Coastal cities must adapt faster to climate change

Coastal cities are facing increasing threats from climate change, including rising sea levels and extreme weather events. To protect communities and infrastructure, these cities must accelerate their adaptation efforts. Immediate action is needed to strengthen resilience, implement sustainable solutions, and reduce the risks associated with environmental changes. Without swift adaptation, coastal regions risk severe consequences from the escalating impacts of climate change.

A recent study examining climate change adaptation efforts in coastal cities globally reveals both advancements and areas needing improvement.

Coastal cities are crucial to the global economy and serve essential societal functions, but they are heavily impacted by climate change. Their role in global climate adaptation is therefore vital. To assess how these cities are adapting, an international team led by Professor Matthias Garschagen, a geographer at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU), has analyzed the current state of adaptation.

The study, which looked at 199 cities across 54 countries, examined how cities are addressing various risk factors in their adaptation efforts. Key climate factors considered included rising sea levels, storms, flooding, and heat. The analysis also took into account the exposure and vulnerability of populations, infrastructure, and regional ecosystems.

The findings indicate that most adaptation measures focus primarily on sea level rise and flooding, with less emphasis on storm surges, cyclones, and erosion. Wealthier regions like North America and Europe are more likely to implement technical and institutional measures such as large-scale levees and urban planning innovations. In contrast, less affluent regions in Africa and Asia rely more on behavior-related measures, often leaving affected households and businesses to manage risks on their own.

Overall, the research highlights that adaptation efforts are generally insufficient in their depth, scope, and pace, regardless of regional wealth. The study found minimal evidence of a sustainable reduction in risk from current measures.

Prof. Matthias Garschagen notes that significant work remains to be done at all levels. He points out that many cities continue to rely on outdated disaster management approaches without reassessing their future viability.

The research also reveals a lack of quantifiable factors in adaptation planning. While cities consider future risks like flooding and heat, they often overlook socioeconomic factors such as future trends in vulnerability and spatial growth. Garschagen emphasizes the need for better scenarios and modelling methods, including the question of when it might be more practical to relocate populations rather than maintain coastal protection measures.

Garschagen calls for a substantial increase in research focused on the Global South, where most climate research has been concentrated on the Global North. He argues that more comprehensive global climate change research would enhance our ability to address the climate crisis effectively and promptly.

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Source: sciencedaily‍