Ryan says proposal that profits from fossil fuel companies be diverted into clean energy investments is gaining traction

A proposal put forward by Ireland with EU support that much of the vast profits from fossil fuel companies be diverted into clean energy investments in developing countries is gaining early traction at Cop28, according to Minister for Climate Eamon Ryan.

If adopted at the UN climate talks in Dubai it would entail significant changes to the global financial system, he said. At its core was providing public support and helping to de-risk investment in renewable energy particularly in Africa, Latin America and in small island states, who are most impacted by the climate crisis, he said at a media briefing.

Mr Ryan said he would be spending coming days in meetings with energy and climate ministers in the EU and other countries pushing for “these clever climate financing solutions” to be adopted in the final text at Cop28. “I think we can and need to plan the phase down and out of fossil fuels and start with the finance system.”

On the controversy surrounding talks facilitator Sultan Ahmed Al-Jaber saying there was “no science” supporting the need to phase out fossil fuels, Mr Ryan underlined the Cop28 president had acknowledged that phase down and phase out of fossil fuels was inevitable. “I agree with him on that. And I think it’s how we plan it, how we organise it, how we deliver it quickly, and how we divert the financing to the alternative ... one of the measures that we’re pushing is that you divert investment from fossil into clean.”

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He said oil and gas companies had earned some $4 trillion in profits last year on the back of high prices. “The basic concept is that those companies start investing in clean tech, particularly in emerging developing countries and small island states. That’s where it’s needed. Those countries do not get the finance that’s needed to make the transition. This is a climate justice issue more than anything else. By providing public support to that investment, by reducing some of the risks, in currency and regulation, in [the power] grid and skills, that can make it work.”

It would be an obligation on fossil fuel companies, he said. “You have to make the switch and they do have to. We have to phase down and out. That’s one of the issues I’m pushing with our European colleagues and internationally. That’s the sort of initiative we want to get into the [final] text in response to the global stocktake [required under the Paris Agreement].”

Mr Ryan said he had attended a meeting of the International Energy Agency in Nairobi with Dr Al-Jaber and a number of African climate and energy ministers where it was clear that while they had a €4.5 billion fund to invest in clean energy they could not use it because of currency and regulatory risks.

A FutureEarth report issued by Earth at Cop28 has found that the world is so far off keeping global temperature rise within 1.5 degree that fossil fuel phase out combined with a 50 per cent cut in emissions every decade up to 2050 is now required combined with carbon capture and storage (CCS).

Mr Ryan said this indicated “a dramatic leap” was needed to ensure such emissions reductions. “What has happened this year is exceptional in climate. The temperature increase has gone off the dial. The extreme weather events are unprecedented right across the world. So we are in deep trouble; we need to act fast.”

He said people should to be assured there was a plan and it was doable. “But it’s not beyond our capability to respond to that with change which is better for society, better security wise, better economy. It’s not impossible.”

He accepted there was a need to be more specific in terms of exactly how much CCS technology would deployed and the financial implications of that. “It’s very expensive. So it’s the detail we need, rather than just yes or no.”

On the possibility of Ireland endorsing efforts to put in place a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty, he said he would be meeting during Cop28 with groups supporting such a move, including representatives of small island states, with whom Ireland had very close relations.

Ireland must support a complete phase out of all fossil fuels at Cop28 and become the first Western state to back the treaty, People Before Profit climate and environment spokesman Paul Murphy has said.

“Ireland was the second country in the world to declare a climate emergency in 2019 and banned new fossil fuel exploration in 2021. It should now be leading the way on ending fossil fuels. But at Cop28, the Taoiseach has only vaguely called for a ‘planned reduction in fossil fuel use’, and has supported controversial and unproven CCS technologies,” he added.

“Eamon Ryan says CCS shouldn’t be used as a ‘get out of jail free card’ by the fossil fuel industry but that’s exactly what CCS is. He has also announced plans to allow incineration and cement companies to use CCS in Ireland - we should be reducing and recycling waste and shifting to lower carbon construction methods instead,” he said.  

There was still time for the Government to reverse course and announce its clear support for ending fossil fuels. “It could join Colombia, a major fossil fuel producing country, and announce its support for the treaty,” Mr Murphy said.

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