Irish Ministers are due to arrive in the Brazilian city of Belém, on the edge of the Amazon rainforest, for this year’s UN climate conference.
Over the weekend, thousands of delegates arrived and over 100 will be represented today.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin attended last week’s COP30 Leader’s Summit and bemoaned that a number of key countries had failed to send representation.
This week, some 60 Irish delegates will attend, as will Climate Minister Darragh O’Brien and Junior Minister Neale Richmond.
“This morning, there will be some sort of opening ceremony and then discussions will start straight away,” reporter Jessica Woodlock explained from Belém to Newstalk Breakfast.
“Countries’ delegates will be outlining their priorities and we’re likely to hear another big push from Brazil about the need to protect the Amazon Rainforest.
“The other key issues that will begin to be discussed are around [climate] adaptation, mitigation and the need for action on loss and damage measures.”
An Taoiseach at COP30. Picture by: RollingNews.ie. Climate finance is also another key issue, with the developing world keen for wealthy, industrialised countries to for pay for the damage their carbon emissions have caused.
“That’s an area that is a big focus, not only for the EU but Ireland especially,” Jess added.
“Things kick off here at 9.30 local time, which is 12.30 in Ireland; then it’s go time for these countries.
“They have just two weeks to come to a consensus on how to fight global warming and how they’re really going to implement some real change to make Belém a turning point.”
A dead zebra following a drought in the Namib Desert, Namibia. Picture by: Alamy.com. The United Nations has warned that the earth is hurtling towards catastrophic climate change and delegates must agree to do more to slash carbon emissions.
Secretary General António Guterres said it is apparent that the planet has missed the target of capping global temperature rises at 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
This is, he added, not just a “moral failure” but also “deadly negligence”.
“Science now tells us that a temporary overshoot beyond the 1.5 limit – starting at the latest in the early 2030s – is inevitable,” he told delegates.
“We need a paradigm shift to limit this overshoot’s magnitude and duration and quickly drive it down.
“Even a temporary overshoot will have dramatic consequences.
“It could push ecosystems past irreversible tipping points, expose billions to unlivable conditions and amplify threats to peace and security.
“Every fraction of a degree means more hunger, displacement and loss – especially for those least responsible.”
Main image: Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaks during a roundtable with leaders of tropical forest countries at the the COP30 U.N. Climate Summit in Belém, Brazil. Picture by: AP Photo/Fernando Llano.
