Rising sea level It is one of the effects of climate change that coastal cities like London or Los Angeles fear most. In the face of rising sea levels, all economic activities and the homes of millions of people can be literally flooded.
For this, the General Directorate of Sustainability of the Coast and the Sea has launched the Adaptation Strategy of the Spanish Coast to Climate Change. Spain is a very vulnerable country to the effects of climate change and, given the rising sea level, it has to find solutions. What is coastal climate change adaptation?
Adaptation Strategy of the Spanish Coast to Climate Change
This initiative begins with the goal of conducting a diagnosis of the risks associated with climate change on the coasts. Once the risks posed by coastal cities have been analyzed, feasible and viable measures will be adopted to combat sea level rise. A good understanding of the effects of climate change is essential, as mentioned in other articles on climate change. the differences between climate change and global warming and its relationship with adaptation of infrastructure in various regions.
The rise in sea level is without a doubt the main consequence of climate change that most affects the coasts, since it means the loss of territory due to the regression of the coastline. Furthermore, this sea level rise also causes saline intrusion into estuaries and aquifers (causing the loss of more stored drinking water), coastal erosion, direct loss of ecosystems due to warming sea water, and an increase in the frequency and intensity of storms. Reports about coastal flooding are alarming and demonstrate the urgency of action, as well as the growth of cities that could disappear if effective measures are not implemented.
Because the measures against climate change established in the Paris Agreement have not yet begun to bear fruit, Spain has to seek alternatives to adaptation. The strategy proposes three types of interventions to stop these effects: physical, social and institutional. Social initiatives take the form of infrastructure adaptation or the implementation of nature-based solutions, such as dune or wetland restoration. This action is related to the investment in green infrastructure which is considered key to better adapting. Social measures relate to training or information sharing, including the creation of warning systems. Finally, institutional measures affect the creation of tax incentives or regulations that encourage sustainable coastal use. The importance of education on these issues is vital, as can be seen in the plant adaptation to climate change.
One of the big problems with this strategy is that does not have an economic forecast, rather, the proposed measures will have to be financed by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Environment.