The Irish Meteorological Office, Met Eireann, is the leading provider of weather and climate information and related services for Ireland. Met Eireann maintains the national network for atmospheric and terrestrial observations to support this function and has an open data policy which facilitates maximum use and reuse of its datasets. In collaboration with the Irish Marine Institute, it also maintains the operational Irish Marine Buoy Network, which provides observations on sea state / temperature and surface weather. Some support is also provided by E-SURFMAR - the Surface Marine Programme of EUMETNET (the Network of European Meteorological Services). Ireland’s Universities also play a role in climate observations through a range of nationally and international funded research projects. For example, the Centre for Climate and Air Pollution Studies (C-CAPS) at the National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG) monitors atmospheric composition including Greenhouse Gases and ozone depleting substances at the Mace Head Atmospheric Research Station contributing to a range of global initiatives including the World Meteorological Organisation/Global Atmospheric Watch. A number of other organisations carry out measurements of land-based and hydrological variables. The most significant of these organisations are the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which oversees land-cover mapping and coordinates certain hydrological measurements such as groundwater and lake levels, and the Office of Public Works, which has an extensive river flow monitoring network.

The state of Ireland's climate observing system has been documented (Dwyer, 2008, 2012; Camaro and Dwyer, 2021) and an action plan to assist the development of a comprehensive, reliable and sufficient national climate observing system has been prepared (Dwyer, 2009). The Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) specifies 54 Essential Climate Variables (ECVs) that are key for sustainable climate observations. A GCOS national committee was established in 2018, led by Met Eireann, to promote the GCOS principles.

Climate modelling is a core activity in Met Eireann. Met Eireann has contributed to the scientific development of a new global climate model (EC-Earth) in conjunction with University College Dublin (UCD) and the Irish Centre for High-End Computing (ICHEC). This was used by Nolan (2015, 2020) to provide an analysis of the impacts of global climate change on the mid 21st century climate of Ireland. Met Eireann is continuing work on global ensemble climate simulations using the EC-Earth model for various emission scenarios as well as downscaling the output for the Irish region. The results from this research will contribute to the next IPCC AR6 report and also feed into the different national and EU climate services projects.

The provision of climate services is a central goal of Met Eireann's Strategic Plan 2017-27. These are being provided through an expanded climate research programme, including analysis and reanalysis of the current and past climate, development of climate services in support of adaptation to climate change at the national scale, and continued climate modelling through the EC-Earth consortium and collaborative research project such as those in the European Research Area for Climate Services (ERA4CS) to provide user specific value-added climate information at a local scale. Met Eireann is also engaging with the OPW and relevant stakeholders in the establishment of the National Flood Forecasting and Warning Service (NFFWS). Met Eireann, as Ireland's representative for two of the Copernicus' implementation bodies (EUMETSAT and ECMWF) and with expertise in the areas on satellite Earth Observation and in situ (non-space) data, has a pivotal role in improving coordination, communication and policy linkage with the Copernicus programme.

The EPA has recently taken on responsibility of Ireland’s climate information platform, ’Climate Ireland’. The platform is the national web-based resource of up-to-date and fit-for-purpose climate and adaptation information and tools. Climate Ireland provides this service for local, regional and sectoral decision-makers in line with the published adaptation strategy development guidelines. Climate Ireland also plays a key role in increasing awareness of and building capacity for adaptation planning through one-to-one support and the provision of tailored adaptation planning workshops and seminars.

The OPW's national flood information portal ‘https://www.floodinfo.ie’ provides access to historical and projected maps of flood extents and flood plans for Ireland. This map and plan viewer website is another important resource, to support planning, emergency response planning, and to empower people and communities to plan and respond to flood risk.

The EPA led Climate Change Research Coordination Group acts to co-ordinate climate change related research in Ireland, including adaptation, while the EPA research report National Preparedness to Adapt to Climate Change: Analysis of State of Play provides an assessment of the enablers and barriers to effective climate change adaptation in Ireland (Desmond, 2018). The Irish Climate Policy Evaluation (ICPE) project evaluates Ireland’s climate change policies including adaptation and progress in implementation (Dekker and Torney, 2021). In terms of impacts, risk and vulnerability, progress has been made in identifying some of the key impacts and vulnerabilities for Ireland. A Summary of the State of Knowledge on Climate Change Impacts for Ireland (Desmond et al., 2017) presents a summary of the state of knowledge on ongoing climate change and projected impacts for Ireland. It updates and enhances the information provided in the 2009 Summary of the State of Knowledge Report (Desmond et al., 2009). The purpose of this report is to provide an accessible summary of the available information in a format that will be of use to policymakers, sectoral and local decision-makers and other stakeholders interested in or working on adaptation to climate change in Ireland. To further support decision-making for adaptation, the EPA is leading the development of Ireland’s first 5-Year Assessment Report (5-YAR) on Climate Research. The 5-YAR will provide an authoritative assessment of our understanding of climate change based on; scientific research and systematic observations in Ireland, linked EU and global analysis and to provide summary information which can inform decision making on climate actions. Further research is, however, needed in Ireland on the vulnerability of key sectors and the identification of critical thresholds. The following projects should be particularly noted under this heading:

• The Climate R|O project funded by the EPA is exploring how Irish businesses need to adapt to climate risks (R) and opportunities (O) in order to be resilient for the future. It's focusing on 7 sectors (Retail, Food & Beverage Manufacturing, Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals Manufacturing, Computer and Electronics Manufacturing, Hospitality and Tourism, Financial Services and Energy) that are important to Ireland's economy.
• The Methodologies for Financing and Costing of Climate Impacts and Future Adaptation Actions: Transport Networks in Ireland (Clarke et al. 2021) provided a methodology for undertaking quantitative risk assessments for transport infrastructure to assess the cost and risk of future climate change impacts. In addition, the project provides recommendations on approaches to improve risk assessment approaches for the purposes of adaptation planning in Ireland;
• The Large Scale Urban Adaptation project (Paranunzio et al. 2020) focused on the Greater Dublin area and developed an understanding of the projected climate changes at an urban scale and provides an innovative regional approach that allows for the integrated assessment and management of current and future climate vulnerabilities within the context of existing climate/non-climate pressures and spatial planning practices;
• The National Risk Assessment of Impacts of Climate Change (C-RISK) (Flood et al. 2020) project provides a methodology comprising 3 tiers of assessment to carry out an effective climate risk screening process in the face of a range of constraints linked with finances, personnel, time and data availability;
• The Irish Climate Futures: Data for Decision-making (Murphy et al. 2019) provides an analysis of the long-term vulnerability to climate extremes for water-sensitive sectors. A framework is also proposed to allow climate information to be tailored to different decision- making needs;
• The Adaptive Responses to Climate Impacts (ARC) project (Doran et al. 2019) provides new empirical evidence on the costs of flooding and exposure to flood risk. The project makes recommendations in relation to flood insurance and local decision-making.
• OPW, through the CFRAM Programme, has undertaken detailed analysis of the potential impacts of climate change on flood extents and hazards and on the potential consequences of flooding in terms of economic damages and assets at risk for two potential future scenarios. This analysis has been undertaken for 300 communities around the country, including cities, towns and other communities at potentially significant flood risk, including 90 coastal communities;
• The Built Environment, Resilient Futures (BE-Resilient) project undertaken at UCD is exploring the adaptation of cities and towns to climate change impacts;
• The EPA-funded Critical Infrastructure Vulnerability to Climate Change (CIViC) study provides an assessment of the vulnerability of elements (water, energy, transport and communications) of Ireland's critical infrastructure to climate change;
• The VAPOR project (Renou-Wilson and Wilson, 2018) undertaken at UCD provides an assessment of the vulnerability of peatlands to climate change and extremes;
• The PhenoClimate project undertaken at UCC provides an assessment of the vulnerability of Ireland’s biodiversity by determining the impacts of climate change on several phenological events across different flora and fauna;
• The Ireland/Wales EU programme (i.e. INTERREG) is also very active under its priority 2 in respect of "Adaptation of the Irish Sea and Coastal Communities to Climate Change". Recently, the governments of the Republic of Ireland and Wales renewed their commitments to the programme through the Ireland-Wales Shared Statement and Joint Action Plan 2021-2025. The programme currently has six projects of direct relevance:
o Ecostructure
o Bluefish
o Acclimatize
o Cherish
o CCAT
o ECHOES
• The European Joint Programming Initiative on Climate Change (JPI Climate) currently funds projects of relevance to Ireland, including: CE2COAST (Downscaling Climate and Ocean Change to Services: Thresholds and Opportunities), CROSSDRO (Cross-sectoral impact assessment of droughts in complex European basins) CoCliME (Co-development of Climate Services for adaptation to a changing Marine Ecosystem) and WatexR (Integration of climate seasonal prediction and ecosystem impact modelling for an efficient adaptation of water resources management to increasing climate extreme).

