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Ireland’s Environment 2012
28
remains difficult and further work is
required to understand the carbon
dynamics of these land uses.
As carbon removals are likely to
be important in achievement of
future climate targets, the roles
and potential contributions of
managed land will come under
increasing attention. Policy
measures to preserve or enhance
existing removals and reduce
carbon losses will be required.
These will need to be combined
with robust measurement and
verification systems, in order to meet
international accounting standards.
Climate Change Impacts and
Adaptation
A range of analyses of climate-
change impacts for Ireland have
been developed. These are based on
climate modelling centred on Ireland
and pan-European analyses. These
analyses have been carried out in
co-operation with other state
agencies and funding bodies
including Met Éireann, OPW and
SEAI. The output from this work
has included an analysis of potential
impacts for Ireland, as summarised
in the State of Knowledge Report
(EPA, CCRP, 2009).
Research in this area is designed to
support decision making to increase
the climate resilience of key sectors
and vulnerable regions and to
provide input for the development
of a National Climate Change
Adaptation Framework. This can
support sectoral and local level
planning and decision making in
the context of climate change. At
a broader scale it also develops
a basis for provision of future
climate services as envisaged in
the outcomes of the Third World
Climate Conference (2009). It
further contributes to the European
Climate Change Adaptation Platform
“Climate-Adapt” which was
launched in 2012, and the proposed
EU Adaptation Strategy, which is
expected to be published in 2013.
Ongoing work includes:
n
National vulnerability assessment
n
Development of a pilot climate
information system for Ireland
n
Methodologies and guidelines
for risk assessment and costing
adaptation options.
Recently completed research includes
the National Adaptive Capacity
Assessment (EPA, CCRP, 2011),
which shows that Ireland is in a
good position to begin planning
for climate change, with a number
of sectors and local authorities
integrating climate change issues
into decision making. A national
framework for adaptation is required
to provide a strategic structure for
the development of adaptation
actions in Ireland. Such a framework
is expected to be published by
the DECLG in 2012. The National
Climate Change Adaptation
Framework is likely to flag the need
for ongoing assessment and review
of climate-change vulnerability at the
local and sectoral level with a view to
developing a climate-resilient Ireland.
Climate Change Research
The relatively recent identification
of climate change as a key
environmental and socio-economic
challenge means that research plays
a vital and essentially an operational
role in the development of responses.
At a global level this is reflected in
the work of the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
which provides periodic authoritative
assessment to world governments.
Since 1988 its work has resulted in
all major global actions to address
climate change including formation
of the UNFCCC.
In Ireland, the EPA established a
national climate change research co-
ordination committee in 2007. This
group includes representatives of
the main government departments
and agencies with responsibility for
climate change research. It is working
to improve co-ordination of climate
change research, sharing of data and
communication of research outputs
to policy makers and decision
makers.