Monitoring and reporting of adaptation actions plays a vital role in assessing how well sectors and systems are preparing for and responding to climate change. Tracking and reporting progress also helps to identify where more resources and knowledge are needed to increase the resilience of national and Transport systems.
The current Transport Sectoral Adaptation Plan (Transport SAP) sets out 21 recommendations for adaptation action, spanning research, knowledge-building and investment considerations. These are progressed and monitored on an ongoing basis by the Department of Transport with the support of Transport sector and national adaptation stakeholders.
As preparation for the next version of the Transport SAP, the Department is developing monitoring, reporting, evaluation and learning (MREL) structures to gather information on climate change adaptation across the Transport sub-sectors. These structures will align with the ‘outcomes-based approach’ and the focus on monitoring and managing of adaptation actions as set out in the new draft National Adaptation Framework.
MREL structures will be built into the new Transport SAP and will ensure that actions are tracked over the lifetime of the plan.
For more information on how our Transport infrastructure sub-sectors are building climate resilience into our Transport systems, click here.
At national level, Ireland reports to the European Union (EU) on national climate change adaptation progress through the reporting structures of the EU’s Governance Regulation 2018/1999 for energy and climate change.
The EU also produces summary reports of how members states including Ireland are progressing adaptation. A recent report by EU Commission staff provides a snapshot of climate adaptation action across Europe.
Under the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Acts 2015 to 2021, the Minister for Transport reports to the Houses of the Oireachtas every year on adaptation through climate action progress statements to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment and Climate.
Adaptation actions for Transport as well as for the other NAF sectors are also tracked through their integration into the Climate Action Plan and its annual reporting structures. To see the latest in-force Climate Action Plan 2023, click here. A new Climate Action Plan 2024 (CAP24) is being developed. To find out more about it, see the public consultation on the new draft which closed on 05 April.
Since 2019, the Department of Transport has also provided updates on sectoral adaptation progress to the Climate Change Advisory Council (CCAC), which has a dedicated Adaptation Committee. The CCAC’s Annual Review, which is published online, summarises adaptation progress across all sectors and includes a useful sectoral adaptation ‘scorecard’. The latest CCAC Annual Review can be found at: https://www.climatecouncil.ie/councilpublications/annualreviewandreport/