It is also important to note that as part of the sectoral and local adaptation plan development process that each sector and local authority is required under "Sectoral Planning Guidelines for Climate Change Adaptation" (2018) and “Local Authority Adaptation Strategy Development Guidelines” (2018) to undertake an assessment of current and future climate risks. These impact assessments provide a significant addition to the knowledge base in terms of climate impacts across Government.

For Ireland, the assessment of climate impacts and vulnerability has been undertaken on the basis of on the most up-to-date assessments of climate change for Ireland (Nolan, 2020; Desmond et al. 2017) and sectoral adaptation plans developed in response to the requirements of the Ireland’s National Adaptation Framework and for the following sectors: Agriculture, Forestry and Seafood; Biodiversity; Built and Archaeological Heritage; Transport Infrastructure; Electricity and Gas Networks; Communications Networks; Flood Risk management, Water Quality and Water Services Infrastructure; and Health). These plans were published in 2019 and were developed on the basis of existing science (climate observations and projections and vulnerability analyses), expert opinion and stakeholder inputs. The plans provide a semi-quantitative assessment of observed and projected climate change sectoral impacts and for a range of future climate scenarios.

20% of Ireland’s coastline is considered to be at risk of coastal erosion. The coasts most susceptible to coastal erosion are those composed of unconsolidated (soft) sediment. These areas are most common on Ireland's eastern and southern coasts and also in isolated areas, sedimentary bays, on western and northern coasts (e.g. the Shannon estuary, Donegal, Clew, Tralee and Dingle Bays).

Ireland’s agricultural sector is predominately grass-based (dairy and beef). As a result of extreme weather events (heatwave, drought and flooding), fodder crises are not uncommon with significant crises experienced in 1998/1999, 2012/2013 and 2018.

In April 2019, the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) of the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, submitted the third Article 17 report on the assessment of the conservation status of habitats and species in Ireland protected under the EU Habitats Directive. 15% of assessed habitats were found to be of favourable status while 85% were assessed as unfavourable. Furthermore, 46% of habitats showed ongoing declines based on 12-year short term trend period. For species, 57% were assessed as favourable with a declining trend reported for 15% of species, with freshwater species deemed most at risk, while 17% of species are reported as having an improving trend. On May 9th 2019, Ireland became the second country to declare a climate and biodiversity emergency.

The most recent report on water quality in Ireland produced by the EPA in 2020 shows that 57% of Ireland’s rivers are of satisfactory quality while 43% are unsatisfactory. For lakes, 54% are considered to be of high quality and for ground waters, 8% have unsatisfactory phosphate concentrations and 22% of sites have high nitrate concentrations with 49% of sites showing increasing nitrate concentrations. Estuarine and coastal waters show increasing inputs of nitrate and phosphates for 2019 when compared with the period 2012-2014 with an increase of 24% and 31% loads of nitrogen and phosphorous respectively.

Drinking water in Ireland is considered to be of high quality. According to the EPA Drinking Water Quality in Public Supplies Report: 2019, the quality of public water supplies is consistently high across microbiological, chemical and indicator standards achieving 99.9%, 99.6% and 99.1% compliance respectively. According to the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU), Ireland’s public water supply system had a leakage rate of 42% nationally in 2018. In the Greater Dublin area, a new water supply source is required as maximum sustainable abstraction for the river Liffey has been reached. In response, Irish Water is currently planning for a new source of water supply and implemented an extensive upgrade and repair programme.

According to the CSO Survey of Income and Living Conditions, in 2019, 12.8% of the Irish population were considered to be at risk of poverty. Those considered most at risk of poverty were individuals who were not at work due to illness or disability and those who were unemployed. The Trinity National Deprivation Index 2016 identified that the areas (electoral districts) with the highest levels of deprivation are found in cities or in urban areas within predominantly rural counties.

According to the Central Statistics Office, between 2011 and 2016, Ireland’ population increased by 3.8% to 4,761,865 persons. In 2016, 63% of Ireland’s population resided in urban areas while 37% resided in rural areas. Between 2011 and 2016, urban areas saw an increase of 4.9% while rural areas showed a 2% increase in population. By 2040 the population of Ireland could grow to 5.7 million people and with a continued increase in urban populations. As part of Project Ireland 2040 National Development Plan 2018 - 2027 there is a strategic objective to support and enable the sustainable growth of more compact urban and rural settlements rather than continued sprawl and unplanned, uneconomic growth.

The impacts of climate change will be felt on a sectoral basis. It is, however, important to consider the indirect and cross sectoral impacts of climate change whereby impacts in one sector have implications for other sectors, e.g. the Electricity and Gas Network has a large cross-sectoral impact, as the loss of electricity or gas supply could have severe consequences for other sectors.

Ireland’s climate adaptation policy is given legal effect by the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015. Section 5 of the Act sets out requirements for the development and approval of a National Adaptation Framework (NAF). Ireland’s first NAF prepared in line with these requirements was published in January 2018.

Sections 6 and 7 of the 2015 Act set out legal requirements for the preparation of sectoral adaptation plans in priority sectors (identified in NAF). Ireland’s first set of sectoral adaptation plans prepared under the 2015 Act were approved by the Irish Government in October 2019.

The NAF and its sectoral plans form part of an iterative process and will be revised at a minimum every five years to reflect developments in scientific knowledge and to facilitate the modification and escalation of adaptation actions as necessary.

The Irish Government has published new draft climate legislation which maintains most of the provisions on adaptation in the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 and which also includes a number of provisions that will strengthen existing governance and oversight mechanisms.

Progress has been made in identifying some key impacts and vulnerabilities for Ireland. Vulnerability and risk analysis are required as part of the sectoral plan development process set out in Sectoral Guidelines for Climate Change Adaptation.

A Summary of the State of Knowledge on Climate Change Impacts for Ireland (EPA,2017) presents a summary of the ongoing climate change and projected impacts for Ireland. It updates and enhances the information provided in the 2009 Report (Desmond et al., 2009).

Adaptation research under the EPA Research Programme is progressed under the following headings:
• Observations, monitoring and analysis;
• Modelling of future climate;
• Impacts, risk and vulnerability assessment;
• Adaptation information and responses.

Documents related to all projects completed under the EPA Research Programme are on the EPA website.

OPW, through the CFRAM Programme, has undertaken detailed analysis of the potential impacts of climate change on flood extents and hazards and on the potential consequences of flooding in terms of economic damages and assets at risk for two potential future scenarios. This analysis has been undertaken for 300 communities around the country, including Ireland’s cities, towns and other communities at potentially significant flood risk, including 90 coastal communities.

Ireland’s first statutory National Adaptation Framework (NAF), prepared under Section 5 of the Climate Act, was approved by Government on 19 December 2017 and published on 19 January 2018.

