Press release
Minister Hackett at British Embassy event promoting Irish and UK collaboration on COP26 Agenda
From Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Published on
Last updated on
The Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine with special responsibility for Horticulture, Senator Pippa Hackett, today attended a COP26 Reception hosted by the British Ambassador to Ireland HMA Paul Johnston.
Under the theme, “Celebrating UK and Ireland Collaboration on Climate Action” the event highlighted the strong collaboration that already exists between Britain and Ireland in tackling shared common challenges and objectives. It also provided an opportunity to explore the pathway to net zero from an agricultural perspective and to look at how Ireland and the UK can work together in support of the COP26 goals.
Speaking at the event the Minister Hackett said:
“Climate Change and Biodiversity loss are the challenges of our lifetime and they will only be solved by countries working together in a collaborative way. Agriculture in Great Britain and Ireland faces many similar challenges, and we must work together, focusing on nature-based solutions to address these common challenges. “
The Event took place just days before the beginning of COP26 in Glasgow which Minister will attend. As such it represented an ideal time to highlight the shared ambitions of both governments as COP26 approaches. In his welcome remarks, Ambassador Johnston outlined the UK Presidency goals for COP26 and potential for further UK-Ireland collaboration on climate action. He also thanked partners in attendance.
Minister Hackett set out Ireland’s perspective ahead of COP26, and the Minister’s priorities for collaboration on her own portfolio of agriculture, land use and biodiversity:
“I was delighted to see that one of the UK themes for COP26 is around nature-based solutions. Clearly this is an area that I am very passionate about and one I believe we can work closely on. We need to find ways to produce food, working with nature instead of against it. We also need to find ways to better protect and enhance our soils, as they are the very foundation that our food system is based upon”
Note for Editors:
The UK will host the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow on 31 October – 12 November 2021. The COP26 summit will bring parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.