Coastal and riverine flooding pose a growing risk to Europe’s infrastructure and economies, but new findings from the ACCREU project highlight the potential of adaptation to significantly reduce future damages.
In a recent report on the impacts of flooding on infrastructure and the built environment, researchers from Global Climate Forum, Deltares and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam show that targeted protection infrastructure and urban planning can dramatically reduce future losses.
Without additional adaptation, coastal flood damages alone could exceed €1.5 trillion annually by 2100 and render the homes of millions of people uninhabitable, assuming a high sea level rise scenario. However, cost-benefit analysis indicates that proactive investments in flood protection and controlled relocation of economic activity away from high-risk floodplains could lower expected annual losses by several orders of magnitude to €4 billion, while keeping adaptation costs manageable at a maximum of roughly €500 billion.
These findings offer a strong foundation for policymakers at the EU and national levels to refine climate resilience strategies. ACCREU’s work underscores the urgent need for forward-thinking investment in adaptation to protect Europe’s economies and communities.
For more insights read the full report here and visit www.accreu.eu.
Figure 1. Expected Annual damages from coastal flooding in Europe in 2100 and for different adaptation scenarios (sea level rise: RCP7.0, 95th quantile)