The NAF and its successors set out the national strategy to ensure local authorities, regions and key sectors can assess the key risks and vulnerabilities of climate change, implement climate resilience actions and ensure climate adaptation considerations are mainstreamed into all local, regional and national policy making. The NAF also supports local and regional adaptation action and the development of local adaptation strategies.

Under the National Adaptation Framework, 7 Government Departments with responsibility for priority sectors were required to prepare sectoral adaptation plans; in line with the requirements of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015. These plans were developed during 2018 and 2019, and approved by government in October 2019.

Each Plan identifies the key risks faced across the sector and the approach being taken to address these risks and build climate resilience for the future. They were developed applying a six step adaptation planning process described in the Sectoral Planning Guidelines for Climate Change Adaptation, published by Department of Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC).

The Plans are now in the implementation phase.

The National Adaptation Steering Committee chaired by DECC provides coherence in adaptation planning. It includes representatives from all the Departments leading on the development of adaptation plans and representatives from other key Agencies. This Committee now maintains oversight of implementation of actions by the relevant sectors, and also facilitates interaction between sectors.

The Climate Action Plan (CAP), published in 2019, sets out actions across every sector of society to ensure Ireland will meet its 2030 climate commitments, putting us on a trajectory to be net zero emissions by 2050. Chapter 16 of the CAP also addresses climate adaptation, primarily in the context of the ongoing implementation of the NAF. Climate adaptation will also be included in future iterations of the CAP. Implementation of the CAP is overseen by the Department of the Taoiseach Climate Action Delivery Board.

The Climate Change Advisory Council (CCAC) was established in 2016 under the 2015 Climate Act. The Council, which is independent in the performance of its functions, provides advice and recommendations to, amongst others, the DECC Minister in relation to the preparation of the NAF; the development by a relevant minister of a sectoral adaptation plan; and the approval by the Government of a NAF. Sectors are required to consult with DECC when developing sectoral adaptation plans.

Assessments, including Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of plans and programmes, Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) of projects, and Appropriate Assessment (AA), also require the integration of climate change considerations in Ireland. This is important in terms of mainstreaming such considerations in strategic plans and programmes but also in respect of project specifics at a particular location.

The EPA 2015 guidance note on Integrating Climate Change into Strategic Environmental Assessment in Ireland notes that SEA “is now coming to be recognised as perhaps the most flexible and capable instrument of climate policy integration available internationally and nationally.

The NAF has a supporting objective to “Ensure continued alignment with emergency planning for extreme weather events including where plans related to emergencies assigned to a sectoral department as Lead Government department under the “Strategic Emergency Management National Structures and Framework” are climate proofed. “Strategic Emergency Management (SEM) National Structures and Framework” set out the arrangements for the delivery of effective emergency management. This Framework is complemented by a series of ‘SEM Guidelines’ dealing with specific aspects of strategic emergency management. This includes a Guideline on adaptation which is available on the Office of Emergency Planning (OEP) website.

Climate Ireland was developed under the EPA Research Programme as a "one-stop shop" of adaptation information. It provides a central source of climate data for Ireland, with information from a variety sources to assist stakeholders in planning ahead for the impacts of climate change. Climate Ireland provides;
    Tailored information to support awareness and understanding of climate adaptation;
    Essential climate information to support impact and risk assessment;
    Decision making frameworks and tools to support the development of sectoral plans and local adaptation strategies.

Climate Ireland is managed by EPA with support from a research team in the MaREI Centre in University College Cork.

Under the National Adaptation Framework and Climate Action Plan 2019, each local authority developed its own adaptation strategy, in line with guidelines developed for the sector. These local authority adaptation strategies were adopted in 2019. Implementation of these strategies is underway and all 31 local authority adaptation strategies can be accessed via Climate Ireland.

The Local Authority Climate Action Charter established under the Climate Action Plan 2019 commits local authorities to actions that will ensure that they play a key leadership role locally and nationally in delivering effective climate action including adaptation.

Since 2015, sectoral coordination of adaptation policy has taken place under the auspices of the National Adaptation Steering Committee (NASC) which is chaired by DECC. The Committee was reviewed and restructured under the NAF in 2018 to ensure that a coordinated, comprehensive and coherent approach continues to operate in implementing actions under the NAF. The NASC has a key role to play in promoting and encouraging cross-sectoral cooperation on adaptation.

Members of the NASC include Departments preparing sectoral plans under the NAF; DFAT; Irish Water; EPA; regional and local government; the National Standards Authority of Ireland; and Met Éireann.

In January 2018, the government established four Climate Action Regional Offices (CAROs) in recognition of the commitment by local government to develop and implement its own climate action measures, as well as the need to build capacity within the sector to respond and adapt to climate change.

The CAROs are operated by a lead local authority in each region (Mayo County Council, Cork County Council, Dublin City Council, and Kildare County Council, respectively), and focus on the predominant risks in each geographical area. The CAROs play an important role in ensuring that cross-sectoral issues are identified and addressed, and in community engagement. They also played a key role in coordinating the development of the local authority adaptation strategies, and ensuring their alignment with sectoral adaptation plans.

Under the NAF, Government Departments with responsibility for priority sectors were required to prepare sectoral adaptation plans in line with the requirements of the Climate Act. These plans were approved by Government in October 2019:

• Seafood, Agriculture, and Forestry – Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
• Biodiversity – Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage
• Built and Archaeological Heritage – Department of Housing. Local Government and Heritage
• Transport Infrastructure – Department of Transport
• Electricity and Gas Networks – DECC
• Communications Networks – DECC
• Flood Risk Management – Office of Public Works
• Water Quality and Water Services Infrastructure – Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage
• Health – Department of Health

In addition to sectoral plans prepared at national level, all 31 Local Authorities prepared local adaptation strategies in 2019.

The Climate Change Advisory Council (CCAC) is an independent advisory body tasked with reviewing national climate policy. A key task of the CCAC is to conduct an annual review of progress made over the previous year in furthering the transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient and sustainable economy and society by 2050. The CCAC published its fourth Annual Review in 2020. This includes a chapter on adaptation and outlines the challenges, gaps and barriers to adaptation policy in Ireland.

The 2020 Annual Review states that Ireland needs to move from adaptation planning to adaptation action by implementing the priorities of existing sectoral adaptation plans and local adaptation strategies. CCAC also identifies gaps in some sectors including in financial services, tourism and coastal issues. CCAC identifies the need for local authorities to integrate climate action into their existing functions with adequate resourcing to deliver on this role. The role of spatial planning in ensuring development does not occur in inappropriate locations is identified as essential. CCAC recommends that Government must bring more coherence to how the different adaptation plans and strategies are prioritised and funded, how the costs of extreme weather are assessed, how cities are resourced to prepare and how they learn from the experiences of others. Furthermore, communities, businesses and households will need to take individual action to adapt to climate change.

An analysis of Ireland’s preparedness for climate change was conducted by the European Commission in 2015 and in 2017 as part of the EU Adaptation Scoreboard. Ireland was found to have made insufficient progress in terms of stakeholder involvement in the development of adaptation policy, in identifying adaptation options consistent with the results of sectoral risk assessments, in mainstreaming adaptation across key national policy instruments and in developing systems to monitor and report on climate change adaptation, including adaptation related expenditures.

Ireland’s first statutory National Adaptation Framework (NAF, 2018) represents Ireland’s current national policy response to the challenges posed by the impacts of climate change. The National Adaptation Framework sets out the national strategy for the application of adaptation measures in different sectors and by local authorities in their administrative areas in order to reduce the vulnerability of the State to the negative effects of climate change and to avail of any positive impacts that may occur.

The NAF identifies 12 priority actions and related supporting objectives that are to be progressed in order to support and advance the implementation of climate adaptation policy at national, regional and local level in Ireland. Ireland’s Annual Transition Statement 2019 contains a summary of the progress made in on these priority actions since the Framework’s publication in January 2018.

