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LAST UPDATE | 2 Dec 2023
THE TAOISEACH HAS announced that Ireland will contribute €25 million to a new Loss and Damage Fund born out of COP28 – though the money will come from finance already allocated to climate aid.
The adoption of the fund was one of the first decisions to come out of the COP, which began yesterday, and follows months of deliberations about where the money would come from and who it would go to.
Countries agreed to set up the fund on the opening day of the conference to enable developed nations to make contributions that will help more vulnerable countries to deal with the impacts of the climate crisis that they are already suffering.
The Irish government has already pledged to contribute €225 million to international climate finance each year.
Addressing other leaders at the conference today while delivering Ireland’s national statement, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said: “There is a profound responsibility on our shoulders. Never before have the alarm bells been ringing so loudly. We must rise to this challenge.”
He said countries “must do everything in our power to make the transition just, protecting the vulnerable and leaving nobody behind”.
We need to do a better job explaining the benefits: a liveable planet, cleaner air, new jobs and economic opportunities; a more secure world, with less conflict over resources, more reliable energy, fewer people on the move from homes that can no longer support them.
“Ireland is a wealthy country. Even so, we are struggling to make as much progress as needed. We are constantly looking at ways to improve.”
He said he is “conscious of the even greater challenges others face, particularly Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States” and that “the Loss and Damage fund must begin disbursing finance as soon as possible”.
“Ireland will double our climate finance to at least €225 million per year by 2025, and this year, we will spend close to €150 million.
“Today, I am announcing a contribution of €25 million to the new Loss and Damage Fund for 2024 and 2025. We will make further contributions thereafter.”
The Taoiseach has told Irish reporters at COP28 that the loss and damage pledge would be counted towards Ireland’s existing climate finance commitment.&
🚨Ireland’s pledge to #LossAndDamage fund:
— Lauren Boland (@laurenanna_1) December 2, 2023
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar announces that Ireland is pledging $25 million for 2024 and 2025 (of money already committed to international climate finance) to the fund at #COP28@thejournal_ie https://t.co/MUltT8yNqm pic.twitter.com/qN8KNb4c9q
Reacting to the contribution, Christian Aid Ireland’s Policy and Advocacy officer Ross Fitzpatrick said it was important that Ireland pledged to contribute fund but “extremely regrettable to see it come from existing climate finance commitments”, instead of being the “new and additional funding urgently needed by countries on the climate crisis frontline to help them recover and rebuild in the aftermath of climate disasters”.
He said Ireland must contribute much more over the coming years to help to ensure these countries are not left “picking up the tab for the unavoidable and irreversible impacts of a climate crisis not of their making” and that “Ireland and indeed all wealthy, historically high polluting countries, must now urgently provide detailed, timebound plans on how they will raise the revenue needed for the loss and damage fund”.
A report published by Christian Aid Ireland and Trócaire earlier this month estimated that Ireland’s fair share of contributions to loss and damage finance will be at least €1.5 billion per year by 2030.
Speaking about concerns at home, Varadkar said in his speech that “in mobilising our societies, we must recognise our people’s concerns and bring people with us – our farmers, our workers, our enterprises, our people”.
“With the cost-of-living and high energy prices, many worry about how much the transition will cost and what it will mean for their jobs and incomes and living standards,” he said.
“Those are legitimate concerns. We need to understand where people are coming from and offer reassurance. Change is difficult, but we must do everything in our power to make the transition just, protecting the vulnerable and leaving nobody behind.”
Many other countries have also come out with pledges to the loss and damage fund over the last three days.
The United Arab Emirates and Germany were the first with pledges of $100 million (€91.8 million) each, with Italy later promising the same.
The UK announced a contribution of $50.6 million (€46.5 million); the US came in at $17.5 million (€16 million) – attracting criticism for not reaching deeper into its pockets, given the scale of both its emissions and its economy; and Japan pledged $10 million (€9.2 million). Norway this morning pledged $25 million (€23 million).
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He is being paid for doing nothing with license payers money.
@Peter McCormack: hasn’t that always been the case!?
@Peter McCormack: he owes me and every license holder in the country €2.70. The price of an ice cream and I want my ice cream….
@Peter McCormack: I’m probably in the minority here but this story has been blown out of all proportion. They interrupted new shows today for live feed from the committee hearing. Yeah it’s a scandal and heads should roll but some of the commentary is over the top.
Check out Tubridy’s 1st cousins take on it, its hilarious
https://youtu.be/8VNIP4TtNIw
@Peter McCormack:
Look at the toy show ratings .. all that money for RTE
@Peter McCormack:, same can be said for Dail Eireann performers.
People should now not renew there television licence .
@Kevin: I’ll do it, are you all behind me?
@Jonny Spuds: Check out Tubridy’s 1st cousins take on it, its hilarious
https://youtu.be/8VNIP4TtNIw
@Kevin: Isn’t the TV Licence on the way out and being replaced by something else like a communication fee that every household will have to pay. If you have a tv/ipad/laptop/computer/iPhone etc etc. Once you have access to the Internet or streaming sites on any device that’s that. Bit like property tax and will probable fall on our friendly Revenue to collect.
Seems like contractors in RTÉ get all the benefits of permanency and none of the drawbacks
@Mick Duvanny: in summary, “we the plebs…”
The brass neck of that wagon Dee Forbes.
