging, but that the burden of climate change globally is falling most heavily on those least responsible for "our predicament."
"Ireland has therefore published an International Climate Finance Roadmap, reaffirming our commitment to supporting the worlds’ most vulnerable people," he said.
"We are more than doubling our finance to at least €225m a year by 2025."
In the address, he announced Ireland would donate €10m to the Global Shield initiative for 2023. The initiative is aimed at scaling up finance needed to protect against climate risks in poor countries.
He said leaders "must lead" as citizens are becoming increasingly "cynical, weary and hopeless" in relation to the climate crisis.
"Last year’s UN projections showed emissions continuing to rise beyond 2030," he continued. "This year, however, analysis shows them no longer rising after that date.
"It is progress, but it is far from enough.
"When I spoke at COP26 last year I said I did not believe that it is too late; that the transition will be too costly; that it is inevitable that we will leave people behind.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in his address that investing in green infrastructure is morally the right thing to do.
"Climate and energy security go hand-in-hand," he said in his first international appearance since taking office.
"Putin's abhorrent war in Ukraine and rising energy prices across the world are not a reason to go slow on climate change. They are a reason to act faster," Mr Sunak said.
"We can bequeath our children a greener planet and a more prosperous future [...] There really is room for hope," he added.
Nations on the front line of climate change laid out the stark impacts of higher temperatures, drought, and floods on people and the environment.
"We are on a highway to climate hell with our foot on the accelerator," UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres told the summit.
His stark warning was echoed by former US vice-president and environmentalist Al Gore who said nations must "stop subsidising the culture of death" of fossil fuels.