Key actions of the NAF include:
• Preparation of individual sectoral adaptation plans for 12 key sectors under 7 Government Departments .The completed plans must be submitted to the Government for approval is no later than 30 September 2019.
• Putting in place revised governance and reporting arrangements.
• Formalising the status of existing adaptation guidelines and decision making supports: These include the online climate information platform Climate Ireland, “Sectoral Planning Guidelines for Climate Change Adaptation” for the 12 key sectors (published in May 2018) and “Local Authority Climate Change Adaptation Strategy Development Guidelines” (published in December 2018).
• Increasing awareness around climate adaptation and resilience.
• Integrating climate adaptation into key national plans and policies.

These actions are also underpinned by supporting objectives for the Framework including;
• assessing key risks and vulnerabilities.
• better coordination of national research priorities.
• ongoing reporting at National, EU and international level.
• increased alignment with strategic emergency planning.
• further analysis of the implications of climate change and adaptation for the private sector.

The completed sectoral plans describe and assess the extent of the risks presented by climate change to the sector, and present contingency plans to address these risks and ensure climate resilience of the sector. They include actions to mainstream adaptation into policy and administration at the sectoral level. In addition, they include actions to improve cooperation and coherence across other sectors and with the Local Government sector. Sectoral plans are grouped under four thematic areas; Natural & Cultural Capital, Critical Infrastructure, Water Resource & Flood Risk Management and Public Health Natural & Cultural Capital – Sectors: Seafood, Agriculture, Forestry, Biodiversity, Built and Archaeological Heritage,Critical Infrastructure – Sectors: Transport infrastructure, Electricity and Gas networks, Communications Networks, Water Resource & Flood Risk Management - Sectors: Flood Risk Management, Water Quality, Water Services Infrastructure, Public Health – whole sector.

It is not possible to provide a summary of each plan within this reporting template. An overview of all sectoral plans is provided in the Annual Transition Statement 2019 and all sectoral plans are published online on the sectoral adaptation planning page of Gov.ie

The NAF sets out the national strategy for the application of adaptation measures by a local authority in its administrative area in order to reduce the vulnerability of the State to the negative effects of climate change and avail of any benefits that may occur. Under the NAF each local authority were required make and adopt a local adaptation strategy Local Adaptation Strategy Development Guidelines.

The Guidelines are structured around a 5 step planning cycle: 1) Preparing the Ground; 2) Assessing the Adaptation Baseline; 3) Identifying Future Climate Impacts, Vulnerabilities and Risks; 4) Identifying, Assessing and Prioritising Adaptation Actions; 5) Drafting, Implementing and Monitoring the Strategy. In supporting local authorities in developing their adaptation strategies, an online Local Authority Adaptation Wizard has been developed and deployed on Climate Ireland.

The strategies were completed by each local authority by 30 September 2019 in line with the deadline established at national level. Local authorities were supported in developing their adaptation strategies by the Climate Action Regional Office (CARO) in their region. Strategies were also formally adopted by each local authority. Implementation of each strategy is a matter for each individual local authority.

The Climate Change Adaptation Strategy takes on the role as the primary instrument at local level to:
(i) Ensure a proper comprehension of the key risks and vulnerabilities of climate change
(ii) Bring forward the implementation of climate resilient actions into the functions of a local authority in a planned and proactive manner and,
(iii) Ensure that climate adaptation considerations are mainstreamed into all plans and policies and integrated into all operations and functions of a local authority.

While it is not possible within the limitation of this reporting template to provide a detailed description of each of the 31 strategies that have been developed in Ireland strategies are structured in a consistent manner based around the following information
(a) Information on Regional and Local Context including an overview of the relevant CARO and the local authority.
(b) Adaptation Baseline Assessment an overview of climate hazards to have affected the authority and provide a description of the local scale impacts and consequences for the delivery of services by the local authority. Case study examples around specific events timeline of climate hazards to have impacted upon the authority;
(c) Climate Risk Identification an overview of the relevant projected climate changes and impacts according to the key operational areas of the local authority and where opportunities/benefits have been identified, these should also be noted. A Risk Register should be presented and priority risks highlighted
(d) Adaptation Goals, Objectives and Actions; an outline adaptation goals and objectives and provide an overview of the adaptation action plans developed and how the implementation of adaptation actions will be managed, referring to spatial planning mechanisms, instruments of local and national policy implementation as appropriate
(e) Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation; mechanisms put in place to monitor the impacts of climatic events and trends as they occur and describe the scheduling of evaluation of the strategy.

Actions included in strategies are generally developed in line with a number of thematic priority areas relevant to the function of local authorities in Ireland. For example actions in the Clare County Council Local Adaptation Strategy are grouped around the 6 themes of Local Adaptation Governance and Business Operations, Infrastructure and Built Environment, Land use and Development. Drainage and Flood Management, Natural Resources and Cultural Infrastructure, Community Health and Wellbeing

It is important to note that many local authorities used the development of the local adaptation strategies to advance a number of objectives in relation to climate mitigation.

A local authority progress reporting template was developed by the CAROs to enable the local authority sector to report on the progress of the implementation of their climate change adaptation strategies / climate action plans on an annual basis to the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications. One report has been completed to date.

Ireland’s NAF contains 2 key actions specifically in relation mainstreaming. Action 10 requires Integration of climate adaptation within all relevant national policy and legislation (budgetary process, Capital Investment Planning etc). Action 11 states “Ensure climate proofing considerations are fully integrated into arrangements and reforms arising from the new Ireland 2040 – National Planning Framework including Guidelines, updated guidance on adaptation proofing of SEA and EIA and also in revisions of building standards”.

The effective integration of adaptation into decision making (mainstreaming) requires strong coordination of adaptation from centres of power at national level. Ireland’s sectoral adaptation plans are a key policy instrument for the effective mainstreaming of climate adaptation across key sectors. Local adaptation strategies are a similar policy instrument at local level. A critical undertaking for other relevant Government Departments is to take a leadership role in implementing the Framework by mandating and supporting adaptation planning and implementation of actions within their Departments and Agencies in line with the requirements of the 2015 Act and the NAF. Departments are required in NAF to cooperate in other adaptation-relevant areas that may not come under their direct remit but that may, nonetheless, require their input and advice. This is particularly relevant in areas such as flood risk management, critical infrastructure, marine and coastal issues and emergency planning, where statutory responsibilities lie across a number of Government Departments and where existing structures can facilitate such cooperation (e.g. Interdepartmental Marine Interdepartmental Flood Policy Coordination Group, National Coastal Change Management Strategy Steering Group Government Task Force on Emergency Planning)

The planning process also provides an established means through which climate change adaptation objectives can be integrated and implemented at local level in Ireland. Planning legislation already requires different levels of the planning process to address climate change. The NAF identifies the importance of spatial planning as a means of integrating climate adaptation into national policies. It identifies the importance of considering heat-island effects, biodiversity and green spaces, development layouts and building materials within existing planning decision making processes.

Project Ireland 2040 is the government’s long-term overarching strategy to make Ireland a better country for all of its people. The plan changes how investment is made in public infrastructure in Ireland, Alongside the development of physical infrastructure, Project Ireland 2040 supports business and communities across all of Ireland in realising their potential. The National Development Plan and the National Planning Framework combine to form Project Ireland 2040. Climate action has been identified as a Strategic Investment Priority in Ireland 2040. Under Ireland 2040 a total of €940 million has been identified to implement flood relief projects within the Office of Public Works (OPW) Capital Works Programme.

Assessments such as Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of plans and programmes, Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) of projects and Appropriate Assessment (AA) also require the integration of climate change considerations. This is important in terms of mainstreaming such considerations in strategic plans and programmes but also in respect of project specifics at a particular location.

