Introduction to Ireland

Ireland is one of the largest islands in Europe, located in the northwestern region of the European continent. It has a population of 5,380,257,1 with approximately 35% of the population living in rural areas.2 The nation is renowned for its diverse physical landscape, which includes extensive coastlines, mountainous regions, low hills, bogs, and numerous rivers and lakes.3 Its temperate oceanic climate features cooler temperatures throughout the year.4 Ireland’s unique topography and geographical location make it vulnerable to a wide range of climate-related issues, including extreme wind, coastal erosion, and coastal flooding.5 Increased sea levels are another concern for the nation, primarily driven by the melting of ice sheets and glaciers, vertical land motion, and sterodynamics.6  

Ireland’s current economic landscape is facing structural challenges as it experiences a decrease in labor productivity and competitiveness in the global economy.7 This is significant as the nation’s economy is known for being one of the most competitive markets in Europe and the world. The nation is witnessing a steady increase in its population, and has failed to successfully plan to supplement this growth with adequate infrastructure, such as affordable housing, energy, water, and transportation.7 As of 2024, the economy is dominated by its service sector, accounting for 61.8% of its GDP value,8 followed by the industry sector, which is 30.8%.9 These economic concerns should be met with an appropriate response and efforts to diversify economic sectors to help strengthen the nation’s resilience to the climate crisis. 

Mapping Climate Events & Climate-Induced Displacement

The nation of Ireland is moderately vulnerable to the impacts of the climate crisis. As of 2025, it ranks 24th out of 188 countries on the new Climate Fiscal Vulnerability Index developed by Columbia Climate University.10 The development of this index and the research indicate Ireland has the capacity and financial resources to respond to the climate crisis, with its largest vulnerability being climate-induced displacement, where the nation scores a 7.3 out of 10.10

According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), climate-induced displacement is attributed to wildfires, floods, and storms.11 Between 2008 to 2019, there were 3 disasters and 1,700 displacements reported.11 From 2020 to 2024, there were approximately 9 disasters and 130 displacements reported.11 Between 2008 to 2019, storms caused the majority of climate-induced displacements, with 1,600 of the 1,700 total number of displaced people occurring in winter 2015 due to a series of storms.11 With over 189% average rainfall, it was the wettest winter and one of the worst flooding events in Ireland’s history.12  

Between 2020-2024, the frequency of wildfire, flood, and storm disasters surged. According to the IDMC, the first recorded instance of wildfires causing displacement during the reported years occurred in 2022, resulting in approximately 26 displacements.11

Ireland is also facing increasing extreme winds. In January of 2025, Storm Éowyn brought record-breaking winds to the nation, resulting in red weather warnings, some of the first warnings experienced by certain regions.13 These winds damaged infrastructure throughout the nation and disrupted extensive services and the normal day-to-day living, such as the closures of schools and public transportation cancellations.13  

Mapping the Costs of the Climate Crisis

Between 1980 to 2019, there were 4.617 billion euros (approximately 4.838 billion USD) in losses and 71 fatalities due to extreme weather and climate-related events.14 The flooding of 2015 caused significant damage to road infrastructure and electrical grids, leaving approximately 350,000 people without electricity.15 The government provided around 1.8 million euros to humanitarian assistance, 1 million euros (approximately 1.1 million USD) to farmers, 18 million euros (approximately 21 million USD) for clean-up costs, and road damages were more than 100 million euros (approximately 117.2 million USD).15 The frequency of these events is projected to increase, intensifying direct costs and exacerbating the displacement of people, contamination of drinking water, and the prevalence of related illnesses.15 The agricultural sector in Ireland is acutely vulnerable, with drier summers and wetter winters resulting in flooding, soil erosion, and drought, thus causing unpredictable crop yields, decreased livestock health, and numerous other challenges.16

The climate crisis is projected to significantly impact Ireland’s economy as a whole, with GDP losses exceeding 2.5% by 2030, 2040, and 2050 under the RCP4.5 scenario without adaptation.17 Coastal flooding is estimated to be the most costly risk, with costs totalling at 2 billion euros (approximately USD 2.3 billion) annually by 2050, and river flooding could add another 60 million euros (approximately USD 69.9 million) each year.17 Without planned adaptation, climate impacts will continue to cause significant GDP losses. If adaptation measures are implemented, they can reduce losses from over 2.7% to less than 1% by 2040 at a cost of just 0.25% of GDP.18 This highlights the urgent need for investment in adaptation to avoid the escalating economic burden of climate inaction.

