Government urged to end €31bn fossil fuel investments
Ireland's hidden involvement in the fossil fuel industry has been revealed, with more than €31bn in investment flowing through this country.
The Government has been called on to urgently regulate private finance and end fossil fuel investment expansion which campaigners say is wreaking havoc on the environment.
A report published today raises concerns about the country's role in fuelling climate impacts beyond its borders, revealing that the top financial institutions using Ireland for fossil fuel investments include BlackRock at €18.9bn; State Street at €4.4bn, and €2.1bn from Credit Agricole. This makes Ireland a key global centre for investment in fossil fuels.
The report published by Trócaire and ActionAid Ireland also reveals that Irish subsidiaries of multinational financial institutions generated 72.5m tons of CO₂ in emissions in 2023. This is 10.5m tons more than Ireland's total national emissions and 10 times the entire emissions of Sierra Leone.
ActionAid chief executive Karol Balfe, said: 'The findings in this report are shocking. Ireland may not have a domestic fossil fuel industry, but it is clear we are deeply complicit in fuelling the global climate emergency, providing a tax-friendly financial gateway for some of the most destructive industries on the planet.
"There is no credible path to climate safety if financial flows to fossil fuels, including those channelled through Ireland, are not shut down. This means direct regulation of financial institutions, requiring them to adopt and implement transition plans aligned with the Paris Agreement.
Ireland has both a responsibility and an opportunity to lead.
The 'Hidden Truth: Ireland's role in the global fossil fuel industry' study has found that in June 2024, Irish-based financial subsidiaries of investment companies held €31.76bn in fossil fuel investments, with 91% of these investments in companies engaged in fossil fuel expansion.
Ireland ranks 14th globally in terms of fossil fuel investment by manager location, ahead of major fossil fuel producers like Brazil, Kuwait and Russia.
The study warns if this country continues with its current strategy of "encouraging FDI at all costs", and relying on "weak" EU regulation, "we are headed for catastrophe".
It calls on the Government to ban investments by Irish companies and Irish-based subsidiaries of multinational investment companies in fossil fuel expansion and require investors to implement climate transition plans consistent with a 1.5°C climate limit.
Trócaire head of policy and advocacy Siobhán Curran warned that the climate crisis is causing disproportionate harm to those with the least responsibility for causing it.
Ireland is facilitating the reckless pursuit of profit by financial institutions and corporations, who continue to pursue further expansion of oil and gas in spite of all the warnings and at the expense of the planet.
The massive injustice is that it is the communities Trócaire work with in climate vulnerable countries that are feeling the worst impacts of these decisions," she said.
She pointed out that the global north is responsible for 92% of all excess global carbon dioxide emissions, with the Global South responsible for a mere 8%.
'The carbon footprint of these financial flows is bigger than Ireland's yearly emissions — this completely undermines efforts that are being taken to reduce emissions and in fact means Ireland is playing an outsized role in fuelling the climate crisis.
"Ireland has a responsibility to regulate these financial flows, particularly as EU corporate sustainability regulation is currently being dismantled, due the power of the corporate lobby.'
The fossil fuel company which receives the most investment from asset managers based in Ireland is ExxonMobil. In 2023, ExxonMobil reported €33.63bn in profit. That is almost twice the GDP of Botswana (€18.1bn) and nearly three times Namibia's GDP (€11.5bn).
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