The Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment, Darragh O'Brien, will attend the 2026 International Energy Agency (IEA) Ministerial in Paris this week, joining energy and climate ministers from over 40 countries.

The meeting also marks the formal conclusion of Ireland's term as Chair of the IEA Ministerial, following its successful Co-Chairing of the forum in 2024 alongside France.

Positioned as a key multilateral milestone, the Ministerial is one of the final high-level energy engagements before Ireland takes over the Presidency of the Council of the EU in July, with outcomes expected to help shape policy direction and investment signals across the European energy market.

Beyond the official plenary, Minister O'Brien will chair a high-level Government–Industry breakout on 'Energy and AI' with a strong focus on data centres. The session follows the publication earlier this year of Ireland's Large Energy User Action Plan (LEAP), which addresses development barriers affecting large energy users (LEUs) in Ireland. The agenda is of direct relevance to Ireland's construction and engineering supply chains delivering energy and digital infrastructure.

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Speaking ahead of the meeting, Minister O'Brien said: "The IEA ministerial meeting is an opportunity for Ireland to remind the world of the commitment we made in 2024 to accelerate the clean energy transition, and decarbonise our energy systems. Two years on from Ireland co-chairing the last IEA Ministerial, the geopolitical context has greatly changed. But the challenges we face remain the same and we must continue to work collectively to unlock investment in clean technologies, deploy critical infrastructure and lower costs for consumers and businesses. These are all themes which Ireland will champion when we take over the presidency of the EU Council later this year."

The IEA is a leading intergovernmental body that provides authoritative analysis, data and policy advice on the global energy system to more than 40 member and association countries, including the USA, China and most EU states.

It is expected the Ministerial will also deliver a strong message of support to Ukraine. This follows Ireland's recent approval of €25 million for the Ukraine Energy Support Fund to assist in sustaining and restoring Ukraine's critical energy infrastructure, underscoring the sector's role in resilience and economic recovery.