Mapping Resilience and Mitigation Pathways

Ireland has made preliminary efforts to develop and implement policies to tackle the climate crisis. In 2016, the nation ratified the Paris Agreement and made the commitment to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 51% by 2030.19 Ireland accounts for 2.1 % of the European Union’s net greenhouse gas emissions and reduced its emissions by 19.9% between 2005 to 2023, which is significantly lower than the EU average reduction of 30.5%.20

There are various plans in place for Ireland to move towards a green transition. The European Commission has stated that at least 13.3 billion euros will be provided to Ireland between 2021 and 2027.21 This includes contributions from various EU programmes such as the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+), and the Just Transition Fund (JTF). Ireland’s Recovery and Resilience Plan, which was developed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, has allocated 42% of the 914 million euros to support a green transition.21 This funding is improving Cork’s commuter rail system to promote public transportation, increasing energy efficiency measured in residential and public infrastructure, and conducting feasibility studies for wastewater plants to improve a portion of them throughout Ireland.21 Starting in the early 2000s, wind has become a significant contributor to renewable electricity in Ireland, making it one of the leading countries in wind energy.22 Ireland has and continues to work on incorporating wind farms into their electrical grids, ultimately becoming one of their largest efforts in the renewable energy sector.23

The nation is working on equipping local authorities to ensure those who are part of the decision-making process are well-informed and trained to increase the resilience of the nation. The Climate Action Plan in 2019 provided funds and climate action training to 29,000 local authority staff and 949 elected members.24 The training covered topics such as flood risk assessment, which is critical in Ireland’s context, and the importance of informed planning and land use utilization, as well as overall climate action leadership.24 In 2022 and 2023, further funding was provided to increase local authorities’ capacity to develop and implement climate-related projects.24 The nation has felt the impacts of floods on its communities and infrastructure, prompting them to develop improved strategies to increase resilience. In 2023, it was established that it is vital for coastal management strategies to be outlined.24 Local authorities collaborated with coastal communities to ensure that the strategies developed reflected the needs of those who are most vulnerable. 

Necessary Changes

Although Ireland is formally committed to addressing the climate crisis, the nation falls short in making transformative progress. Despite the urgency of the climate crisis in 2023, 82.4% of Ireland's energy consumption was derived from fossil fuels.25  Although there has been a steady decrease from past years, the rate at which fossil fuel dependency is decreasing does not align with the emission reduction goals outlined in the Paris Agreement. The nation must work to strengthen sector-specific emission targets, enhance cross-sectoral collaboration, and ensure accountability, while simultaneously providing resources and supporting a green transition. 

Additionally, the government’s response to the climate crisis is worsening conditions for women, the elderly, disabled people, and many other marginalized groups. A report highlights that women and marginalized communities are not included in decision-making processes, resulting in policies that do not explicitly address structural inequality and its role in climate-related decisions, ultimately exacerbating the disadvantageous conditions these communities face.26  Additionally, Ireland has increased its military expenditure with 1.35 billion euros (USD 1.49 billion) allocated in the 2025 defense budget,27 under pressure from other European nations in the context of continent-wide investments in military expenditure,28 redirecting total investments away from climate change adaptation and resilience. Ireland, like the rest of Europe, must resist the trend toward increasing militarization and instead invest in climate resilience that supports an equitable and inclusive transition to an environmentally sustainable economy. 

Regarding international climate action, Ireland is set to provide 225 million euros (approximately USD 262.38 million) per year by 2025 to countries most vulnerable to the climate crisis, specifically least developed countries and small island developing states.29 The government reports that the nation is on track to meet the aforementioned target, yet has not announced further updates on this commitment.