Coastal erosion, a climate challenge that is eating away at European coasts

As climate change causes sea levels to rise around the world, it is small island nations that are sounding the alarm bells for COP26 (October 31-November 12).

During the first week, the Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, told climate conference attendees that a 2 ° C rise in temperatures would cause sea levels to rise equivalent to a "death sentence" for this Caribbean island.

Simon Kofe, Foreign Minister for Tuvalu, an archipelago in the South Pacific, meanwhile recorded a video statement for the Glasgow summit in the sea, with knee-deep water, to illustrate the scale of the problem.

A Minister in Tuvalu, Simon Kofe today recorded a video statement for # COP26 pic.twitter.com/mLLrd6JIFc

- Anish Chand (@achandftv) November 5, 2021

But in Europe, too, climate change is having a dramatic impact on coastlines: rising sea levels mean waves are hitting coasts at higher levels, while more storms and changes in wind direction combine to erode the land.

And, on the other hand, coastal populations and human infrastructure are increasing all over the world, even if the coastline fluctuates naturally.

"The problem is that we have assets tied up on the coasts: in Europe, we have hotels, roads, houses, railways along a border which is fluid", explains Larissa Naylor, professor of geomorphology and environmental geography at the University of Glasgow, contacted by France 24.

Rising sea levels add an "extra layer" to factors already at play, she said. If a spring tide coincides with a storm, for example the further complication of rising sea levels will amplify the overall impact.

“As climate change accelerates,” says Larissa Naylor, “there will be a lot more loss and damage on the coasts. Society will be more and more affected.”

Endangered houses, railway lines and beaches

The phenomenon is faster in some regions than in others.

On the Yorkshire coast in north-east England, an average of four meters of coastline disappears each year.

But in 2020, ten meters disappeared over a stretch of about three kilometers in just nine months, according to figures from the local council.

About twenty houses are now at risk of falling into the sea.

In Ireland, rail operator Irish Rail announced in October that it planned to invest 16.7 million euros to counter "alarming" rates of erosion near its coastal rail lines.

In southern Europe, the livelihoods of several states are at stake. According to a Greek study published in 2017, up to 88% of all beaches in the country - essential to the national tourist economy - could be completely eroded. by the end of the century.

Large-scale land losses are also expected at seaside resorts in France, Spain, Portugal and Italy.

Despite this, there is a lack of data on coastal erosion on the Old Continent.

The last EU study on the subject dates back to 2004: it revealed that all countries with access to the sea suffered some form of coastal erosion and that 20,000 kilometers of coastline were seriously affected.

Although rising sea levels and coastal erosion are a global problem, they pose a unique risk in Europe due to the high ratio of coastline to land on the continent.

However, there is no European strategy to combat this phenomenon: many countries do not have coherent plans, and it is left to regional governments to develop and finance their own solutions.

This is partly because the public is less aware of this problem than about issues such as flooding, but also because tackling the problem involves a change in approach, from tackling water loss. lands upon acceptance.

For Larissa Naylor, "we are not necessarily ready to do it as a society".

"Accept the rising waters"

Some places have already started to act.

The town of Quiberville-sur-Mer, (Seine-Maritime, in Normandy), has opted for a new approach: letting the sea enter the land rather than increasing the number of improvements to protect itself, even if it means moving houses.

Its mayor, Jean-François Bloc, "ended up making it obvious: we must no longer resist, we must accept the reality of this rising sea level and adapt to it".

Another French coastal town, Saint-Jean-de-Luz (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), is experimenting with a similar plan: faced with coastal erosion of 25 cm per year, local elected officials spent 6.4 million euros to relocate risky infrastructure - campsites, restaurants, bars and a water treatment plant - to safer places inland.

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This approach has its own challenges, according to Larissa Naylor: "How to finance the displacement of communities? To what extent do inland communities accept the arrival of these people in their space?"

As the scale of coastal erosion increases, the difficulties associated with the displacement of populations will have a greater impact on existing infrastructure and spending in European countries.

The geomorphology professor asks: "The Climate Change Commission report for England said that in 2018 there were 8,000 properties at risk of erosion in England and by 2100 there will be 100 000. It will be the same in other parts of Europe. How do you manage that as a society? "

Protections against coastal erosion

Another option is to build to protect existing land using a "traditional hard engineering approach" or "greener, nature-based solutions," according to Larissa Taylor.

The city of Marsaxlokk in Malta has opted for the first solution.

Authorities announced in October a € 2 million effort to limit coastal erosion by installing 70 meters of groynes, temporary structures built using hundreds of large limestone boulders.

The barrier will extend from the quay to the sea, forming a protective wall to hold back sand and other sediment that would otherwise be blown away.

This technique is similar to that used in the Netherlands, where 12 million cubic meters of sand have been used to replace what is blown off the coast by the wind.

While the cobs can last up to twenty-five years, the sand needs to be replaced every year as the problem worsens.

It is expected that larger volumes of sand will be required, which also means higher costs.

These systems can also be built in a more environmentally friendly way to make them habitable for local species.

The city of Portsmouth, UK, for example, announced in early 2021 that it plans to build a two-kilometer sea defense wall that can be inhabited for species from rocky shores.

All these options also raise the question of how much to invest.

"It's not just the cost of construction, but also repairs and maintenance. These are phenomenal sums," says Larissa Naylor.

According to the specialist, "we do not necessarily assess all the economic benefits over a sufficiently long period".

Most importantly, she continues, "we need certain requirements to start looking at long-term climate risk."

Questions to be raised at COP26

The geomorphology professor hopes these questions can be raised at COP26 on Monday, November 8, during discussions on adaptation, loss and damage caused by climate change.

She cites as a success story a recent waterfront apartment building project in Edinburgh, Scotland.

The contractors finally agreed to install a coastal park as a buffer between the sea and the new buildings.

This means that we had to make room for nature and accept that "taking into account the erosion, we lose a little ground", specifies Larissa Taylor.

It now seems essential to put this change in attitude on the agenda and put in place government frameworks that promote such measures, she said: "If that happened, it would help things, like the need to adapt to coastal erosion, are becoming more common. "

While a recent study by the World Meteorological Organization found that the average sea level doubled between 2013 and 2021 (compared to the period 1993-2002), one thing is certain: more thoughtful and long-term solutions. will be needed.

Basically, concludes Larissa Naylor, it is about "making decisions now that do not commit future generations to suffer enormous loss and damage."

This article was translated from English by Jean-Luc Mounier.

The original can be found here.

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