The cost of dealing with extreme weather events caused by climate change could surpass €3 billion between now and 2030, Minister for Environment Eamon Ryan has said.
The Green Party leader launched the second National Adaptation Framework on Wednesday which sets out the possible impact of climate change on Ireland, including the costs of dealing with events such as flooding, storm damage and coastal erosion.
Mr Ryan said the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (IFAC) had estimated the cost at about €500 million each year in the short term.
“From now until 2030 that would be roughly €3 billion at least – just to deal with cleaning up after events like flooding. Other estimations would indicate that costs will be higher,” he said.
The framework will require Government, local authorities, and relevant State agencies to prepare new plans for key sectors.
For the first time, tourism has been added as a sector along with agriculture, forestry, biodiversity, transport, and flood risk management. At local authority level, this will include zoning and the need for development to be future proofed.
Speaking outside Government Buildings Mr Ryan said that May was the 12th month in a row where global average heat temperatures were shattered.
He also said that May was the warmest May ever in Ireland with an average temperature of 13 degrees. He said sea temperatures in the North Atlantic had also jumped this year to unprecedented levels.
“We are in a deeply fearful, uncertain period and in uncharted waters that we have to prepare for,” he said.
Mr Ryan said that adaptation measures that were working included rewetting of over 16,000 hectares of bogland, the Government’s €1.3 billion afforestation plan; and – for agricultural pasture – the replacement of monocultural rye grass with multi-sward clover grass. All he said reduced the risk of flooding and increased biodiversity.
Asked about Regina Doherty’s comments that bicycle lanes were becoming a Berlin Wall in Dublin, Mr Ryan said he fundamentally disagreed with her because her solution would result in the capital city being gridlocked with traffic.
“Regina sees political advantage in attacking us. There is a reason for that. I’ve seen it from canvassing doors right around the country. You go to some doors where people see change happening and it’s difficult,” he said.
“They are putting in a bus lane or a cycling lane and it’s difficult and it’s contentious because it changes the way things are in their own local area. And a lot of people are understandably upset or angry and don’t want to see that.
I think what Regina is doing is picking that up on the doors, using it to her political advantage,” he said.
Mr Ryan agreed that electorally it is a difficult period for the Green Party and that concerns around climate change have faded in recent years.
“Back in 2019 was a high watermark in environmental thinking in the world, in Europe and in Ireland,” he said. “It is true that concern about the environment has somewhat faded for a variety of reasons. Covid dominated everything for two years, the war in Ukraine, and then the cost of living crisis were on people’s minds.”
He said it was very hard to judge people’s voting intentions adding: “I’m not without hope we can do well on Friday”.
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