Irish transport minister Eamon Ryan has said the deal struck at the Cop28 climate conference to “transition away” from fossil fuels is “historic”.
Mr Ryan, who is Ireland’s Green Party leader and a lead EU negotiator on climate finance, said it is not “perfect”, but that if the package had not been delivered it “would have been a critically sad and difficult” day for the world.
He said a previous text, which he had called “unacceptable”, was not based on “meeting the science” and it changed throughout the day on Tuesday and overnight.
Language in the agreement was strengthened after widespread anger over a draft which suggested that countries “could” reduce fossil fuels but left too many holes for many nations to live with.
Mr Ryan told RTE Radio’s Morning Ireland programme: “It’s in our common interest because climate change is hitting and impacting every single country, including here in Dubai.
“It’s a low-lying place, highly at risk because of the heat excesses that are coming, and rising sea levels would threaten this country just as much as it would threaten our cities at home.
“So that’s why we were able to get agreement.”
Many countries, such as small island states which are severely threatened by rising seas, believe there are still too many loopholes in the agreement but expressed confidence that it will lead to stronger action in future.
Asked about countries that are still approving drilling licences and permits and how that is “transitioning away” from fossil fuels, Mr Ryan said: “It doesn’t, and we have to stop that.
“At the moment, the financial system prices or rewards those fossil industries just as much as it does renewables – that has to change, you have to make it more expensive to explore for new fossil fuels.
“It’s not that this one Cop was going to change everything, but it sets a clear direction, it sends a clear message particularly to the financial markets that they have to be part of this change.
“And the real question is what is energy security today?
“It is no longer how much oil do you have in your stores, it is how fast and how quick and how strong are you in switching to the renewable efficient alternatives.”
He added: “It is historic. You can argue about the transition away from or phasing out, they mean the same thing in my mind.
“You could argue one word or the other. Those wordings were sensitive for certain people, but the actual meaning and the intent is the same and it is based on science,” he said, speaking from Dubai.
“No-one got exactly what they wanted. It’s not the perfect text and there are ways we would do it better and differently. But by getting this agreement, it gives us the opportunity to take the next steps we need to make.
“By getting this agreement, what it says is, first of all, is the Paris Agreement is stronger today than it was yesterday. And it’s a signal to us at home, but also to every single country in the world – we know where we need to go to. It is this renewable, efficient future. We have to deliver it now and this agreement helps us do that.”