Ireland’s increased exposure to coastal flooding, coastal erosion and extreme wind requires urgent action within the next five years, an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report says.
The EPA’s National Climate Change Risk Assessment, published today (Wed, June 4th), provides government, business, communities and other stakeholders with “the best available evidence and analysis to inform climate adaptation and resilience in Ireland at a national level”, it says.
It identifies 115 risks from projected changes in climate conditions, including in energy, transport, communications, water security, public health, food production and supply and ecosystems.
The major study, which is the first of its type here, was undertaken by the EPA in collaboration with government departments, state agencies, and other stakeholders to assess where, when and how climate risks are likely to impact Ireland over the coming decades.
The risk assessment will support the development of Sectoral Adaptation Plans by key government departments, will guide the development of local authority adaptation plans and inform other national-level adaptation responses, the EPA says.
Of the 115 risks identified by the report from projected changes in climate conditions, a total of 43 are deemed “significant risks”, it says.
The risks span all sectors of our economy, society, and environment, from energy, transport and communications to water security, public health, food production and supply and ecosystems.
EPA director general Laura Burke said that “we know that Ireland is being impacted by climate change already”.
“This comprehensive assessment highlights the need for additional urgent action to ensure Ireland is sustainably resilient to the risks that we currently face, and will increasingly experience, in the coming decades,” she said.
“This report, the first National Climate Change Risk Assessment, clearly shows how risks cascade across sectors. Recent events, such as Storms Darragh and Éowyn, demonstrated how damage to critical infrastructure such as energy, water supply, transport and communications networks in turn gives rise to impacts on human health, biodiversity and the financial system,” she said.
“ Addressing these risks in an integrated and consistent way is key to achieving our national climate resilience objective,” she said.
The significant risks identified by the report as requiring urgent action within the next five years are:
- The risk of disruption and damage to communications and energy distribution infrastructure due to extreme wind, and;
- The risk of disruption and damage to buildings and transport infrastructure due to extreme wind, coastal erosion and coastal flooding.
Dr Eimear Cotter, Director of the EPA’s Office of Evidence and Assessment, said that the assessment “underscores the need for immediate action in the next five years to enhance the resilience of Ireland’s critical infrastructure to climate change”.
“The risks with the most consequential and highest urgency ratings relate to extreme wind, coastal erosion and coastal flooding. These must be prioritised in adaptation and resilience actions to address climate risks and provide a basis for ensuring adaptation planning in Ireland is appropriately integrated across sectors,” she said.
The Main Report and Summary for Policy Makers are available on the EPA website and the Climate Ireland adaptation portal.
