scholarly journals Insuring property under climate change

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Belinda Storey ◽  
Ilan Noy
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Housing Stock ◽  
High Tide ◽  
Storm Surges ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
Sea Levels ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Emissions Scenario

Climate change will increasingly create severe risks for  New Zealand’s coastal housing stock. Even a small amount of sea level rise will substantially exacerbate the costs of flooding and storm surges (Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, 2015). Under the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) three mitigation scenarios, global average sea levels are likely to rise by between 28cm and 73cm by 2100 (above the 1986–2005 average). Under the IPCC’s high emissions scenario the sea level is likely to rise by between 52cm and 98cm by 2100 (IPCC, 2013). Only collapse of parts of the Antarctic ice sheet, if triggered, could cause the sea level to rise substantially above these ranges. Some regions in New Zealand (including the main urban centres) have high enough quality geographic data to infer the number of homes at risk. In those regions, there are over 43,000 homes within 1.5m of the present average spring high tide and over 8,000 within 50cm.

scholarly journals Flooding Conditions at Aveiro Port (Portugal) within the Framework of Projected Climate Change

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 595
Author(s):  
Américo Soares Ribeiro ◽  
Carina Lurdes Lopes ◽  
Magda Catarina Sousa ◽  
Moncho Gomez-Gesteira ◽  
João Miguel Dias
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Storm Surges ◽  
Historical Period ◽  
Return Periods ◽  
Wave Regime ◽  
Mean Sea Level ◽  
Sea Levels ◽  
Far Future

Ports constitute a significant influence in the economic activity in coastal areas through operations and infrastructures to facilitate land and maritime transport of cargo. Ports are located in a multi-dimensional environment facing ocean and river hazards. Higher warming scenarios indicate Europe’s ports will be exposed to higher risk due to the increase in extreme sea levels (ESL), a combination of the mean sea level, tide, and storm surge. Located on the west Iberia Peninsula, the Aveiro Port is located in a coastal lagoon exposed to ocean and river flows, contributing to higher flood risk. This study aims to assess the flood extent for Aveiro Port for historical (1979–2005), near future (2026–2045), and far future (2081–2099) periods scenarios considering different return periods (10, 25, and 100-year) for the flood drivers, through numerical simulations of the ESL, wave regime, and riverine flows simultaneously. Spatial maps considering the flood extent and calculated area show that most of the port infrastructures' resilience to flooding is found under the historical period, with some marginal floods. Under climate change impacts, the port flood extent gradually increases for higher return periods, where most of the terminals are at high risk of being flooded for the far-future period, whose contribution is primarily due to mean sea-level rise and storm surges.

Supporting European coastal sectors to adapt to changes in extreme sea levels with climate change

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanne Muis ◽  
Maialen Irazoqui Apecechea ◽  
Job Dullaart ◽  
Joao de Lima Rego ◽  
Kristine S. Madsen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Storm Surges ◽  
Climate Impact ◽  
Climate Impacts ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Climate Data ◽  
Local Climate ◽  
Sea Levels ◽  
Extreme Sea Levels

<p>Climate change will lead to increases in the flood risk in low-lying coastal areas. Understanding the magnitude and impact of such changes is vital to design adaptive strategies and create awareness. In  the  context  of  the  CoDEC  project  (Coastal  Dataset  for  Evaluation  of  Climate  impact),  we  developed a consistent European dataset of extreme sea levels, including climatic changes from 1979 to 2100. To simulate extreme sea levels, we apply the Global Tide and Surge Model v3.0 (GTSMv3.0), a 2D hydrodynamic model with global coverage. GTSM has a coastal resolution of 2.5 km globally and 1.25 km in Europe, and incorporates dynamic interactions between sea-level  rise,  tides  and  storm surges. Validation of the dataset shows a good performance with a mean bias of 0-.04 m for the 1 in 10-year water levels. When analyzing changes in extreme sea levels for the future climate scenarios, it is projected that by the end of the century the 1 in 10-year water levels are likely to increase up to 0.5 m. This change is largely driven by the increase in mean sea levels, although locally changes in storms surge and interaction with tides can amplify the impacts of sea-level rise with changes up to 0.2 m in the 1 in 10-year water level.</p><p>The CoDEC dataset will be made accessible through a web portal on Copernicus Climate Data Store (C3S). The dataset includes a set of Climate Impact Indicators (CII’s) and new tools designed to evaluate the impacts of climate change on different sectors and industries. This data service will support European coastal sectors to adapt to changes in sea levels associated with climate change. In this presentation we will also demonstrate how the C3S coastal service can be used to enhance the understanding of local climate impacts.</p>

scholarly journals Assessing the impact of sea-level rise on a vulnerable coastal community in Accra, Ghana

2013 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kwasi Appeaning Addo ◽  
Michael Adeyemi
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
High Tide ◽  
Field Measurements ◽  
Marine Turtle ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
Adaptation Measures ◽  
Coastal Community ◽  
The Impact

