It is not always the case that diplomacy is carried out by the foreign ministries and prime minsters office.
We caught up with Mr Ryan on the 22nd floor of a glass tower that looked out on the nearby Empire State building - Manhattan providing a suitably big picture backdrop for the projects he outlined. And then there is the problem of paying for the big switch - the change over to renewable energy sources.
"So what we need to do is get innovative sources of financing to help change that, and see the benefit from that when Africa starts to have its own access to energy." The study, by the IEA and the African Development Bank, found the cost of capital for utility-scale clean energy projects in Africa is at least two to three times higher than in advanced economies.
Getting Africa back on track towards meeting development goals requires a doubling of spending on clean energy projects by the end of this decade, it says. Gesturing to the towers outside, Minister Ryan said"New York and Wall Street is changing because they all realise that they won't be in business in ten years time if they're not part of the solution.
"A tax of 1% on aviation fares would deliver €8 billion a year. And that would go a long way towards giving a reliable, predictable income for us to address some of the worst problems, to provide climate finance where it's needed most," says Mr Ryan.He also says fossil fuel companies should be levied.
"That's the sort of negotiations I've been involved in. How do we do that? How do we phase down fossil fuels while we phase up the more secure, cleaner, more reliable, renewable alternative." But the UN's definitions classify China - the worlds second biggest economy - as a developing country. Which means it does not have to pay as much for the loss and damage funds ."They are the second most responsible for emissions in the world, even in historical terms going back to the industrial revolution."
This sudden dominance in key technologies has alarmed both the EU and the US, both of which are moving to"de-risk" their trade relationships with - and dependencies on - China. "That actually creates markets for us all, to create jobs, and to be able to sell to each other. It creates a more sustainable supply chain, you're not just relying on one location for things to come from."
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Source: IrishTimes - 🏆 3. / 98 Read more »