South Dublin County Climate Change strategy promotes best practice in relation to Climate Change issues and focuses on five key strategic focus areas - Energy, Planning, Transport, Waste Management and Biodiversity. Annual updates are provided to the Environment SPC.

EU policy on climate change adaptation guides Irish policy, and the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government has now published the National Climate Change Adaptation Framework (Dec 2012). This is intended to provide the policy context for a strategic national response to the challenge of climate change. The Framework requires the preparation of draft local and sectoral plans in consultation with stakeholders. The over-arching objective of these plans is to identify and implement changes necessary to address the many impacts of climate change in order to protect people and jobs, increase resilience and ensure transition to a competitive, low-carbon future.

The first phase of this strategy is already focused on identifying national vulnerability to climate change evaluating likely impacts against current adaptive capacity. The Environmental Protection Agency is the focus of the preparation of data and evidence bases necessary to enable this work.

In the second phase, sectoral plans will be consulted and prepared by the relevant Government Departments and Agencies and these will be published in draft by mid-2014 at the latest. Spatial planning processes will be the arena for integrating and implementing climate change objectives. Local development planning will become the mechanism for delivering local climate-adaptation actions. This will involve adaptation reviews of existing Development Plans being underway by mid-2014. The Department of Environment and the EPA have committed to the preparation of guidelines for integrating adaptation strategies into Development Plans and Strategic Environmental Assessment to facilitate these reviews. Adaptation plans will identify criteria for review, as well as timescales, mechanisms and staff available.

Adaptation and mitigation strategies affect a whole range of subjects. These include -

• Riverine flooding / flood forecasting
• Coastal erosion and protection strategies
• Food security and changing crop patterns
• Fishing and changing fish stock patterns
• Forestry and species selection into the future

The process is complex requiring baseline research, capacity building, mainstreaming of adaptation strategies, risk assessment and planned responses.

Oversight of the implementation of the National Climate Change Adaptation Framework, in a manner which secures the necessary integrated cross-Government approach to adaptation planning, will be delivered through the Cabinet Committee on Climate Change and the Green Economy supported by the related Senior Officials Group. Each Minister will also be responsible for ensuring that a Programme of policies for their sector is considered and adopted. The governance structure in climate adaptation planning will be underpinned by primary legislation and the guidelines to be issued by the Department and the EPA.

Review of the Council's Climate Change Strategy and development of an Adaptation Strategy is included in the work programme for the Environment, Climate Change and Waters Services Directorate for 2014 and will be presented to the Environment SPC later this year.