Northern Ireland's third Climate Change Adaptation Programme (NICCAP3) was unveiled on 19 March 2026 by DAERA Minister Andrew Muir, setting out how the region will prepare for and respond to escalating climate risks.

Taking a whole‑society approach, the plan brings together more than 280 actions contributed by stakeholders across government, business and civil society, including Translink, NI Water, local councils, academia, and the community and voluntary sector.

At the launch, Minister Muir said: "We are already experiencing firsthand the impacts of Climate Change through the frequent and severe storms we are witnessing and more frequent and extreme flooding events. We have seen new climate sensitive animal diseases arriving on our shores and more intense wildfires - all of which are impacting upon our communities, businesses and environment."

The programme consolidates measures from across departments and partners in response to the latest UK Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA), aiming to coordinate efforts and strengthen resilience.

Minister Muir added: "The plan demonstrates the positive collaboration taking place across all government departments, as well as in partnership with a range of key external stakeholders, who recognise that building resilience to the current and future projected impacts of climate needs action from across our whole society." Welcoming the publication, Ciaran Fox, Director of the Royal Society of Ulster Architects and Chair of Climate NI, said: "Adapting to the changes we are seeing in our climate is not something that can be achieved working in isolation, and NICCAP3 is a testament to the joined-up collaboration which is needed to build our resilience to the impacts of climate change."

Among the measures highlighted are a new Peatlands Strategy for Northern Ireland, City Draining Plans for Derry/Londonderry and Belfast, a Sustainable Agriculture Programme, and a new Food Strategy Framework setting out a long‑term vision for a fair, secure and sustainable food system for Northern Ireland.

Dr Lisa McIlvenna, Managing Director at Business in the Community NI, underlined the economic imperative of adaptation. Dr McIlvenna observed: "The 2025 NI Environmental Benchmarking Survey report showed that 67% of respondents from businesses had experienced direct or indirect impacts from climate change in the past five years. The impacts of climate change on businesses are escalating, disrupting productivity and supply chains, damaging premises and infrastructure, increasing insurance costs, and posing physical health risks to employees through severe weather and flooding.

"Many businesses across Northern Ireland are already experiencing the damaging effects of these events, and climate projections suggest the risks will only increase. Building resilience to climate change now is critical to protecting our business sector and the wider economy."