Adapting to rising coastal flood risk in the EU under climate change

Around one third of the EU population lives within 50 km of the coast. Extreme sea levels in Europe could rise by as much as one meter or more by the end of this century. Without mitigation and adaptation measures, annual damages from coastal flooding in the EU and UK could increase sharply from 1.4 €billion nowadays to almost 240 €billion by 2100. Around 95% of these impacts could be avoided through moderate mitigation and by raising dykes where human settlements and economically important areas exist along the coastline. The extent to which adaptation can lessen the effects of coastal flooding and at what cost is sensitive to the investment strategy adopted. Damages from coastal flooding in the EU and EU currently amount to 1.4 €billion annually, which is equivalent to around 0.01% of the current GDP of the EU and UK. Almost half of these damages are shared by the UK (0.4 €billion annually) and France (0.2 €billion annually). Around 100,000 people in the EU and UK are exposed to coastal flooding every year.