Climate Action | Adaptation to climate change

Marine

Changes in our climate, such as increasing air and sea-surface temperatures and shifts in currents and wind patterns, will significantly alter the physical and biological make-up of the oceans.

Climate change will have unavoidable impacts on coastal and marine ecosystems, resulting in major socio-economic consequences for many regions. The main impacts in coastal zones, highlighted by the European Environmental Agency (2008), are flooding and erosion, salt intrusion and freshwater shortage, and the gradual loss of coastal ecosystems. Extreme weather and natural disasters will also threaten coastal populations and businesses.

Around a third of the EU population lives within 50km of the coast and these areas generate over 30% of the Union’s total GDP. The economic value of assets within 500m of Europe’s seas totals between €500-1,000 billion (1).

The precise economic consequences are unclear and will vary from region to region. However, the main risks are likely to be water shortages; damage and loss of land, property, port facilities and other infrastructure; escalating losses for insurance companies; changes to maritime transport routes; changes in geographical distribution, abundance and size of fish stocks.

Impacts on ecosystems and wildlife

The main impacts of climate change on ecosystems will be due to sea level rise, coastal flooding, ocean acidification, a decline in wetland areas, changes in ocean currents and ice cover, and salt water intrusion into agricultural soils.

Changes in regional sea temperatures have already lead to shifts in the distribution of plankton. As the main food source in most marine ecosystems, the availability of plankton has knock-on effects for the entire marine food chain and all species, large or small.

Climate change may cause the localised extinction of marine species along rocky shores due to changes in temperature and habitats.

Higher CO₂ levels in the atmosphere are already bringing about a decline in the calcification rate of corals and in the future could pass a threshold where reef building is no longer possible. Ocean acidification, caused by an increased intake of carbon dioxide, also threatens ecosystems.

Increased levels of flooding, coastal erosion and saltwater intrusion may result in the physical destruction of coastal and marine ecosystems.

Marine and coastal adaptation

EU action on marine and coastal adaptation and the need to increase the resilience of coastal areas is outlined in the European Commission’s White Paper on climate change adaptation  and the accompanying document on water, coasts and marine issues.

The inclusion of adaptation measures in the Integrated Maritime Policy, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, and in the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy is part of the Commission’s strategy of ensuring climate change considerations are integrated in all relevant policies.

While many EU directives refer to climate change adaptation indirectly, the Floods Directive, adopted in 2007, was the first to include direct action as a result of climate change. The Directive requires Member States to undertake a preliminary flood-risk assessment by the end of 2011, taking into account the impact of climate change. Member States must also prepare flood hazard maps and flood management plans by the end of 2015.

The Commission published a Recommendation on Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) which promotes the sustainable development of economic and social activities in coastal areas while protecting the coastal environment.

The Commission launched the OURCOAST project which collects experiences from around Europe in implementing the ICZM and is developing a database of best practices.

Climate change has been identified as one of the main challenges for the EU Integrated Maritime Policy (IMP)  in October 2007. It aims to strengthen the coherence of EU policies related to the sea and provide ways to address the vulnerability of the coastal and marine areas. Actions also aim to improve communication within the marine and maritime sectors and raise public awareness of relevant issues.

Two EU studies published in 2009 estimated the costs of impacts of climate change on coasts, the PESETA Coastal Systems study and The economics of climate change adaptation in EU coastal area study .

The EU provides funding for climate change adaptation measures under the Structural and Cohesion Funds which support regional development and research into climate change under the EU Research Framework Programmes.

(1) The economics of climate change adaptation in EU coastal areas, p3