UN | Business Post

New climate loss and damage fund ‘not perfect’ but a start, says Eamon Ryan

Newly agreed text that sets out the parameters for how the fund may be administered will be fully negotiated at COP28

Lucinda Creighton: UN leader Guterres should stand down, and western leaders must support Israel

Israel has the right to defend itself against genocide and Israel’s allies should help it do that, while also offering refuge to Palestinians in Gaza

Micheál Martin: Israel’s response to Hamas attacks must follow international law

Tánaiste warns Israeli military instructing north Gaza population to move south ‘deeply dangerous'

‘Progress on Sustainable Development Goals stalled even before pandemic’ - Taoiseach

Leo Varadkar told world leaders only 15 per cent of goals relating to climate, gender and poverty have been met as target’s half-way mark nears

Climate & Environment

Paris Agreement architect describes COP as summit as ‘circus’

Christiana Figueres says the upcoming climate conference is not needed and could be done remotely

Coalition leaders confirm move to axe army ‘triple-lock’

Government party leaders believe mechanism where the deployment of Irish troops requires a government decision, a Dáil vote and a UN resolution is ‘no longer sustainable’ in current format

India passes China as world’s most populous nation, UN says

India’s population surpassed 1.4286 billion, slightly higher than China’s 1.4257 billion people, according to mid-2023 estimates

Climate & Environment

IPCC: Humanity’s chance to avoid worst effects of climate change is rapidly fading

The UN body says urgent action is needed to cut global emissions, which are still rising, almost in half by 2030

Comment: Ireland’s tolerance of tax loopholes causes serious harm to poor countries

Nobel Prize-winning economists have said the country’s opposition to reforming the international system is ‘a success for Ireland, a loss for the rest of the world’

Climate & Environment

‘Risk of bad outcome’ at COP 27, Eamon Ryan warns

The Minister for Environment also said fossil fuel, aviation and shipping companies should have to contribute money to new loss and damage funds.

Climate & Environment

COP 27: ‘Africa is the least responsible for global warming but bears the worst impacts’

COP 27, taking place this year in Sharm El Sheikh, will focus on aid for developing countries to mitigate the harms caused by high-emitting rich nations, but it also needs to hammer home the message that climate pledges mean nothing if action is not taken

Climate & Environment

Governments need to be more ambitious to address global warming issues, says expert

IPCC member Peter Thorne points to ‘major gap’ between between emissions reductions needed and governments’ pledges

Business Post's View

Editorial: The world must unite to condemn China’s human rights abuses

A UN report has exposed the abuse of Uyghur Muslim people in Chinese detention centres in terrible detail – and the international community, from world leaders to businesses, must do all in its power to force China’s hand

UN criticises Ireland over insufficient anti-corruption measures, PSC data retention

The human rights body late last month issued concluding observations on its fifth periodic review of Ireland’s compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

Government warns windfall tax on energy sector could rebound on consumers

Many European states are imposing such a tax after UN secretary-general censured fossil fuel giants for reaping ‘immoral’ profits during the energy crisis

Threat of global food crisis recedes as grain ships leave Ukrainian ports

The vessels are the first to depart the ports on the Black Sea in months, following Russia’s deal with Ukraine last month to allow safe passage to grain shipments

Russia agrees initial deal with the UN to allow Ukraine grain exports resume

Representatives from Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, the US, the EU and the United Nations have agreed a basic deal to allow grain shipments resume from Black Sea ports

Against the grain: How Russia’s war in Ukraine is threatening the world’s food supply

Already a humanitarian disaster on the ground, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is now looking increasingly likely to trigger a global food shortage over the coming months, with supply chains broken and potential shipping routes for grain cut off. With no end to the conflict in sight, the implications for numerous countries are potentially devastating

A United force: Behind the scenes with Ireland at the UN

Since landing a seat on the United Nations Security Council in June 2020, Ireland has played a low-profile but crucial role in shaping global detente, with permanent representative Geraldine Byrne Nason finding herself back in the place where her diplomatic career began in the 1980s. In an age of conflict and uncertainty, she prides Ireland on having what she calls ‘an independent voice’ in the crucible of world affairs

Russia dooms Ireland’s bid to have climate change integrated into the work of the United Nations Security Council

Some 113 of the 193 countries with UN membership supported the resolution, while 12 of the 15 members of the council supported it, with India voting no, and China abstaining