The guidance document, Strategic Emergency Management Guideline 4 – Climate Change Adaptation, provides guidance that addresses:
a) Consideration of climate change projections for Ireland during the response to emergencies and in emergency planning
b) Ensuring that relevant likely impacts of climate change in Ireland on diverse sectors are addressed, in order to build resilience to climate change across Irish society and the economy,
c) Where to find information on climate change projections, predicted impacts, adaptation options, and national policy on climate change adaptation, in particular the National Adaptation Framework (NAF) (DCCAE, 2018a) and Sectoral Adaptation Plans (Government of Ireland, 2019b-j),
d) National, regional and local coordinating structures for climate change adaptation, and
e)Integration of national policy and approaches within the wider European Union (EU) and international policy on climate change adaptation.

The Citizens' Assembly was an exercise in deliberative democracy, placing the citizen at the heart of important legal and policy issues facing Irish society. The Assembly tasked its 100 citizen Members to consider topics one of which was ‘How the State can make Ireland a leader in tackling climate change’.

Their conclusions formed the basis of reports and recommendations that were submitted to Ireland’s Parliament for further debate.

The Assembly met over two weekends in 2017 to deliberate, and of particular relevance to climate adaptation are the following recommendations which emanated from these discussions;
• The State should take a leadership role in addressing climate change through adaptation measures including, for example, increasing the resilience of public land and infrastructure.
• The State should undertake a comprehensive assessment of the vulnerability of all critical infrastructure (including energy, transport, built environment, water and communications) with a view to building resilience to ongoing climate change and extreme weather events.

The reports and recommendations of the Assembly were published in April 2018. A Parliamentary Committee on Climate Action was subsequently established and published its own report in March In parallel to the Citizen’s Assembly process a National Dialogue on Climate Action (NDCA) was established in 2017 in accordance with the programme for government.

The NDCA is seen as a useful tool to engage people with the challenge of climate change; motivate changes in behaviour; and create structures at local, regional and national levels to support the generation of ideas and their translation into appropriate cost-effective actions. The objectives of the NDCA are to; The NDCA has held a series of regional meetings in Ireland to date as well as a series of other events and public engagement initiatives. including;
• Our Community Climate Action Tidy Towns award
• EPA climate lecture series
• Development of NDCA Resources, Knowledge Base and Engagement Tools
• Youth and Community Engagement Initiatives
• Support for independently-produced media content

Ireland’s latest Programme for Government from 2020 recognises that all sectors must play their part to achieve our climate goals in a fair way, and the important role of communities in achieving the climate actions required to meet our obligations.

A new enduring structure is being developed for the NNDCA which aims to increase awareness, engagement and will give all of society the opportunity to fully engage constructively in climate action.

This new structure will harness existing networks, support better communications, and involve specific stakeholder groups including. It will have a strong action focus, promoting and leveraging citizen, sectoral and regional involvement in delivering actions within their sphere of influence, including bringing about long-term behavioral change.

DECC is also supporting An Taisce Environmental Education Unit (Green Schools) in the roll out of its National Climate Change Action and Awareness Programme (NCCAAP) which includes the Climate Ambassador Project. The aim of the project is to identify champions in schools, campuses and the community who will work as ambassadors’ for climate change to increase awareness of the causes and outcomes of climate change and undertake actions in their schools, campus or community to make them more resilient to climate change by improving their local environment. The pilot programme selected 108 ambassadors from 22 Counties (Dublin the largest at 31, Cork with 19 and Mayo with 11); 60 community members, 20 3rd level students and 28 secondary school students. The Ambassadors have undertaken training by An Taisce in Climate Science and Communications.

Other actions under the NCCAAP include
• Teacher training
• Secondary school resources packs (
• Green schools Climate Action Week
• Climate Change Expo ‘Green Schools Climate Action Expo’ RDS 22nd February 2018 with over 5,000 mainly students, in attendance.

In 2019, the County and City Management Association (CCMA) and the Association of Irish Local Government (AILG) approved a Local Authority Climate Action Training Plan), which sets out the short, medium and long term training requirements of the local government sector in line with the above stated commitments. The plan identifies a requirement to train all circa 29,000 local authority staff and 949 elected members over a four-year period, 2020–2023. Training will be delivered in areas such as climate science, the translation of international and national policy to local requirements, practical adaptation and mitigation measures, leadership, local innovation and behavioural change. The requirement for additional technical training for the roll out of specific projects is also identified in the training plan.

The Department of Communications, Climate Action and the Environment committed to allocating a sum of €670,000 to fund, during 2020, the initial stages of implementing the Local Authority Climate Action Training Plan. The delivery of the training programme is being managed by Kildare County Council, as the Lead Authority for Climate Action Regional Office in Eastern and Midlands Region, in collaboration with Tipperary County Council, as the lead authority for the Local Authority Services National Training Group.

In 2010, Forfás published a report titled Adaptation to Climate Change: Issues for Business which stated that a changing climate brings risks and costs, concluding that an early adaptation measures can reduce the costs of climate change for businesses and the economy and that once properly prepared, that adaptation may also provide opportunities for businesses in Ireland.

The Forfás report noted specific responses to deal with adaptation including:

• Adapting and applying business planning tools to help business adaptation.
• that both new and existing professionals have developed the skills necessary to respond to climate change.
• Creating, gathering and sharing sector-specific information on adaptation by sector organisations.
• Assessing current business supports to understand their potential to support adaptation.
• Continuing to ensure enterprise development agencies continue to incorporate climate change adaptation research and considerations in their work.

The NAF identifies that the physical effects of climate change will be a key influence on important business decisions such as investment location and prioritises. Further analysis of the implications from an enterprise perspective of climate change and adaptation/resilience for the private sector is identified as a research priority on NAF.

The ongoing EPA research project, Climate R/O, led by Sustainability Works, aims to help to fill this research gap and identify the biggest climate risks and opportunities for key sectors of the Irish economy. As part of the project the researchers have reviewed the latest science, spoken with companies and trade bodies, and gathered insights from the finance and energy sectors. As part of the project the researchers held a series of workshops covering 4 key sectors of the Irish Economy, Computer & Electronics Manufacturing: Retail, Hospitality and Tourism and Food and Beverage Manufacturing.

The aim of the seminars was to:
• Learn about the climate change impacts that are predicted for Ireland
• Understand climate risks and opportunities for the private sector, supported by real world case studies
• Hear from guest speaker Professor Andreas Hoepner on what’s happening at EU level with investors and policymakers, and what this means for business
• Get practical advice on assessing climate change impacts for business

The seminars were held to help inform the final results of the project and recommendations to policymakers. The project is scheduled to conclude later in 2021.

Progress has been made in identifying some of the key impacts and vulnerabilities for Ireland. In the development of sectoral adaptation plans, vulnerability and risk analysis are required as part of the plan development process set out in Sectoral Guidelines for Climate Change Adaptation. These assessments will be revised and updated in the next cycle of sectoral adaptation plans to reflect updated climate projection information.

A Summary of the State of Knowledge on Climate Change Impacts for Ireland (EPA,2017) presents a summary of the state of knowledge on ongoing climate change and projected impacts for Ireland. It updates and enhances the information provided in the 2009 Summary of the State of Knowledge Report (Desmond et al., 2009).

The EPA Research Project Nolan P, Flanagan J (2020) High-Resolution Climate Projections for Ireland – A Multi-model Ensemble Approach. EPA Research Report, 339 downscales multiple global climate models to provide a higher resolution update of climate projections for Ireland used to develop the first cycle of sectoral adaptation plans. These climate projections, which will be made available via Climate Ireland (www.climateireland.ie) will need to be analysed to to identify potential impacts for different sectors in different parts of the country. This work will then feed into revisions of national policies, including the next iteration of sectoral adaptation plans.

