Stark Warning on Britain’s Shrinking Coast

Some stretches of British coastline are doomed because of rising seas, climate change and erosion and are not worth inhabiting, insuring or developing, suggests the head of Britain’s Environment Agency. The British agency is drawing up a series of maps that assess coastal erosion over the next 100 years and identify priority areas. The agency will then work with the public to achieve consensus on which areas to protect and which areas to abandon. Repeated storms, evacuations and costly repairs over the next century may not be in the overall public interest, suggests Lord Chris Robert Smith of Finsbury, the agency head. Likewise, investing in expensive infrastructure in some coastal areas may not be worthwhile, especially as countries continue construction of coal-fired plants, which add to emissions and contribute to climate change. Some consider it alarmist and some call it wise, but more land-use planners account for extreme weather events and expect sustainable development for projects that require public funding. – YaleGlobal