Climate change and its associated sea-level rise are expected to significantly affect vulnerable coastal communities. Although the extent of the impact will be localised, its assessment will adopt a monitoring approach that applies globally. The topography of the beach, the type of geological material and the level of human intervention will determine the extent of the area to be flooded and the rate at which the shoreline will move inland. Gleefe, a coastal community in Ghana, has experienced frequent flooding in recent times due to the increasing occurrence of storm surge and sea-level rise. This study used available geospatial data and field measurements to determine how the beach topography has contributed to the incidence of flooding at Gleefe. The topography is generally low-lying. Sections of the beach have elevations of around 1 m, which allows seawater to move inland during very high tide. Accelerated sea-level rise as predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will destroy homes of the inhabitants and inundate the Densu wetlands behind the beach. Destruction of infrastructure will render the inhabitants homeless, whilst flooding of the wetlands will destroy the habitats of migratory birds and some endangered wildlife species such as marine turtle. Effective adaptation measures should be adopted to protect this very important coastal environment, the ecology of the wetlands and the livelihoods of the community dwellers.

scholarly journals City of Flux: Liberating the Concrete Terrain

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Tara-Lee Carden
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Urban Landscape ◽  
Central City ◽  
Central Business District ◽  
Sea Levels ◽  
Coastal Cities ◽  
The World ◽  
Imminent Threat

<p>In recent decades the world has increasingly become aware of our role in the continual degradation of our planet’s natural environment. One of the most influential and controversial issues of the Twenty First Century is climate change and a subsequent rise in global sea-levels. The implications of the most recent scientific predictions will play out over the following century and beyond, significantly affecting millions of people and thousands of coastal cities around the world. Accelerated sea-level rise globally will demand urban, landscape and architectural solutions for low-lying regions to respond over the coming decades to the extensive changes that will occur.  New Zealand has a vast coastline and therefore will be particularly vulnerable to the predicted one-half, to two meter rise in sea-level during the following century (Evans, Milfont, and Lawrence 3). As occupants of an island nation, New Zealanders’ share a strong affinity to water. The earliest Maori settlements to the most recent developments in New Zealand have occurred predominantly in coastal regions, taking advantage of both land and marine resources. In order to envision a vital future for New Zealand’s coastal cities, the temporality of the relationship between these urban centres and the sea forces us to confront the transitory quality of our place within it. Simultaneously, the design proposal presented in this thesis recognises that Wellington has historically reclaimed large areas of land to form the majority of the central city seen today, and that in order to flourish in the coming century of climate change will require urban design more responsive than we know today.  The imminent threat of the encroaching ocean within the high value precinct of Wellington’s central business district provides an opportunity to engage with the dynamic transition from land based activities to those functions that engage with incremental flooding. Using a critical transect of Wellington’s central city this thesis proposes a system of intervention to modify a section of the existing urban fabric to accommodate, prepare and adapt for flooding. The aim of this design investigation will be to place the programme as a hinge between land and sea.</p>

scholarly journals City of Flux: Liberating the Concrete Terrain

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Tara-Lee Carden
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Urban Landscape ◽  
Central City ◽  
Central Business District ◽  
Sea Levels ◽  
Coastal Cities ◽  
The World ◽  
Imminent Threat

<p>In recent decades the world has increasingly become aware of our role in the continual degradation of our planet’s natural environment. One of the most influential and controversial issues of the Twenty First Century is climate change and a subsequent rise in global sea-levels. The implications of the most recent scientific predictions will play out over the following century and beyond, significantly affecting millions of people and thousands of coastal cities around the world. Accelerated sea-level rise globally will demand urban, landscape and architectural solutions for low-lying regions to respond over the coming decades to the extensive changes that will occur.  New Zealand has a vast coastline and therefore will be particularly vulnerable to the predicted one-half, to two meter rise in sea-level during the following century (Evans, Milfont, and Lawrence 3). As occupants of an island nation, New Zealanders’ share a strong affinity to water. The earliest Maori settlements to the most recent developments in New Zealand have occurred predominantly in coastal regions, taking advantage of both land and marine resources. In order to envision a vital future for New Zealand’s coastal cities, the temporality of the relationship between these urban centres and the sea forces us to confront the transitory quality of our place within it. Simultaneously, the design proposal presented in this thesis recognises that Wellington has historically reclaimed large areas of land to form the majority of the central city seen today, and that in order to flourish in the coming century of climate change will require urban design more responsive than we know today.  The imminent threat of the encroaching ocean within the high value precinct of Wellington’s central business district provides an opportunity to engage with the dynamic transition from land based activities to those functions that engage with incremental flooding. Using a critical transect of Wellington’s central city this thesis proposes a system of intervention to modify a section of the existing urban fabric to accommodate, prepare and adapt for flooding. The aim of this design investigation will be to place the programme as a hinge between land and sea.</p>

scholarly journals Predicted impacts of climate change on New Zealand’s biodiversity.