To further support decision-making for adaptation, the EPA is leading the development of Ireland’s first 5-Year Assessment Report (5-YAR) on Climate Research. The 5-YAR will provide an authoritative assessment of our understanding of climate change based on; scientific research and systematic observations in Ireland, linked EU and global analysis and to provide summary information which can inform decision making on climate actions. Further research is, however, needed in Ireland on the vulnerability of key sectors and the identification of critical thresholds. The following projects should be particularly noted under this heading:

A list of the most notable projects in this area is provided in Section 1.2(b) of this report

The ongoing EPA Research project Policy Coherence in Adaptation Studies: Selecting and Using Indicators of Climate Resilience " (2018-CCRP-DS.16) (PCAS) project combines an analysis of international best practice and approaches to the development of climate change indicators co-designed by key stakeholder representatives to identify a tailored suite of Ireland-relevant climate adaptation indicators. The results of this project along with proposals on indicators announced in the recent EU Adaptation Strategy will inform Ireland’s approach to indicators at national level.

DECC leads and coordinates national adaptation policy and supports the implementation of the NAF at national, sectoral and local government levels working through the National Adaptation Steering Committee (NASC) under the 2015 Act.

Implementation of sectoral plans is monitored via the NASC and by the the D/Taoiseach Climate Action Delivery Board which oversees implementation of Ireland’s Climate Action Plan including adaptation measures. Implementation of sectoral Plans falls under the remit of appropriate Ministers.

Annual Transition Statements (ATS) on adaptation policy measures adopted in the previous year, including updates on implementation of NAF and sectoral plans, must be made by relevant Ministers identified in the NAF . The last ATS from 2019 is published on the Oireachtas website.

The Climate Change Advisory Council (CCAC) also has a number of reporting obligations including annual and period reviews of progress. its the first periodic report was published in July 2017 and the most recent at end 2020.

In 2016, the CCAC established an Adaptation Committee to consider matters relating to climate change adaptation. This includes:
• national policy related to climate change adaptation, in particular the NAF, Sectoral and Local Adaptation Plans
• contributions on climate change adaptation for council reports
• council statements related to climate impacts, risks and vulnerabilities
• any other issues delegated to the Committee by the Council

The CCAC's Annual Review under the Climate Act assesses implementation of adaptation policy and progress towards climate resilience. The CCAC has indicated that the implementation and funding of the sectoral adaptation plans and local adaptation strategies will be considered in future Annual Reviews. CCAC Annual reviews and responses by CCAC to all sectors in relation to the development of the sectoral plans are published on the CCAC website

Four Climate Action Regional Offices (CAROs) were established to drive climate action and link the local and national level. Work programmes are overseen by a National Steering Committee including DECC. CAROs are represented on the NASC. Local adaptation strategy implementation progress is reported to DECC by CAROs annually and monitored on an ongoing basis via CARO oversight structures.

The NAF and its sectoral plans form part of an iterative process and will be revised at a minimum every 5 years to reflect developments in science and to facilitate the modification and escalation of adaptation actions as necessary in line with National priorities, CCAC recommendations and Ireland’s EU and International obligations

An update on progress made in implementing the NAF is provided in the Annual Transition Statement 2019 available on the Oireachtas website. Implementation of sectoral plans is primarily a matter for the Government Department which developed it. DECC oversees the implementation process via the NASC and has sought annual implementation progress reports from Departments. The first cycle of Sectoral plans were approved by Government in October 2019. One report received to date illustrates well progress and action across a number of areas including:
• enhancing cooperation and coordination across agencies and different bodies on adaptation
• enhancing collaboration with the local authority sector
• capacity building.
• Research actions
• Data collection and knowledge sharing

A local authority progress reporting template was developed by the CAROs to enable that sector to report on the progress of the implementation of its climate change adaptation strategies / climate action plans annually to the DECC. One report has been completed and submitted to DECC to date. Most actions completed to date can be classified as soft. In total, Local Authorities adopted 2,451 actions across all 31 adaptation strategies covering areas including adaptation, mitigation, awareness building, and community engagement. Actions completed across all 31 strategies to date include:

• 12 actions relate to establishing an adaptation steering group, with another 4 putting a Climate Action Officer in place.
• 14 actions lead to the mainstreaming of climate change / action considerations into plans and policies of local authorities as well as 7 actions also mainstreaming biodiversity considerations into relevant plans / policies.
• 5 actions put climate action as a standing item on the agenda for senior management team meetings,
• 5 actions relate to mainstreaming within business continuity plans
• 8 actions focused on increasing the capacity of emergency response around and clean-up after extreme events
• 4 actions related to monitoring & review systems of impacts during extreme events including resources used
• 5 actions relating to flooding management and flood alleviation schemes.
 Other common actions within strategies include actions relating to
• Waste management & single-use plastic policies
• Building energy efficiency and retrofit plans
• Improving teleconferencing facilities / working hubs
• Incorporating climate considerations into the design, planning and construction of infrastructure
     

All adaptation strategies are accessible via the Climate Ireland or on the website of the local authority that developed it.

Project Ireland 2040 is the government’s long-term overarching strategy to make Ireland a better country for all of its people. The National Development Plan and the National Planning Framework combine to form Project Ireland 2040. The plan changes how investment is made in public infrastructure in Ireland. Alongside the development of physical infrastructure, Project Ireland 2040 supports business and communities across Ireland in realising their potential. Climate action has been identified as a Strategic Investment Priority in Ireland 2040 and a total of €940 million has been identified to implement flood relief projects.

Ireland is examining how best to improve its capacity to capture data on the direct and indirect costs of climate change and the economic benefits of adaptation responses. MRE mechanisms are established to better capture sectoral responses to the impact of climate change and allow for greater coverage of sectoral measures. Further work is needed to allow for more comprehensive and consistent reporting on spending on national climate adaptation expenditure.

From 2021, the Climate Change Advisory Council is funding a two-year research fellowship titled ‘An Economic Assessment of Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Options in Ireland’ with the ESRI.

This will enhance the scientific evidence of climate change impacts for Ireland, creating a better understanding of which impacts we face, their severity and who will bear the costs.

Adaptation options that can be applied to reduce the initial impacts identified will be quantified in terms of economic costs and benefits.

The NAF and its related sectoral plans form part of an iterative process and will be revised at a minimum every five years to reflect developments in scientific knowledge and to facilitate the modification and escalation of adaptation actions as necessary in line with National priorities, CCAC recommendations and Ireland’s EU and International obligations including any obligations in relation to the reducing climate impacts, vulnerabilities and risks.

Ireland is at a relatively early stage in implementing adaptation policies at national and local level and the MRE methodology used will be more effectively to measure progress in this area over the medium to longer term.

The EPA Research Project Nolan P, Flanagan J (2020) High-Resolution Climate Projections for Ireland – A Multi-model Ensemble Approach. EPA Research Report, 339, downscales multiple global climate models to provide a high resolution set of climate projections for Ireland. These climate projections will need to be analysed to identify potential impacts for different sectors in different parts of the country. This work will be used to feed into revisions of national policies, including for example the next iteration of sectoral adaptation plans.

To further support decision-making for adaptation, the EPA is leading the development of Ireland’s first 5-Year Assessment Report (5-YAR) on Climate Research. The 5-YAR will provide an authoritative assessment of our understanding of climate change based on; scientific research and systematic observations in Ireland, linked EU and global analysis and to provide summary information which can inform decision making on climate actions. Further research is, however, needed in Ireland on the vulnerability of key sectors and the identification of critical thresholds. The following projects should be particularly noted under this heading:

A list of the most notable projects in this area is provided in Section 1.2(b) of this report

Additional progress in covering this this area within national MRE mechanisms is required. Ireland does not currently undertake a standalone CCVA. Ireland will continue to build its knowledge base through targeted research covering priority research gaps on impacts and vulnerabilities. This area will also be further considered in planned revisions to the National Adaptation Framework and to Sectoral Adaptation Plans.

