What is Adaptation?

If the greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming completely stopped from today, some of the effects of global climate change would still continue for many decades. This is because some changes are now baked into the world’s weather and natural systems due to past and current carbon emissions.

To address climate change in an effective way, we therefore must do two things. We must take urgent action to lessen or mitigate climate change by lowering emissions as fast as possible. At the same time, we must take action to help human and natural systems to cope with and bounce back quicker from climate change impacts, both now and in the future.

Taking action to adapt our systems and to build resilience to climate change impacts can also help to fix other related climate challenges and issues. Well- designed adaptation actions also to support our economy, jobs and communities as well as helping to support habitats and biodiversity. Planning, based on expert knowledge and science, is required to work out the best actions to take and how best to protect our human and natural systems from climate change impacts now and in the future. There are also benefits to planning in a joined-up way for the sorts of future changes to our lives that climate change is expected to bring. By taking early action, we can hopefully turn some of these unpreventable impacts to our advantage, as well as helping to protect our society in a changing world. If we don’t do this, we will likely face greater impacts and costs in the future.

To find out more, check out Climate Ireland, the national climate adaptation platform provided by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Science tells us that the world is already experiencing climate change caused by human activities at home and abroad. Average temperatures are rising with high temperature records being set every year. Our seasons are shifting and we’re seeing more frequent extreme weather events such as storms and droughts, as well as slower impacts like sea level rise. The changes that we’re experiencing now are also expected to increase over the coming decades.

In Ireland, communities, human and natural systems are feeling the effects of stronger and more frequent winter storms and heavier rainfall and flooding in autumn and winter, as well as hotter summer temperatures. The rate of sea level rise has also speeded up, challenging the ability of our coastal cities and communities to respond, and causing more erosion and wear and tear along our coasts. The science is also now starting to allow us to measure the specific role of climate change in our recent extreme weather. It is showing that climate change is making these events more extreme and more dangerous.

Climate changes that impact on citizens, communities and natural systems also impact on Transport infrastructure and systems as these connect people, goods and places together and link Ireland to the rest of the world. Increased flooding, rainfall events, high winds, storm surges and sea level rise have been identified as strong climate risks for our roads, railways, airports and sea ports. Building resilience to coastal erosion is also a priority for Transport infrastructure lying close to the sea. Adapting infrastructure to higher summer heat will also increase the well-being of travellers. It will support connectivity across our island at all times of the year.

There are many different types of climate change adaptation actions that can be taken, depending on who and what is impacted and the type of climate impact involved.

Flood defences can be built along rivers and coast to protect communities, houses and farmland against storm surges and flooding. Early warning systems for extreme weather events can be put in place to allow communities to prepare for impacts. Research and technology can be used to predict and map where climate impacts will have the greatest effect on different sectors. Government, businesses, communities and citizens can use research and technology to identify what the best responses are and how to future-proof spending on climate action. Many actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from Transport (i.e. climate ‘mitigation’ actions) will also have adaptation benefits.

Adaptation of Transport infrastructure to build climate resilience can take many forms, depending on the types of infrastructure and the impacts involved. Check out the Transport Climate Change Sectoral Adaptation Plan to find out more.

Examples of adaptation actions can include:

• planning and putting in place measures to make adaptation part of business as usual across all Government and Transport stakeholder planning,

• putting adaptation on the agenda of management boards in Transport organisations as this can help to make sure that adaptation is tracked and that effective actions are being put in place,

• training staff so that they have a better understanding of climate risks and what to do about them.

Increasing knowledge and awareness of adaptation across the Transport sector is very important. It feeds into planning and engineering design for our roads, railways, ports and airports over their lifetimes. It can also inform day-to-day maintenance and repair programmes as well as the running of Transport networks. Authorities can also use emergency planning processes for climate change impacts. This helps to put systems in place that help our networks to bounce back more quickly when climate change impacts hit, including current and future extreme weather events.

Best practice tells us that no matter what action is put in place, certain key points should be built into all climate adaptation planning, policies and actions. Transport adaptation actions should be driven by science and evidence, including the most up-to-date information on our changing weather patterns and impacts. Actions should be fair, transparent and based on the needs and rights of communities. They should be taken by the right organisations, government or Transport stakeholders at the right time.

The Government is responsible for planning and coordination of climate change adaptation at a national level, while the Department of Transport is responsible for coordinating climate change adaptation for the Transport sector. For more detailed information on how this works, see our information on Transport Sector & National Adaptation structures.

In Ireland, government agencies, local authorities and Transport organisations are responsible for putting climate change adaptation measures in place for Transport infrastructure. This can mean working across a range of areas within the different organisations, including management, planning, investment, risk assessment and operational structures. For example, adaptation is taken into account in roads work programmes, in budgeting for more climate-proof railways, and in making long-term strategic plans for infrastructure. What ties these processes together is value for money, making the life of Transport assets longer, keeping services and systems running, keeping places connected, and bouncing back more quickly from extreme events.

Most Transport infrastructure adaptation is carried out by Transport infrastructure organisations and by City and County Councils. Responding to a public consultation is a key way that citizens can help shape how Transport infrastructure is adapted to climate change nationally and in their local area. By law, consultation must be carried out on local authority climate action plans. As part of the planning process, Transport organisations also consult the public and stakeholders on the planning, design and environmental impact of infrastructure proposals.

Citizens can support more resilient transport infrastructure by learning more about climate change and its impacts. You can have your say on the issues that affect you by making submissions on Transport sector adaptation plans and proposals.

Keep an eye out for your chance to comment on a new draft of the Transport Climate Change Sectoral Adaptation Plan, which is expected to go live at the end of 2024.