Around 1.2 million homes will be at significant risk of flooding and 100,000 properties will face coastal erosion by the 2080s, according to a new report from the Committee on Climate Change(CCC).
Experts have warned that this will only get worse as the effects of climate change play out across the country in coming decades, and many coastal areas will be left uninhabitable. There will also be dozens of major roads, train stations and landfill sites left exposed to the sea, triggering significant disruptions to local infrastructure. Many of the country’s coastal defences are expected to fail in the near future, and there is an urgent need to strengthen the resilience of seaside towns and restore habitats that can act as buffers against the rising tides.
Experts have warned that this will only get worse as the effects of climate change play out across the country in coming decades, and many coastal areas will be left uninhabitable. There will also be dozens of major roads, train stations and landfill sites left exposed to the sea, triggering significant disruptions to local infrastructure. Many of the country’s coastal defences are expected to fail in the near future, and there is an urgent need to strengthen the resilience of seaside towns and restore habitats that can act as buffers against the rising tides.
Climate change is expected to cause sea levels around the UK to rise by at least 1 metre by around 2100, and the advisers warned the government that the time to act is now.
“The end of this century isn’t all that far away, it’s in the lifetime of children who are alive today,” said Professor Jim Hall, the CCC adaptation committee’s expert on flooding and coastal erosion. “We want to get things right now in order to make it easier to manage climate change in the future.” Professor Hall said the dangers of coastal living should be acknowledged by authorities and discussed with people – especially those considering moving to these areas. “They are buying properties without a full understanding of the risk,”
A proper strategy to prepare for the changes to come would likely cost between £18-30bn, but this would depend on the rate of climate change. The CCC warned that maintaining the status quo by building ever higher flood defences would be far too expensive for up to 185km (115 miles) of England’s coastline. As a result, some smaller communities may have to be abandoned.
The report concluded that money must be made available for large-scale restoration projects for beaches, dunes and salt marshes that provide natural protection for coastlines.
“As the climate changes the current approach to protecting the English coastline is not fit for purpose,” said Professor Hall. “Climate change is not going away: action is needed now to improve the way England’s coasts are managed today and in the future, to reduce the polluting emissions which cause climate change, and to prepare seaside communities for the realities of a warming world.”
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