The ongoing EPA Research project Policy Coherence in Adaptation Studies: Selecting and Using Indicators of Climate Resilience " (2018-CCRP-DS.16). (PCAS) project combines an analysis of international best practice and approaches to the development of climate change indicators co-designed by key stakeholder representatives to identify a tailored suite of Ireland-relevant climate adaptation indicators. The results of this project along with proposals on indicators announced in the recent EU Adaptation Strategy will inform Ireland’s approach to indicators at national level.

The NAF and its related sectoral plans form part of an iterative process and will be revised at a minimum every five years to reflect developments in scientific knowledge and to facilitate the modification and escalation of adaptation actions as necessary in line with National priorities, CCAC recommendations and Ireland’s EU and International obligations including any obligations in relation to increasing adaptive capacity

Ireland is at a relatively early stage in implementing adaptation policies at national and local level and the MRE methodology used at national level will be better able to examine how existing MRE mechanisms can be better used to measure progress in increasing adaptive capacity.

Some progress has been evident that may be relevant under this heading and that have already been reported in other sections of this report.

This includes, but is not limited to;
• Established horizontal and vertical coordination mechanisms have been established on adaptation at national level
• A Climate Information Platform, Climate Ireland established within EPA
• 7 sectoral adaptation plans have been developed across 12 sectors
• Climate change is being considered by the Government in its responses flood risk and coastal change
• Adaptation planning mechanisms are provided for in legislation and are subject to regular review by Government
• The CCAC has been established and provides independent and regular advice to Government on adaptation
• Adaptation planning has been established within Ireland’s Local Government sector.

Ireland will examine how best to report on this item in future reporting cycles with having regard to guidance from the Commission and best practice examples submitted by other Member States. Each year since 2017, the CCAC review under the Climate Act considers the implementation of adaptation policy and assesses progress towards climate resilience. CCAC Annual reviews and responses by it to all sectors in relation to the development of the sectoral plans are published on the CCAC website.

The NAF and its related sectoral plans also form part of an iterative process and will be revised at a minimum every five years to reflect developments in scientific knowledge and to facilitate the modification and escalation of adaptation actions as necessary in line with National priorities, CCAC recommendations and Ireland’s EU and International obligations including any obligations in relation to the reducing climate impacts, vulnerabilities and risks.

Ireland is at a relatively early stage in implementing adaptation policies at national and local level and the MRE methodology used will be better able to measure progress in this area over the medium to longer term. A summary of current state of play on implementation of sectoral adaptation plans and local adaptation strategies is provided in a previous section.

Each year since 2017, the CCAC review under the Climate Act considers the implementation of adaptation policy and assesses progress towards climate resilience. CCAC Annual reviews and responses by CCAC to all sectors in relation to the development of the sectoral plans are published on the CCAC website.

The CCAC submitted a review of the adaptation planning process (Progress towards a Climate-Resilient Ireland: Review of Statutory Sectoral Adaptation Plan Making 2018-2019) to the Department of the Taoiseach and the then Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment in December 2019. This document examines the llearnings from the first cycle of statutory adaptation plan making under the Climate Act 2015 and NAF. The recommendations in this document are being considered and will be used as an input into planned revisions to the National Adaptation Framework and also to any revision to national guidance on adaptation. The report is published on the CCAC website.

The NAF and the sectoral plans produced under the NAF form part of an iterative process and will be revised at a minimum every five years to reflect developments in scientific knowledge and to facilitate the modification and escalation of adaptation actions as necessary in line with National priorities, CCAC recommendations and Ireland’s EU and International obligations including any obligations in addressing barriers to adaptation.

The MRE methodology used will be better able to measure progress in in implementing adaptation policies at national and local level over the medium to longer term. A summary of existing barriers to adaptation identified for Ireland is provided earlier in this report.

Since 2017, the annual CCAC review under the Climate Act considers the implementation of adaptation policy and assesses progress towards climate resilience. CCAC Annual reviews and responses by CCAC to all sectors in relation to the development of the sectoral plans are published on the CCAC website.

As previously noted, the CCAC submitted a review of the adaptation planning process (Progress towards a Climate-Resilient Ireland: Review of Statutory Sectoral Adaptation Plan Making 2018-2019) to the Department of the Taoiseach and the then Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment in December 2019. This document examines the lessons that can be learned from the first cycle of statutory adaptation plan making under the Climate Act 2015 and NAF. The recommendations in this document, are being considered and will be used as an input into planned revisions to the National Adaptation Framework and in any revision to national guidance on adaptation.

The EPA Research Project Nolan P, Flanagan J (2020) High-Resolution Climate Projections for Ireland – A Multi-model Ensemble Approach. EPA Research Report, 339 downscales multiple global climate models to provide a high resolution set of climate projections for Ireland. These updated climate projections for Ireland will need to be analysed to identify potential impacts for different sectors in different parts of the country.

The climate projections in the report are broadly in line with previous research, which adds a measure of confidence to the projections. Moreover, the current report presents projections of additional
climate fields and derived variables that are of vital importance to sectors such as agriculture, health, energy, biodiversity and transport. It is envisaged that the research will inform policy and further the
understanding of the potential environmental impacts of climate change in Ireland at a local scale. This work will be used to feed into revisions of national policies, for example the next iteration of sectoral adaptation plans.

Adaptation research under the EPA Research Programme is also being progressed to fill knowledge gaps on adaptation on an ongoing basis under the following headings:
• Observations, monitoring and analysis
• Modelling of future climate
• Impacts, risk and vulnerability assessment
• Adaptation information and responses.

Documents related to all projects completed under the EPA Research Programme are available on the EPA website. The EPA led Climate Change Research Coordination Group acts to co-ordinate climate change related research in Ireland including adaptation. EPA are currently working on finalising a new EPA Research Programme to cover the period up until 2030.

The NAF and the sectoral plans produced under NAF and climate legislation form part of an iterative process and will be revised at a minimum every five years to reflect developments in scientific knowledge and to facilitate the modification and escalation of adaptation actions as necessary in line with National priorities, CCAC recommendations and Ireland’s EU and International obligations. The NAF must be reviewed before January 2023. Revised and/or new sectoral plans covering new sectors will follow after a e revised NAF is approved by Government and in line with statutory requirements including requirements in relation to public consultation..

The Government is currently working on a new Climate Action Plan which will include measures on adaptation which will complement existing action outlined in NAF and sectoral plans. This is scheduled to be published in 2021.

Ireland’s climate legislation the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 is currently being revised. The published Climate Action (Amendment) Bill introduces a system of 5-year economy-wide carbon budgets, which will outline a ceiling for total greenhouse gas emissions. These will be prepared by the Climate Change Advisory Council and presented to Government to consider and approve, with input from the Oireachtas.

The Bill largely maintains the provisions on adaptation in the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015, however, it include a number of provisions that will strengthen existing governance and oversight mechanisms with regard to adaptation. The Bill includes some key elements relevant to adaptation;
• Strengthens the role of the Climate Change Advisory Council
• Includes provisions to facilitate better cross sectoral cooperation on adaptation
• Introduces a requirement to annually revise the Climate Action Plan, which will include adaptation measures
• Introduces a requirement for all Local Authorities to prepare individual Climate Action Plans which will include both mitigation and adaptation measures
• Gives a stronger oversight role for the Oireachtas through an Oireachtas Committee

Ireland’s local adaptation strategies have been in place since 2019. Draft climate legislation introduces a requirement for all Local Authorities to prepare individual Climate Action Plans which will include both mitigation and adaptation measures.

Ireland’s Programme for Government recognises that all sectors including local government must play their part to achieve our climate goals in a fair way, and the important role of communities in achieving the climate actions required to meet our obligations.

A key part of Ireland’s review and updates to subnational adaptation plans, policies, strategies and measures will involve significant public engagement and consultation processes.
 The Government is currently drafting a new Climate Action Plan 2021 which will include additional measures on adaptation to complement existing action outlined in NAF and sectoral plans. This is scheduled to be published in 2021.

