Ireland has joined a new alliance of governments that aims to phase to out oil and gas production in line with the existing Paris agreement on climate change.

Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications Eamon Ryan confirmed Ireland’s support for the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance (BOGA) at the COP26 conference on climate change in Glasgow on Thursday.

He described BOGA as “a first-of-its-kind alliance of governments that are determined to set an end date for oil and gas exploration and extraction”.

The alliance is jointly chaired by Costa Rica and Denmark, and membership includes France, Greenland, Quebec, Sweden, Wales.

California, USA, and New Zealand are associate members of the alliance.

“Ireland is leading the way in incentivising the transition to renewable energy and putting ourselves on a pathway to net-zero, by legislating to keep fossil fuels in the ground,” Ryan said.

“ The decision we have made today, to join BOGA, sends a powerful message that we are moving irrevocably away from fossil fuels towards a renewable future – both in Ireland and internationally,” he said.

“Through the Climate Act 2021, Ireland has closed the door on new exploration activities for oil and gas,” he said.

“ There is no longer a legal basis for granting new licences. In line with Irish government policy of keeping fossil fuels in the ground, we are also currently legislating to prohibit exploration for and extraction of coal, lignite and oil shale,” Ryan continued.

“ As a core member of BOGA, Ireland will lead by example and share our experience of legislation so that we can all move towards a fossil-free future,” he said.

The BOGA declaration signed by founding members pledges to support “a socially just and equitable global transition”.

Core members, including Ireland, commit to ending new concessions, licensing or leasing rounds, and promote dialogue on the need for a managed and just phase-out.

The alliance states that it recognises that members may be locked into granting certain permissions, due to existing contractual/legal commitments.

It seeks to “set a clear direction of travel, taking an ambitious ‘glide path’ approach to phasing out production, rather than an impossible ‘nose-dive’”, Ryan’s department said.

“By prohibiting offshore oil and gas exploration, not only are we doing what we need to do to address climate change, but we are also protecting our biodiversity which is intrinsically linked to climate change,” Ryan said.

He said he looked forward to “using the platform that BOGA will provide to raise the profile of international dialogues on oil and gas phase-out”.