Former president Mary Robinson has said the Government should consider enacting law preventing fossil fuel investments flowing through financial firms based in the country.
Mrs Robinson told Irish funds industry representatives that money must shift from fossil fuels to clean energy.
“Literally it’s all about the money,” she said of the climate crisis. “Some of you will know more than others about how we could begin to shift the money. That’s the action that would give the whole world hope.”
If the industry didn’t do it, governments should consider regulating for it, she said.
“Countries should think about needing a law for disinvestment. The trouble is, it’s the Government itself that is so supportive [of the financial industry]. Will there be the political will to bring in legislation?
“It should be legislation that moves us towards a just transition. I don’t think we can suddenly divest in an abrupt way,” Mrs Robinson said. “That wouldn’t be appropriate because we have to remember there are workers in the various sectors.”
The Fossil Fuel Divestment Act 2018 took public money out of fossil fuels by prohibiting the State-owned Irish Strategic Investment Fund from buying shares in them. However, it does not apply to private companies that invest in fossil fuels or act on behalf of investors.
Mrs Robinson said clear national roadmaps to end fossil use could prove even better than legislation. They needed to include an end to fossil fuel subsidies such as the tax breaks on fuel enjoyed by airlines that meant air travel was cheaper than trains.
She hoped the inaugural International Conference on the Just Transition away from Fossil Fuels to be hosted by Colombia and the Netherlands in April would lead to roadmaps.
Mrs Robinson was speaking at an event hosted by Green Teams Network (GTN), a group of staff from companies in the Irish Funds Industry Association who work together on reducing their personal and workplace emissions.
A number of those companies facilitate investments in oil and gas exploration.
Analysis by Trócaire and ActionAid Ireland last year found Dublin-based operations of international financial firms had €30 billion in oil, gas and other fossil fuel investments.
Suzanne Senior, cofounder of GTN, is also a funds director with BlackRock, a firm with large fossil fuel investments. She said there was a strong appetite among employees for GTN activities even if their companies were still involved in fossil fuel investments.
“Like Mrs Robinson said, it’s a transition and it’s not something we can turn off overnight,” she said, speaking as a GTN representative and not on behalf of BlackRock. “We all know that there needs to be a journey away from fossil fuels but that is something that has to be a transition.”