Minister O'Brien announces €15.2 million funding for Irish climate finance partners at COP30 in Belém

Ireland strengthens global climate leadership with major pledges to adaptation, transparency, and sustainable finance

Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment Darragh O'Brien has announced €15.2 million in climate finance for Irish climate finance partners, while attending COP30, in Belém, Brazil.

€10 million has been pledged to the Adaptation Fund for 2026. This represents an increase of over 60% in funding from Ireland to the Adaptation Fund, compared with Ireland’s 2025 contribution. The Adaptation Fund, the only multilateral climate fund dedicated to adaptation, plays a crucial role in supporting developing countries to build resilience and readiness for the effects of our changing climate, focusing on locally led adaptation – a key priority for Ireland climate finance.

€2.5 million has been pledged to the NDC Partnership for 2025. The NDC Partnership is a global coalition – aimed at supporting countries in achieving their climate goals under the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This contribution represents a recommitment by Ireland to the NDC Partnership as a donor country. With new NDCs due to be submitted in 2025, the NDC Partnership has been working with over 100 developing countries to prepare their NDCs, giving them the support they need to plan for their green transitions.

€1.5 million has also been pledged to the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) for 2025. The CCAC works with developing countries to combat Short Lived Climate Pollutants (SLCPs), such as methane, hydrofluorocarbons and black carbon. Addressing SLCPS is one of the fastest, most economical avenues for reducing overall emissions in the near term.

€1.2 million has been pledged to the Initiative for Climate Action Transparency, ICAT, for 2025. Transparency and reporting are a core pillar of the Paris Agreement. ICAT supports developing countries to build the transparency frameworks needed to take effective climate action.

On making the announcements, Minister O'Brien said:

Minister O'Brien is attending COP30 in Belém as head of Ireland's delegation, where he is also serving as one of the EU's lead negotiators on adaptation. Adaptation has been highlighted by the COP30 Presidency as a key deliverable, placing Ireland at the centre of crucial negotiations.

In one of his first engagements in Brazil, Minister O'Brien met with Marcos Neto, UN Assistant Secretary General and Director of the UN Development Programme's Bureau of Policy and Programme Support. Ireland will host a new UNDP Project Office in Dublin, dedicated to advancing sustainable finance – mobilising the capital that will power a fair, inclusive, and global green transition. Supported by €7.5 million in Irish Government funding over three years, the initiative showcases Ireland's global leadership in mobilising and deploying sustainable capital to drive climate action, particularly in support of developing economies and the most vulnerable.

ENDS

At COP26 in Glasgow in November 2021, the Taoiseach announced Ireland's commitment to more than double its funding for developing countries to tackle climate change by 2025, increasing the government's annual commitment to climate finance to €225 million. In July 2022 Ireland published its International Climate Finance Roadmap which illustrates Ireland’s plans for scaling up its international climate financing to meet this target through public sources of finance.

Adaptation Fund

The Adaptation Fund is the only climate fund under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) specifically established to finance climate adaptation projects in developing countries. It provides funding exclusively through grants which is a key ask of developing countries and aligns.

The Adaptation Fund responds to a key ask from developing countries to enhance efficiency and access to climate finance. The fund supports country driven adaptation and resilience programmes and promotes institutional and technical capacity building in order to scale results. It has a strong focus on supporting developing countries to access funding through direct access modalities and at the board meeting in April 2025, the Fund more than doubled the funding allocated to locally led adaptation.

CCAC (Climate and Clean Air Coalition)

The CCAC (Climate and Clean Air Coalition) supports developing countries to meet their air quality, climate and development objectives, focusing on cutting short-lived pollutants (SLCPs), including methane, nitrogen and black carbon. SLCPs are considered the "low-hanging fruit" of climate action, with removals being relatively cost-effective and having large emission reduction impacts.

The CCAC's work encompasses both the roll-out of country programmes and the provision of national experts to developing countries for capacity building.

ICAT (Initiative for Climate Action Transparency)

The ICAT (Initiative for Climate Action Transparency) is an organisation aimed at improving transparency in climate action efforts, specifically focusing on the measurement, reporting, and verification of climate-related actions. ICAT provides tools and resources to help countries and other entities better track and assess the impacts of their climate policies, strategies, and actions. The initiative helps countries align their reporting with global climate frameworks, such as the Paris Agreement, to ensure they meet their national targets for reducing emissions.

Since its creation in 2015, ICAT has mobilised over USD 80 million in funding to date to support climate action transparency initiatives, with current funding partners being Austria, Canada, Germany, Italy, and the Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF).

NDC Partnership

The NDC Partnership is a global coalition that aims to support countries in their efforts to implement their NDCs under the Paris Agreement on climate change. The partnership helps countries translate their climate pledges into actionable plans, with a focus on both reducing emissions and adapting to climate impacts. It supports countries in building the necessary technical, financial, and institutional capacities to develop and implement their NDCs effectively. The NDC Partnership is housed under UNOPS.

The NDC Partnership is co-chaired by the governments of Brazil and Denmark and guided by a Steering Committee comprised of developed and developing nations and international institutions.