Water and CCAC’s 2023 Climate Change Adaptation Scorecard

On an annual basis, the Climate Change Advisory Council (CCAC) publishes a sectoral Adaptation Scorecard. Among the priority policy sectors included are flood risk management, under the remit of the OPW, and water quality and water services infrastructure, under the remit of Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (DHLGH). In 2023, the former achieved an overall progress rating of ‘good’ while the later was rated ‘moderate’.

Sectoral Adaptation Plans or SAPs are mandated under sections 6 and 7 of the Climate Act and were developed as a core action under National Adaptation Framework (NAF) 2018. In an effort to provide a structured approach to sectoral climate change adaptation, under NAF 2018, 12 priority policy sectors were grouped into nine SAPs and clustered under four themes.

Three of the priority sectors – flood risk management; water quality; and water services infrastructure – were grouped under the water resource and flood risk management theme.

Assessment

Assessing the progress of SAPs – and local adaptation strategies – and monitoring implementation of the NAF, the CCAC publishes an annual sectoral Adaptation Scorecard. Alongside local government and DECC, priority sectors are assessed against three key adaptation themes (via a questionnaire developed by the CCAC):

1. risk, prioritisation, and adaptative capacity;
2. resourcing and mainstreaming; and
3. governance, coordination, and cross cutting issues.

Given the shared challenge of inadequate financial resourcing and staffing capacity, the second theme – resourcing and mainstreaming – continues to be a pervasive challenge across sectors.

Climate change context

According to a summary of observed and projected climate changes and impacts for Ireland contained within NAF 2024, in Ireland, observed annual precipitation has increased by 6 per cent from 1989 to 2018 when compared with 1961 to 1990, with evidence indicating a tend toward increased winter rainfall and decreased summer rainfall.

Further projections suggest that there could be a substantial decrease (of between 0 to 17 per cent) in precipitation in summer months. By mid-century, it is predicted that Ireland’s precipitation climate will become more variable, with significant increases in the frequency and intensity of both dry periods and extreme precipitation events.

As a consequence of decreased summer precipitation, drought could increase in frequency, resulting in water stress for soil and livestock, while more extreme precipitation events could then lead to more frequent and intensive pluvial (overland flow) and fluvial (flow from rivers and streams) flooding.

Sectoral impacts of climate change

In the water quality and water services sector, there are two main potential impacts of climate change:

1. projected increases in average temperatures and an increase in invasive species could undermine habitats and reduced water quality; and
2. the projected increase in droughts allied to higher evapotranspiration rates could reduce river flow, groundwater recharge, and reservoir refill capacity, ultimately contributing to water supply shortages. At the same time, increased precipitation could increase pollutant concentrations (especially nutrients) in water bodies, leading to eutrophication and algal bloom.

Meanwhile, in flood risk management, there are several potential impacts of climate change, including:

1. projected increased storm intensity, extreme precipitation events, and rising sea levels could result in a higher frequency of extensive flooding;
2. many existing flood relief schemes requiring reappraisal in the absence of climate adaptation provisions;
3. saturated agricultural lands impacting drainage schemes;
4. rising sea levels and extreme precipitation damaging embankments in estuarine areas, increasing exposure to coastal flooding; and
5. inhibiting access to hydrometric stations.

Adaptation Scorecard

In its July 2023 Third Climate Change Adaptation Scorecard Final Report, the Climate Change Advisory Council published sectoral adaptation scorecard results for both flood risk management (under the remit of the OPW) and water quality and water services infrastructure (under the remit of DHLGH). The scorecard is a summary of progress on national climate adaptation in 2022.

Water quality and water services infrastructure

Overall, the adaptation plan for the water quality and water services infrastructure sectors is to assess significant future climate risk and outline the available adaptative measure to establish a climate resilient water sector. These measures, developed by stakeholders engaged in future adaptation planning, include:

• adopting an ‘integrated catchment management’ approach;
• enhancing water services infrastructure via treatment capacity and network functions;
• water resource planning and conservation (in both supply and demand); and
• incorporating climate actions into monitoring programmes and research.

In the CCAC’s assessment, the water quality and water services infrastructure sectors have made progress in establishing climate resilience through collaborative measures, including a nature-based solutions pilot project incorporating DHLGH, Cork City Council, and Dublin City Council to manage urban run-off challenges.

However, from a CCAC perspective, the sector must improve its systematic coordination with the SAP to ensure that solutions are implemented at catchment scale, thereby unlocking mutual benefit for water quality, biodiversity, and climate resilience. This, it suggests, could be delivered by the project delivery office being formed under the new River Basin Management Plan.

Meanwhile, key challenges include a failure to make significant progress towards understanding climate change impacts and developing the necessary solutions across the sector. Allied to this is an absence of detailed monitoring of SAP implementation, specific information on the effectiveness of coordination structures for this implementation, and evidence of adaptation being mainstreamed across government departments, local authorities, and relevant agencies.

Two plans – either developed or under development – which contain climate resilience aspects across the water quality and water services infrastructure sectors are:

1. the Fifth Nitrates Action Programme (2022-2025) which is intended to prevent pollution with agriculture origins and improve water quality; and
2. the National Water Resources Plan (developed by Uisce Éireann) which will outline Ireland’s move towards “a safe, secure, reliable and sustainable water supply” over the next 25 years, including via smarter supply and demand reduction.

Flood risk management

The CCAC assesses that the OPW has strong internal structures to cohesively plan, implement, and monitor the flood risk management sector SAP, as well as wider adaptation actions. It also reports that effective cross-sectoral working relationships and leadership buy-in have been established.

However, with the OPW seeking to mainstream adaptation into policy – including integrating future flood risk in economic appraisal guidance and embedding climate change consideration and adaptation requirements in the design of existing and new flood relief schemes – staffing remains a challenge.

As such, while training is being undertaken, given existing and forthcoming strategies and programmes, the CCAC has recommended that dedicated adaptation staffing be expanded with the OPW.

The CCAC also recommends the provision of a “greater demonstration” of the impacts of flood relief work undertaken by the OPW, suggesting that those most vulnerable to flooding are consulted.

Conclusion

As such, overcoming barriers to adaptation in water-related sectors remains a challenge. These barriers include insufficient resourcing and inadequate understanding of vulnerability to the risks and impacts of climate change.

Concluding, the CCAC’s Adaptation Scorecard identifies the pursuit of “string internal governance structures and leadership buy-in” as being key enablers for the sectors. It also suggests that the establishment of steering groups and coordination structures to be “crucial” for the implementation and monitoring of the SAPs. Finally, it advocates for enhanced community, NGO, and private sector participation in adaptation planning and implementation.

Under NAF 2024, which establishes Ireland’s updated climate adaptation policy and was approved and published by government in June 2024, 13 priority sectors (under the remit of seven lead government departments) are required to develop new SAPs in response to the potentially negative impacts and positive impacts of climate change. These SAPs must be completed and submitted for government approval by 30 September 2025.

Furthermore in NAF 2024, the ‘water quality and water services infrastructure’ policy sector for adaptation has been rebranded as the ‘water management’ sector.