The Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland have legislation in place that places a requirement on all levels of government to ensure the need for both mitigation and adaptation is addressed (Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act, 2015, Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act, 2021; Climate Change Act, 2022). However, to ensure just and equitable outcomes from climate action, a transformational approach will be necessary. This will require collaboration across jurisdictions and governance scales, with climate action integrated into ‘business as usual' and bottom-up community support driving action. Processes of co-creation and co-development of policies, programmes and plans have been shown to increase support for climate action and allow for sustainable development, while reducing inequalities propagated through climate impacts and maladaptation.