Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)

This is very rare, but I disagree with the Deputy. Climate finance is overseas development aid. It fits absolutely within international definitions as well as the rules and spirit of what overseas development aid is about. It is about protecting the most vulnerable. It is, as the Deputy said, bottom up. It is about building resilience. We are good at it in this country because we have a culture and tradition going right back to our missionaries in Africa and elsewhere. We have learned over decades how to actually work with, listen to, inspire and be inspired by local leadership. I appreciate the Deputy's kind words regarding my role in Baku as a ministerial pair. Just to explain, I will not be working for the EU in that context but for the UN process. I will be working with Costa Rica, which is a developing country. The job is to try to get agreement and understanding. The area we are working on is that of adaptation, which, for the developing poorest countries, is the most important aspect. Included in that is getting finance for adaptation and getting the characteristics that I just described stitched into the international agreement. That is what we will look to do, to improve on the lessons that we have learned as a country that is good on climate adaptation finance, and to spread the word.

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