There are two broad categories of climate action: mitigation and adaptation. Mitigation has the goal of lowering greenhouse gas emissions to reduce the severity of climate change and keep global warming as restricted as possible. Solutions[1] include swapping fossil fuels for renewables, capturing carbon dioxide emissions at a factory’s chimney or working towards a circular economy. While mitigation is extremely important, even if we were to stop emitting greenhouse gases tomorrow, we have already committed to a changing climate as our historic emissions have piled up into the atmosphere. That is why adaptation is also required: making sure we are prepared for the impacts of climate change.
One important effect of climate change is sea level rise: as climate change unfolds, melting glaciers and expanding seawater result in rising sea levels. While there is still uncertainty about how fast the sea level will rise, it is certain that it will. If no measures are taken, sea level rise could have enormous impacts on Belgium, the map below shows which areas of Belgium are below 1.0 meters and could be at risk through a combination of sea level rise, high tides, and storm surges.
Source: Climate Central
The impact of doing nothing could be enormous, a fact that has been recognized by our government. With Coastal Vision (Kustvisie) the protection of our coast is considered up to the point of 3 meters of sea level rise, making us the country that is planning the furthest ahead! In the ongoing process, research is done to consider which alternatives are viable to protect our beaches and our harbors, while continuously gathering and implementing feedback from the stakeholders. One important factor is that the alternatives are adaptable, so that they can be built in phases and grow with the rising sea level.
Econopolis Strategy has the privilege to be part of this ongoing project, analyzing the economic implications of each alternative. If your interest is piqued, we encourage you to learn more by visiting https://www.vlaanderen.be/kustvisie.
[1] Curious about what solutions are interesting for Belgium? In de Klimaatschok Geert Noels, Kristof Eggermont, and Yanaika Denoyelle present 20 climate solutions for Belgium and calculated their potential greenhouse gas emission reduction.
