Ireland 'woefully unprepared' for 'more frequent and severe' extreme weather events

Extreme weather events such as heatwaves, flooding, and coastal surges are going to be more extreme and frequent in the future. Picture: Eamonn Farrell

Ireland is woefully unprepared for future extreme weather events such as heatwaves, flooding, and coastal surges, which are going to be more extreme and frequent in the future.

That is according to the Climate Change Advisory Council (CCAC), which called on the Government to take "urgent action" on adapting to the new realities brought on by ever-increasing global warming, including the hottest temperature in Ireland for 135 years this week.

The CCAC has written to Environment Minister Eamon Ryan, calling for a renewed focus on adaptation measures, as opposed to mitigation, which has taken the vast majority of the focus in Ireland's answer to climate change.

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When it comes to climate change, adaption refers to adjusting to the current and future effects of climate change, while mitigation refers to the likes of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the key cause of human-induced global warming.

Met Éireann issued thunderstorm warnings for 13 counties yesterday as the country remained in the grip of a heatwave, with temperatures reaching 28C in places. While far short of the 33C recorded in Phoenix Park on Monday, Met Éireann warned of further possible heat-stress and localised flooding in places.

Professor Peter Thorne, chair of the CCAC's adaptation committee, said: “Ireland needs to urgently take the steps required to ensure that it is as resilient as it can be within a world where extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and severe.

“Decisionmakers at Government, department, and national level must be better prepared in their adaptation planning and actions so they can take account of the full range of potential changes projected." To be effective, adaptation governance structures will need to be revised and restructured, he added.

Ireland's first statutory National Adaptation Framework (NAF) was developed in 2015 and published in 2018. It sets out the national strategy to reduce the vulnerability of the country to climate change. The NAF is currently being revised, and a public consultation was launched in May this year. The review must be published by the autumn of 2023.

Chair of the CCAC, Marie Donnelly, called it  "imperative" that an initial adaptation budget to 2030 be set, following an assessment of what is required to make Ireland resilient by 2050 and beyond. 

"This budget must be determined in light of the social cost of climate change over at least the next 30 years and must reflect the need to prioritise funding for adaptation to a significantly greater degree than is currently the case," she said.

The CCAC has published 34 recommendations to the public consultation process, including the addition of adaptation plans for the likes of financial services, tourism, sport and the built environment. Coastal resilience also requires urgent attention, it said.

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