Minister for Climate Eamon Ryan feels that Saudi Arabia should focus more on spending money on climate change rather than splashing out on golf and football teams.
The Saudi Public Investment Fund is behind breakaway golf tour, LIV Golf and was part of a consortium which bought Newcastle United in 2021.
Green Party leader, Ryan, criticised Saudi Arabia’s lack of spending on clean energy and feels a portion of the billions spent on LIV Golf over the last two seasons could have been channeled towards addressing climate change across the globe.
Speaking to reporters at the Global Ireland Summit in Dublin on Tuesday, he said: “Poverty is on the rise, conflict is on the rise. Climate change is hitting hard and as a result of that we’re seeing forced migration, which is putting stresses in Europe, putting stress in the States, everywhere.
“So part of the work I’m doing is at an international level thinking about how do we address that, and in my mind it is going green.
“It’s investing in Africa for clean energy, for processing the rare earths there rather than everything done in China.
“In my mind the polluter has to pay.
“Sorry, if Saudi Arabia can afford $875 million spent on soccer players last three months, they can afford to contribute towards the climate crisis we have.
“They spent $2 billion on golf the previous year. Again, some of that could go to help the most desperate hungry people in the world and that’s the sort of position I’d be bringing to the negotiations trying to get the fossil fuel companies to pay, to get the polluter to pay.”
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