Ireland and Europe are dealing with multiple threats to its trade, security and diplomatic pillars. The last few weeks have also seen a dismantling of the infrastructure and investment we depend on to tackle climate change and promote international development. The new US administration has withdrawn $40 billion (€38 billion) annually in international aid, pulled out of the Paris Agreement, signed off on expedited fossil fuel production and announced an intention to bring back plastic straws.
The return of plastic straws might sound trivial compared to “drill baby drill” and threatening the collapse of international development. But as well as being politically symbolic, the ultimate consequence will be economic sabotage. Just as tariffs, threatened and otherwise, signal a return to protectionism, plastic straws are a signal that the administration intends to go back to a “take, make, waste” economy. Business and political leaders with true vision know this is not sustainable on a planet that has breached six of its nine planetary boundaries.
[ Earth has been pushed past its safe limits for humans, scientists sayOpens in new window ]
The dismantling of international development architecture and climate change programmes not only jeopardises the security of every community on this planet – most immediately those in low- and middle-income countries – it is a disaster for the global economy.
U-turns on climate and development offer little benefit to the average American. There is even, if you want to talk in those terms, a strong business case for bolstering overseas development aid and climate action. Development aid is not merely altruism, it is influence. The rule of law is not only about human rights, it is about commercial certainty. Working to ensure that human habitats are hospitable and a place where people can continue to live and prosper is critical to maintain geopolitical stability. In a global economy, certainty, stability and prosperity go hand in hand.
‘I am at a loss as to how €5,200 goes missing’: PTSB customers say refunds disappeared without a trace
A Finn on Inis Mór: ‘In Finland you just ignore everyone you don’t know. Even people you know sometimes’
Is it true that women need more sleep each night than men?
Q&A: Do I need planning permission for my home energy upgrades?
In Strasbourg last week, the Council of Europe commissioner for human rights, Michael O’Flaherty, reported that 80 per cent of NGOs in eastern Europe and the western Balkans have been directly affected by the USAid freeze with some core projects, such as those protecting minority rights or supporting victims of war crimes, at risk of disappearing if alternative funding is not found soon. His call was for European states to redouble their efforts to maintain the safety net that protects the most vulnerable. In Kosovo, for example, USAid, the EU and UN have been providing technical and financial assistance to tackle corruption, strengthen rule of law and rebuild the economy since 1999.
USAid was funding climate-focused solutions – from simply providing a plastic shredding machine, enabling a one-man band to benefit from the market for plastics recycling – to a multimillion, multiannual project building capacity to develop climate policy and promote understanding of climate issues. The international community has invested billions in this region and it will pay dividends – Kosovo’s economy has grown steadily since independence, with a 50 per cent increase in income per person and a 35 per cent reduction in the poverty rate.
Our responsibility – to promote security and prosperity, and to assist those worst affected by climate breakdown – is also an opportunity for the EU and Ireland to step into the breach, widen our sphere of influence and ensure stability. While the US was the single biggest donor of overseas development aid, the EU as a bloc is the bigger donor. Increased defence budgets will undoubtedly put pressure on that investment. Unfortunately in terms of climate, while the EU’s slow moving but cohesive Green Deal has been driving positive change in member states for years, it has been a case of one step forward, one step back.
A step forward was the agreement reached on amendments to the Waste Framework Directive that will impose mandatory national targets for food waste reduction and introduces an extended producer responsibility obligation for textiles. The new Clean Industrial Deal and action plan for renewable energy policies were broadly welcomed as a means to deliver clean industry, tech and energy. But the step back was the European Commission publishing its Omnibus Proposal postponing and paring back by 80 per cent the number of companies who will need to report for the Corporate Social Responsibility Directive.
Ireland’s leadership on climate and international development is emphasised in the programme for government, which recommits us to both implementing the climate finance roadmap and continuing to work towards the UN target of 0.7 per cent of gross national income. Last month, we committed €105 million to the United Nation’s World Food Programme.
Doubling down – and not rowing back – on climate action can be Europe – and Ireland’s – USP, positioning us as ethical, responsible and influential partners.
As others turn their backs on climate and development, Europe and Ireland have a chance to lead, shaping a sustainable, certain and successful future. The consequences of not stepping up will be far more profound than missed commercial opportunities.
Angela Ruttledge is head of public engagement at FoodCloud and an Eisenhower fellow
