Greece, speech writing competition, Ttrip, winners

Inspirational trip to Greece for Speech Writing Competition winners

November 28, 2019

The Speech Writing Competition winners of 2019, Clodagh Boyce and Kirsten Soney – Ituen, traveled to Greece with their teachers and shared their experience with us:

Kristen and Clodagh visiting ActionAid Hellas as winners of the National Speech Writing Competition 2019 in Dublin.

Kirsten Soney – Ituen:
Upon arrival at the airport I could feel the excitement coursing through my veins, anticipating on the 4 hour flight what would be one of the most captivating experiences of my life.
The first day was fairly relaxed, we checked into our Hotel and went to dinner. The hotel we were staying in was perfectly located in the heart of the city, equipped with a wonderful view of the Parthenon.
We spent most of our second day, in the Actionaid Hellas office, where we learned about all the fantastic work they do to help those who need assistance, both on the shores of Greece and in developing countries all over the world. Each member left a trail of inspiration behind them as they spoke of their mission to assist in every way possible. Personally, the highlight of that day was visiting a restaurant which only employed former homeless people over the age of 50. The fact that those left forgotten, were actually still being considered was enough to propel me to do the same.
Our third day in this majestic city was spent sight-seeing. We went to the top of Lycabettus Hill and were blessed with a spectacular bird’s eye view of the picturesque city of Athens. We then delved head first into the captivating history of this ancient city when visiting the acropolis museum.
By the fourth and final day the 5 of us had cracked the complex code of the metro system, going as far as to call ourselves locals. We had also picked up a word or two of the intricate language (efcharistó). Without doubt we were all dragging our feet as we bade the city and the most eye opening experience of our lives farewell. Thanks to ActionAid for the work they do and for this marvelous opportunity.

Clodagh Boyce:
Winning the action aid speech competition in Ireland was one of the best things that has ever happened as it led me to Athens, Greece!
My trip consisted of learning a lot about the different projects and initiatives set up in Greece by ActionAid, to help others in need. Listening to all the work the people in the Greek office are doing has inspired me greatly and I wish to follow these people’s example in the future.
The trip also consisted of really good food! Dinner at the Shedia restaurant would have to be my favourite part of the trip, because we had the opportunity to learn and see first hand all the great work, the preparations and then getting a taste too!
The Acropolis museum was also spectacular and we had great fun navigating the metro.

Protestors at COP 28 in Dubai. Photo: Konrad Skotnicki.

Belfast Climate Change March, 2019. Photo: Trócaire.

The Profit Driving the Crisis

Despite their overwhelming contribution to global emissions, fossil fuel companies continue to attract significant financial backing—driven by their enduring profitability. This is starkly illustrated by the case of ExxonMobil, the top fossil fuel investment held by asset managers based in Ireland. In 2023, ExxonMobil reported €33.63 billion ($36 billion) in profit. That is almost twice the GDP of Botswana (€18.1 billion) and nearly three times Namibia’s GDP (€11.5 billion).

Ireland plays a hugely disproportionate role in facilitating investments into fossil fuel companies like ExxonMobil. In 2023, the investments made into fossil fuel companies by investment managers based in Ireland generated an estimated 72.5 million tons of CO2e. This is more than the CO2e emissions for the entire country of Ireland—and more than ten times that generated by Sierra Leone.

The Global Human Impact

The climate crisis is here, now, and it is causing disproportionate harm in the Global South. In Bangladesh, rising sea levels and increasingly severe cyclones are displacing coastal communities, with projections indicating that 17% of the entire country could be underwater by 2050. The legally binding Paris Agreement on climate change explicitly acknowledges the importance of tackling private finance. Its three overarching goals are: keeping below 1.5C of warming; increasing adaptation and making finance flows consistent with low emissions and resilience.

This gives a clear mandate for action: both tax reform and corporate regulation are needed to tackle financial flows, and both nationally in Ireland and at EU level, ‘polluter pays’ taxes are lacking and regulation of the financial sector remains weak and fragmented. While EU regulation exists, it is designed more to nudge investors toward more sustainable investment practices by increasing transparency and reporting levels than to enforce strict standards. And it is moving in the wrong direction: the recently passed EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive excluded investments; and now the EU Commission’s Omnibus legislative proposal threatens to undo the limited gains made on climate plans, as well as blocking future attempts for stronger action at national level.

The Risk of Inaction

Fossil fuel investment is too profitable to remain weakly regulated. If Ireland continues with its current strategy of encouraging FDI at all costs, and relying on weak EU regulation, we are headed for catastrophe. The Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change has repeatedly warned that every fraction of a degree beyond 1.5°C brings irreversible consequences: collapsed ice sheets, vanishing coral reefs, and extreme weather events that will make vast regions of the planet uninhabitable. And yet, companies are developing oil and gas fields that could push global warming beyond 2°C.

Our research found that 91% of the investments made into fossil fuel companies by investment managers based in Ireland were to companies that have plans for fossil fuel expansion like these. Ireland cannot afford inaction on this issue.

About This Research

The figures in this report regarding investment from Ireland are based on new research commissioned by ActionAid Ireland and Trócaire. In the paper, we uncover the scale of fossil fuel investment through Ireland, who the investors are, and in which fossil fuel companies they are investing. We analyse the current regulatory framework and explain why it is inadequate—and moving in the wrong direction. And we make specific recommendations for change, which are summarised below.

Summary of Recommendations

Regulate the private financial sector
Ireland must end its outsized role as an enabler of destructive fossil fuel investment. Ireland should introduce a strong gender-responsive national human rights and environmental due diligence framework which includes the regulation of investors with respect to human rights and the environment and climate. The transposition of the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive could achieve this if downstream activities are included and the Omnibus proposal is rejected. Ireland should prohibit investments in fossil fuel expansion and require investors to implement climate transition plans consistent with a 1.5°C climate limit.

Endorse the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty
Ireland should endorse developing a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty to curb fossil fuel expansion and commit to a fair and funded phase out of fossil fuels.

Support tax justice
Ireland should support bold and fair new global tax rules through the UN Framework Convention on Tax, should adopt all OECD BEPS measures, and should conduct an updated and comprehensive spillover analysis of its tax policy. Ireland should take coordinated action globally, at the EU level and domestically to introduce a range of new taxes to mobilise finance needed for climate justice, based on ‘polluter pays’ and social equity principles such as wealth taxes for the highest earners, climate damages tax on investors, fossil fuel production taxes and levies on aviation and shipping.

Finance a just transition
Ireland must also meet its fair share climate finance obligations under Article 9.1 of the Paris Agreement, and pay our ecological debt to the Global South. Ireland should support conditionality-free debt cancellation for countries on the front lines of the climate crisis, commit to a new UN Framework Convention on Sovereign Debt, moving debt negotiations from the IMF to the UN, and to a debt workout mechanism that is fully representative and fair.

Inspirational trip to Greece for Speech Writing Competition winners

The Speech Writing Competition winners of 2019, Clodagh Boyce and Kirsten Soney – Ituen, traveled to Greece with their teachers and shared their experience with us:

The Profit Driving the Crisis

The Global Human Impact

The Risk of Inaction

About This Research

Summary of Recommendations

Further reading

Your Support in Action

The Reality of Occupation in the West Bank

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