€305k annually between salary, car allowance and pension contributions yet she hasn’t the respect to face the music and answer questions at the PAC, who are acting on behalf of the taxpayer and licence fee payer.
Shame on her.
Think I’m going to quit my job tomorrow and expect to be paid after
@Michael: He didn’t quit, RTE have told him he can’t do his radio show until further notice, not his fault or issue.
@WiseUp: he is a self-employed contractor. He isn’t doing any work at the moment, why should he continue getting paid?
@Monika B K: It looks like a case of bogus self employment for purely tax purposes
@Michael: Check out Tubridy’s 1st cousins take on it, its hilarious
https://youtu.be/8VNIP4TtNIw
@Monika B K: Would come down to the terms of the contract ultimately.
@Monika B K: Contract
A true story, a few years ago I worked for a well known Thai food chain and had to deliver a meal out to Turbridy. He was staying in Milltown so probably Aoibhinn’s gaff at the time. The bill came to €9.80 and he gave me a tenner, then told me to keep the change. I was fuming, thinking, this miserable c… is on €10K a week and tips me with 20c. I posted the change in his letterbox and drove off.
@Abdul Abhaile: Excellent
And the generous license fee payer just keeps on giving.
It seems the board of RTE love their job title but don’t have a clue how run a business, contracts, invoices, cash payments. The 3 monkey’s come to mind, hear no evil, see no evil speak no evil, just bury it and hopefully the auditors won’t notice.
RTE……Ryan Tubridy’s Euros.
@Abdul Abhaile:
Pat Kenny lost his show because he helped SF IRA attack sean gallagher
now tubs is in trouble . LOL
Great country
Funny …is that in his lapsed contract?
Whole organisation should be disbanded
Now is the time to ask why people like Duffy, O’Callaghan, Byrne etc are being paid huge disproportionate wages by RTÉ .€70K would be more than enough , some might argue too much. Their earnings for part time work all exceed €250K . That is in addition to their other earnings from appearances etc which I’m sure is not pittance.
Blah, blah, blah, He should not be receiving any wages from them, that is feckin ridiculous, would you or I receive a wage from our boss when we no longer have a contract with them while waiting for new employment.. I don’t think so
His brother is my neurologist and I can categorically say my neuro does not get paid that salary.
It gets better and better .Definetly a movie in thrre now.Could be blockbuster.
He could get up to 1m goodbye money, Dee as well!
@Toby:
Eamon Dunphy was hilarious last night on tv3 he looked so bitter
Drop his new contract offer to 20k a year.
WHAT????? That man should be dismissed immediately!
@Richard Starling: what exactly did he do wrong? As an employer, what grounds would you have to sack him?
Bet he gets paid for the remainder of his full contract and it will be kept under wraps!
You couldn’t make this stuff up!
Koukliahills is that you Ryan or his agent. As for everybody loving Ryan last month really. As for talented broadcasting is talking via a microphone. Most people can broadcast. His contract has ended so he should not be paid since the contract ended. It is simple.
@rory Mcgovern: no its not Ryan, its someone whos watching a nation behave like a pack of sheep of which you are one! Nobody seems to have had an issue with him for the last 14 years and if they did, they certainly didnt call for his cancellation. Ireland is full of mob types who only feel safe when baying in large groups.
Hes not the problem, RTE is!
And furthermore why dont you pop down to RTE and see if you can replace him, seeing as you’re such a talented individual or at the very least go and stand outside RTE with a banner repeating what your saying here instead of being “A Hurler from the ditch”
Tip of iceberg me thinks,jayzus you’d be morto ” did you see dem documents “
You just could not write this stuff. Unbelievable
@Joanne Stokes:
SF/IRA asking any one else to own up .. that is hilarious .
Look everyone is upset he shouldn’t be paid his ridiculous fees but that was his contract …..but a salary cap needs to be introduced now – if people are unhappy leave or run ur contract down then leave there will be people to step in
RTE is a cosy cartel where the in-crowd cut sweetheart deals for themselves at the expense of the license-paying public. If RT wasn’t part of that set he’d be stacking shelves in Tesco.
@Tony Murphy:
Cartel : an association of manufacturers or suppliers with the purpose of maintaining prices at a high level and restricting competition.
How bad can this go? But they won’t crawl their way out of this one, As for Tubs, just get rid, too much money, bleeding RTE.
@Áine G:
it was in Lillie’s where i often saw you Ryan
you never saw me with cocaine though
i never **SAW** you with cocaine because you’re very clever Ryan
you were sayin Eamon ..
Are you changing the subject Ryan ?
Fair dues to him, ye’d all do it.
MOB rule. Begrudgery at full pelt. Blame the paymaster and their incompetence. Incredible to watch this unfold. #shame. This is a decent human whom we all loved last month. Everyone needs to relax and point thier hate somewhere else. Its not illigal to be talented , or is this now another thing? At what point will the MOB stop?
@Koukliahills: you call what he does as talent.. please.. If it wasn’t for the script writers he would be clueless as he is useless
@Maire Morrison: an exact example of MOB rule. Sure we will give you his schedule and see how you go ??
@Koukliahills: people voicing their annoyance and disgust at our national broadcaster over the shady goings on is not something I would class as mob rule, however if Mr Tubridy was the victim of an assault that got out of control with people screaming and shouting at him(something I do not or would not condone) over this scandal then that would be to me “mob rule”.
have your say