All eyes are turning to Egypt as tens of thousands of delegates arrive for the first day of COP27, a major international climate conference led by the United Nations.
Negotiators will carve out climate commitments, world leaders will try to paint their country’s progress in the best possible light, and experts, NGOs and activists will be closely watching to see whether there is any meat to the bones of this COP.
Among them will be the Irish delegation, comprised of politicians, officials, and an assortment of experts and campaigners.
Some have already arrived at the conference, with more to attend at various points over the next two weeks.
It is anticipated that the official delegation will concentrate on problems including financial aid for developing nations, carbon reductions in line with the Paris Agreement aim of keeping global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, and loss and damage brought on by climate change.
Over the next two weeks, the Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Minister of State for Overseas Development Aid Colm Brophy, Minister for Environment and Climate Change Eamon Ryan, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney will all travel.
Along with representatives from the government's many ministries and agencies, university personnel and students, nonprofit organisations, and climate activists will also be attending.
Ireland’s office space earlier this morning at #COP27 - this is actually relatively a bit fancy, most countries’ seem to lead straight into meeting rooms pic.twitter.com/2XzQHRQv30
— Lauren Boland (@laurenanna_1) November 6, 2022
It is very clear that some of the countries that contributed least to climate change are bearing the worst brunt of its impacts.
A tentative list of speakers for the World Leaders' Summit, where heads of state and government meet for two days, indicates that the Taoiseach will present Ireland's national message to the gathering tomorrow afternoon.
In his speech at COP26 in Glasgow the previous year, he made the claim that "those of us in the developed world - those who, frankly, have contributed most to the challenges that confront us all - have an obligation to support those who are most acutely tested by their consequences."
Ireland recognises that responsibility, he said.
He will take part in a number of high-level seminars and roundtables on food security and the sustainability of vulnerable communities during his two days at the summit this year.
He will have many bilateral discussions with foreign leaders in addition to a working breakfast on financing for vulnerable countries with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo.
The Taoiseach said in a statement today that "climate change is the single greatest challenge the world faces" and that its consequences "are fueling conflict, global instability, competition for resources, and abject human misery in some of the world's poorest countries." He is scheduled to arrive tomorrow.
Political leaders here at COP27 have a specific duty to push forward the transformation required to ensure the long-term sustainability of our planet and its inhabitants, he said.
It is very clear that some of the countries that contributed least to climate change are bearing the worst brunt of its impacts.
"Many of these fragile nations do not have the resources necessary to address their problems.
"I anticipate that climate financing will be a key topic in our summit discussions, and I hope that developed countries would step up and ensure that pledges made at earlier gatherings are kept," said the speaker.
Simon Coveney and Colm Brophy, ministers in the Department of Foreign Affairs, will speak following the Taoiseach and are anticipated to focus in particular on matters relating to security and aid for weaker nations.
When visiting South Sudan and Kenya in the Horn of Africa in September, where there are severe food shortages, Minister Brophy declared that "this is a climate change-induced crisis and it is headed in the path of a famine."
The ability of entire communities to sustain themselves and maintain their way of life is being decimated.
Finally, Eamon Ryan, Ireland's climate minister and leader of the Green Party, will visit the conference during the second week to support Ireland's negotiation position with the EU and to advance Ireland's climate agenda.
It is anticipated that he will advocate for greater ambition in expediting the transition away from fossil fuels and requests for climate finance for vulnerable nations.
In a statement released today, Minister Ryan stated that "we know we must act immediately to safeguard people and the world, and it is crucial that we act together." He added that "the disastrous implications of climate change are evident to everybody."
"To cut our emissions, we must act swiftly and forcefully. At this point, every kilogramme of emissions saved counts.
The COP27 presents an opportunity to collaborate in order to uphold previously established commitments and advance goals toward net zero.
The Glasgow Pact, which was adopted at the 2016 summit but fell short of expectations on the high-profile topics of fossil fuel phaseout and climate finance, will constitute the foundation for many of the key discussions during COP27.
