Professor Hannah Daly:

I thank Dr. Quinn. I will start with the section on driving transformation forward.

Effective and just transformative actions will have mitigation and adaptation benefits and bring broader benefits for health, well-being, nature and sustainable economic development. The State has a central role to play, supported through actions across society.

A national vision and long-term integrated strategy can enable systemic change and maximise opportunities in all sectors benefiting people today and in future generations. The decisions made and actions taken this decade will have long-term consequences affecting many generations into the future. Ireland’s current policy direction predominantly emphasises technology transitions rather than wider systemic transformations. Immediate and sustained transformative mitigation and adaptation actions are likely to yield substantial benefits for health, well-being and biodiversity in Ireland, while reducing vulnerability to the adverse impacts of climate change.

Taking action to address the direct drivers of emissions may challenge vested interests that have a strong interest in maintaining the status quo. To enact this transformation, it is essential to broaden the scope of measures aimed at accelerating emissions reductions, including by addressing indirect drivers of emissions such as institutions, economic models, settlement and infrastructure, governance, demographics and sociocultural factors. Transitions and transformations are a strategic opportunity. The transformative approach of shifting development paths offers extensive economic opportunities for Ireland.

Fairer and more equal societies are more resilient to impacts and are more likely to adopt progressive transformative policies. Prioritisation of well-being and equity in development and climate policy could bolster the democratic social contract in support of transformation, including improved quality of life, decent work and the value of care. Emissions-intensive activities are likely to face growing pressures to change or contract, which increases the need for just transition, and to enable opportunities for economic diversification.

The State has a central role to play in transformative change. That role can involve stimulating new policy, co-ordinating actors, mediating interests and shaping outcomes. Transition and transformation can be enabled through adopting holistic and systemic ways of thinking to maximise win–win outcomes, developing an integrated long-term vision, addressing fragmented governance, developing integrative policy approaches, capacity building and broad stakeholder engagement, and enabling a strong social contract with citizens and communities.

Finance is an important enabler of transitions and transformations, and public policy can set the conditions to steer investment in socially-agreed directions. Public engagement and participation in development and implementation of transition management is essential. Research is needed to identify effective strategies and interventions to effectively engage with citizens and communities, build societal capacity, and mobilise society-wide climate action.

As the ICCA process has demonstrated clearly, climate change presents new challenges, and our collective success will depend on capacity in research, training, upskilling and retention of existing and new professionals, together with engagement with and learning from communities. Irish research takes a leading role internationally but further investment is needed to grow the enduring human capacity, skills and infrastructure necessary to consolidate and sustain this contribution, and to address core gaps in knowledge, which was also assessed by this synthesis report. This will require investing in and leveraging knowledge from all disciplines and the local knowledge held by communities themselves.

In closing, Ireland’s climate change assessment has given us unprecedented insights into the climate crisis and how we can collectively address it. The future climate is in our collective hands. Every action matters.