Currently the EPA are working with Yale University to undertake a nationally representative survey of the Irish population with a view to understanding values, beliefs, understandings and policy preferences. The outcomes of this work will be further used to target specific segments of the population for awareness raising, engagement and behavioural change campaigns.

In tandem with this, a new enduring structure is being developed for the National Dialogue on Climate Action which aims to increase awareness, engagement and will give all of society the opportunity to fully engage constructively in climate action

This new structure will harness existing networks, support better communications, and involve specific stakeholder groups. It will have a strong action focus, promoting and leveraging citizen, sectoral and regional involvement in delivering actions within their sphere of influence, including bringing about long-term behavioural change

As a first step in establishing this structure DECC is hosting a series of climate conversations which will feed into this new engagement model, and more importantly help support climate action at Local and Community level. This process harnesses existing networks such as public participation networks at local level, that are already working in the area of climate work programmes and outreach on climate awareness and engagement. The feedback received will feed into policies, measures and actions to be set out in the next iteration of the Climate Action Plan 2021.

In January 2018, the Irish Government established four Climate Action Regional Offices (CAROs). The four CAROs are: Atlantic Seaboard North, Atlantic Seaboard South, Dublin Metropolitan Region, and Eastern and Midlands. These are operated by a lead local authority in each region (Mayo County Council, Cork County Council, Dublin City Council, and Kildare County Council, respectively). The CAROs play an important role in ensuring that cross-sectoral issues are identified and addressed, and in community engagement. They also played a key role in coordinating the development of the local authority adaptation strategies, and ensuring their alignment with sectoral adaptation plans.

Ireland’s NAF recognises the importance of maximising synergies with other international frameworks particularly the Sustainable Development Goals and has ensured that Ireland’s national response on adaptation is coordinated with its response on the SDGs.

The SDGs cut across a range of pressing environmental challenges. SDG 13: Climate Action. SDG 13 has the following targets relevant to the National Adaptation Framework:
• Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries
• Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning
• Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning.

In Ireland, each of the 169 SDG targets has been assigned to a lead Government Department. The Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) has responsibility for leading implementation of SDG 13 ‘Climate Action’. In addition to leading on climate policy, DECC also has responsibility for promoting the SDGs, and for overseeing their coherent implementation across Government.

The first National Implementation Plan (2018-2020), published in 2018, set out Ireland’s strategy to achieve the SDGs both domestically and internationally. The Goals are mainstreamed in domestic policy and the governance structure reflects a whole-of-government approach and ensures coordination and coherence, in particular where Goals cover areas of shared responsibility.

An important element of the first Plan is the SDG Policy Map and Matrix, which identified lead and stakeholder Departments for each of the Goals and targets and also mapped national sectoral policies to identify which policies were most relevant to which SDGs and their associated targets.

The SDG Policy Map and Matrix, available online, enhances the ability of stakeholders to track Ireland’s implementation of specific SDGs and associated targets, and to assess Ireland’s response to the SDGs for potential policy gaps. It also supported and enhanced cross-Government engagement in implementing each of the Goals and Targets.

Government Departments have committed to achieving a wide-range of targets under these Goals, including those which focus on climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts.

DECC has also been identified as a stakeholder for Goals 6 and 14, highlighting the cross-cutting nature of the SDGs and the guidance DECC provides in its adaptation responsibilities.

In 2018, the BIC Member Administrations agreed terms of reference for a subgroup meeting several times a year on climate adaptation, chaired by the Government of Ireland. To develop improved collaboration and encourage information sharing on climate adaptation across the BIC region, the Government of Ireland hosted an online symposium for sharing experiences and best practice on climate resilient critical infrastructure on 20 October 2020. Representatives from all BIC Member Administrations, Government Agencies, infrastructure providers, and a number of adaptation experts from across the BIC region attended.

At COP25, DECC participated in a side event on adaptation leadership, policy and local and regional adaptation in collaboration with the Scottish Government.

Met Éireann is continuing to work on global ensemble climate simulations using the EC-Earth model for various emission scenarios as well as downscaling the output for the Irish region. The results from this research will contribute to the next IPCC AR6 report and also feed into the different national and EU climate services projects. Met Éireann, as Ireland’s representative for EUMETSAT and ECMWF and with expertise in the areas on satellite Earth Observation and in situ (non-space) data, has a pivotal role in improving coordination, communication and policy linkage with the Copernicus programme and the UN’s World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). It is through their interactions with global organisations such as the WMO and the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS), and European communities such as EUMETNET and others that enables Met Éireann support climate adaptation and home and abroad. Met Éireann’s national TRANSLATE project for example feeds from best international practice and aims to standardise official national climate projections while also developing climate services infrastructure to support adaptation decision making. This helps to establish coordination and build critical knowledge within climate sensitive sectors including academia.

Ireland is also a member of the OECD’s Task Force on climate change adaptation. This time-limited Task Force provides countries with an opportunity for focused discussion and knowledge exchange on national policies on climate change adaptation and ways to accelerate implementation actions
 ‘Transboundary Adaptation Learning Exchange’ (TalX) is a collaborative project across Northern Ireland, Ireland, Scotland, England, and Wales, funded under the EPA Research Programme and led by University College Cork. TalX aims to establish an innovative learning network to enable a cohesive approach for measuring and acting on climate change adaptation across boundaries.

CHERISH (Climate, Heritage and Environments of Reefs, Islands, and Headlands) is a six-year collaboration between the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales, the Discovery Programme, Innovation Ireland, Aberystwyth University, and Geological Survey Ireland. The project is receiving €5.1 million through the Ireland-Wales 2014-2020 Programme. The aim of the project is to raise awareness and understanding of the past, present and near-future impacts of climate change, storminess, and extreme weather events on the cultural heritage of the Irish and Welsh regional seas and coast, by employing innovative techniques to study some of the most iconic coastal locations in Ireland and Wales.

Climate action has been identified as a major policy priority of "A Better World", Ireland’s international development policy published in February 2019. The policy includes a commitment to ‘climate-proof’ all of Ireland’s development assistance, meaning that climate change will be taken into consideration in all decision-making.

Ireland’s international climate support explicitly focuses on the needs of those least responsible for causing climate change, and with most to lose, namely Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS). At the heart of Ireland’s climate action is a commitment to climate justice, especially gender, and a focus on those furthest behind. Ireland provides significant support to the LDC negotiating bloc and supports the consideration of gender equality in climate action. The vast majority of Ireland’s climate finance is for adaptation. It is nearly all grant based.

Ireland is an active member of the Least Developed Country Expert Group of the UNFCCC, one of only 3 developed countries, and the work of the UNFCCC Secretariat in guiding the development of National Adaptation Plans.

Ireland has been a strong proponent of adaptation action at International level and has signed up to "A Call for Action: Raising Ambition for Climate Adaptation and Resilience", which was launched at the UN Climate Action Summit in 2019, under the leadership of the UK and Egypt. The Call aims to give equal and increased urgency to adapt to climate impacts and build resilience for the future. The UK and Egypt aim to build on the Call and deliver tangible progress towards COP26, which the UK Government is hosting.

Ireland also endorsed the new Principles for Locally Led Action at the recent Adaptation Summit in the Netherlands, held in January 2021 and is committed to the LDC Initiative for Effective Adaptation and Resilience (LIFE-AR) to which we provide financial support. Currently just 10% of climate finance reaches community level. LIFE-AR aims to increase this to 70% by 2030.

At EU level the Germany-Ireland Joint Plan of Action, drawn up by the Ministries of Foreign Affairs in both countries, includes a project on ‘Enhanced cooperation on energy and climate action. Implementation of the project has unfortunately been impacted by the Covid 19 pandemic.