Publication
National Adaptation Framework (NAF)
From Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications
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Ireland's second statutory National Adaptation Framework (NAF) was published by Minister Eamon Ryan TD on 5th of June 2024. This latest NAF replaces the first iteration of the framework published in 2018, which was reviewed in 2022 in line with the five year requirement of the 2015 Climate and Low Carbon Development Act (the Climate Act).
A consultation on a draft of this NAF was held between 19 January 2024 and 19 February 2024 to gather feedback from the public and relevant stakeholders. Climate adaptation refers to action that helps reduce vulnerability to, and avail of potential benefits from expected impacts of climate change. In Ireland, these impacts include extreme weather events, flooding, drought, loss of biodiversity, sea level rise and increased temperatures. The NAF sets out the national strategy to reduce the vulnerability of the country to the negative effects of climate change and to avail of positive impacts.
Ireland will face substantial risks from climate change in the coming years due to the locked in effects of past emissions and it is vital that we prepare for this to minimise the impacts the country will face. Recent experiences of extreme weather such as the fodder crisis of 2023, the flooding of Midleton in October 2023, heatwaves of 2023 and 2022, and windstorms of 2024 (Kathleen), 2022 (Eunice) and 2021 (Barra) highlight the wide range of potential impacts of Ireland’s changing climate. Climate change will also have a large number of "slow onset" impacts affecting key sectors such as forestry, agriculture, biodiversity, water, tourism and built environment.
The NAF outlines a whole of government and society approach to climate adaptation in Ireland. It also aims to improve the enabling environment for adaptation through ongoing engagement with civil society, the private sector, and the research community.
Chapter 1 provides the current context for the NAF and covers the concept of maladaptation as well as other key concepts that inform the NAF such as climate resilience, Just Resilience, incremental adaptation and transformational adaptation. The chapter also focuses on progress and developments in climate adaptation policy and resources since the publishment of the first NAF in 2018.
Chapter 2 establishes the new NAF for delivering climate resilience in Ireland. It takes account of progress made since the first NAF in areas of climate policy, research, sectoral and local adaptation planning, as well as recommendations made in the 2022 NAF review. It sets out the NAF’s adaptation vision, guiding principles, guidance for mainstreaming, cultural and enabling environment, stakeholders and roles, requirements for sectoral and local policymakers, adaptation approach to emergency planning, management and evaluation, and future adaptation research priorities.
Chapter 3 outlines how the NAF will be implemented, revised governance and reporting arrangements, and key actions under the Framework.
The NAF identifies 13 priority sectors under 7 lead departments that are required to prepare sectoral adaptation plans under the Climate Act. The NAF also identifies a new sector in Planning and Built Environment where a scoping exercise is to be carried out in advance of any sectoral plan. The sectors, thematic areas and lead departments for each sectoral plan are set out per the table in the following document:
The deadline for the submission of sectoral plans to Government for approval is Q3 2025. The first series of sectoral plans from 2019 that were prepared under the first NAF can still be accessed on the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications website.
Ireland's first statutory National Adaptation Framework (NAF) was published by Minister Denis Naughten TD on 19 January 2018. The NAF sets out the national strategy to reduce the vulnerability of the country to the negative effects of climate change and to avail of positive impacts. The NAF was developed under the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015.
The NAF builds on the work already carried out under the National Climate Change Adaptation Framework (NCCAF, 2012). The NAF outlines a whole of government and society approach to climate adaptation in Ireland. It also aims to improve the enabling environment for adaptation through ongoing engagement with civil society, the private sector, and the research community.
Chapter 1 provides a summary of observed and projected global climate change and the international and European policy drivers for adaptation to climate change. It also provides a summary of observed and projected climate change impacts in Ireland.
Chapter 2 sets out the progress to date on climate change adaptation planning in Ireland, including work undertaken at sectoral and local government level and initiatives involving civil society and the research community.
Chapter 3 provides a number of guiding principles for adaptation at national level. It includes steps for creating an enabling environment for adaptation planning. It sets out the sectors requiring the preparation of adaptation plans under the NAF, along with proposals for local authority or regional level adaptation strategies.
Chapter 4 outlines how the Framework will be implemented with revised governance and reporting arrangements as well as actions and supporting objectives to be progressed.
The 2015 Climate and Low Carbon Development Act (the Climate Act) requires that the National Adaptation Framework (NAF) be reviewed at least every five years. The NAF review process took place in 2022 with feedback sought from key Sectoral, Department and Agency stakeholders. The review also included a public consultation which was held from May to July, feedback from which was incorporated in the subsequent recommendation to the Minister. A summary report on the consultation is available here.
The Review also examined progress made in implementing actions and objectives under the 2018 NAF, legislative changes to the Climate Act in 2021 and submissions by the Climate Change Advisory Council (CCAC) into the review process. The Review also takes account of key developments at International and EU level, notably the publication of the IPCC Working Group I and II reports, the agreement and publication of the new 2021 EU Adaptation Strategy, and feedback on current Adaptation policy in Ireland. A Report on the NAF Review was approved by Minister Ryan in October 2022, and recommends the development of a new NAF in 2023.