Muir welcomes launch of climate impact assessment

Date published: 20 May 2026

Welcoming the publication of CCRA4-IA, Minister Muir said: “Today’s launch starkly highlights the impacts of climate change as we see them today and, crucially, what action we need to take as global temperatures continue to rise.”

The CCRA4-IA contains a technical assessment of the evidence on the impacts of climate change and assesses 41 risks for the UK.  

As well as the risk assessment, a new complementary element has been introduced called the ‘Well Adapted UK Report' which describes the potential steps that can be taken to address these risks.

Minister Muir added: “We are seeing the impacts of climate change through more frequent and severe storms, widespread flooding and record-breaking heatwaves.  The latest CCC reports make clear that risks will continue to worsen and we must take action to prepare and strengthen our resilience. The Well Adapted UK Report, in particular, paints a stark image of the reality we can expect with intensifying heat, increased flood risk, rising drought and wildfire threats and the impact on farming.

“The warnings should concern us all. By 2050, there is a projected 60% increase in rainfall during storms, which will make flash flooding far more intense than anything we’ve seen before.

“In recent years we have seen record breaking summer temperatures. These temperatures will become the new normal by 2050. This will have a very real impact on the most vulnerable in our society and bring a risk of an increase in heat related deaths during heatwaves of over 300% by 2050 which we simply cannot ignore.”

The report explains how today’s climate impacts are already causing over £6billion of damages each year and that without action to build resilience, the cost is set to increase to around £10billion each year by 2030 and over £18billion by 2050.

Minister Muir added: “The report highlights that early investment is crucial to reducing more severe financial impacts in the future. The Well Adapted UK Report also shows the public recognise these climate risks. People are rightly concerned about the impacts they see around them and are concerned that they are getting worse. They want to see action being taken forward to protect communities, our economy, and environment.

"It is clear from the evidence that we can’t afford to shy away from the challenges our changing climate presents and that we must take action. My Department recognises the need for a whole society approach to address these challenges and is the only UK region to have developed Adaptation Programmes that include actions across government, the wider public and private sectors, academia and NGOS reflecting the collaboration required to address climate change.

“Whilst the publication of Northern Ireland’s third Climate Change Adaptation Programme marked a crucial step in strengthening our resilience there is still much work to do. The recommendations of the Well Adapted UK report are a welcome addition to the Climate Change Committee’s Fourth independent risk assessment which we will use to help build resilience and guide the development of our next Adaptation Programme.”