2011 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn J Lundquist ◽  
Doug Ramsay ◽  
Rob Bell ◽  
Andrew Swales ◽  
Suzi Kerr
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Cold Water ◽  
Fire Risk ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Storm Surges ◽  
Aquatic Communities ◽  
Coastal Habitats

In New Zealand, climate change impacts have already been observed, and will increase in future decades. Average air temperature is predicted to warm by 2.1°C by 2090 for a mid-range IPCC scenario (A1B), with larger increases possible for some IPCC scenarios with higher rates of future emissions. Sea-level rise projections range between 0.18 – 0.59 m by 2100, based on six IPCC future emission scenarios excluding future rapid dynamical changes in polar ice-sheet flow. Global surface ocean pH is predicted to decrease by an additional 0.14 – 0.35 units by 2100, with a similar decrease expected in New Zealand waters. Rainfall is predicted to change significantly, with increased precipitation in the west, and reduced precipitation in the east, and more intense rainfall events. Increasing temperature is likely to result in species’ range shifts southward and upward, and mortality during extreme heat events. Ocean acidification is expected to cause declines in carbonate communities, with cold water communities predicted to decline first due to a lower aragonite saturation horizon in cold waters. Sea-level rise is likely to impact on coastal biota, reducing coastal habitats, changing inundation patterns, and increasing vulnerability to storm surges and tides. Changes in storm and rainfall intensity are predicted to increase disturbance to terrestrial and aquatic communities. Areas with increased precipitation will amplify rates of disturbance, erosion and sedimentation into aquatic, estuarine and coastal ecosystems, while areas with low precipitation will experience increased fire risk. In New Zealand, climate change projections are being integrated into management, including increasing protection and improving management of coastal habitats. Contributing to a global reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, New Zealand is the first country to include forestry in their Emissions Trading Scheme, already positively affecting biodiversity by reducing deforestation.

scholarly journals Economic damages from Hurricane Sandy attributable to sea level rise caused by anthropogenic climate change

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin H. Strauss ◽  
Philip M. Orton ◽  
Klaus Bittermann ◽  
Maya K. Buchanan ◽  
Daniel M. Gilford ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
East Coast ◽  
The United States ◽  
Hurricane Sandy ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Anthropogenic Climate Change ◽  
Economic Damage ◽  
Sea Levels

AbstractIn 2012, Hurricane Sandy hit the East Coast of the United States, creating widespread coastal flooding and over $60 billion in reported economic damage. The potential influence of climate change on the storm itself has been debated, but sea level rise driven by anthropogenic climate change more clearly contributed to damages. To quantify this effect, here we simulate water levels and damage both as they occurred and as they would have occurred across a range of lower sea levels corresponding to different estimates of attributable sea level rise. We find that approximately $8.1B ($4.7B–$14.0B, 5th–95th percentiles) of Sandy’s damages are attributable to climate-mediated anthropogenic sea level rise, as is extension of the flood area to affect 71 (40–131) thousand additional people. The same general approach demonstrated here may be applied to impact assessments for other past and future coastal storms.

scholarly journals Effects of climate change on spatiotemporal patterns of tropical cyclone tracks and their implications for coastal agriculture in Myanmar

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akira Hirano
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Warming ◽  
Considerable Increase ◽  
Hot Spot ◽  
Coastal Region ◽  
Storm Surges ◽  
Coastal Areas ◽  
Spatiotemporal Patterns ◽  
Sea Levels ◽  
Rising Sea Levels

AbstractImportant aspects for understanding the effects of climate change on tropical cyclones (TCs) are the frequency of TCs and their tracking patterns. Coastal areas are increasingly threatened by rising sea levels and associated storm surges brought on by TCs. Rice production in Myanmar relies strongly on low-lying coastal areas. This study aims to provide insights into the effects of global warming on TCs and the implications for sustainable development in vulnerable coastal areas in Myanmar. Using TC records from the International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship dataset during the 30-year period from 1983 to 2012, a hot spot analysis based on Getis-Ord (Gi*) statistics was conducted to identify the spatiotemporal patterns of TC tracks along the coast of Myanmar. The results revealed notable changes in some areas along the central to southern coasts during the study period. These included a considerable increase in TC tracks (p value < 0.01) near the Ayeyarwady Delta coast, otherwise known as “the rice bowl” of the nation. This finding aligns with trends in published studies and reinforced the observed trends with spatial statistics. With the intensification of TCs due to global warming, such a significant increase in TC experiences near the major rice-producing coastal region raises concerns about future agricultural sustainability.

The Impact of Climate Change on States

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 115-132
Author(s):  
Łukasz Kułaga
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
International Law ◽  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
The State ◽  
Fundamental Change ◽  
Sea Levels ◽  
Impact Of Climate Change ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
The Impact

Abstract The increase in sea levels, as a result of climate change in territorial aspect will have a potential impact on two major issues – maritime zones and land territory. The latter goes into the heart of the theory of the state in international law as it requires us to confront the problem of complete and permanent disappearance of a State territory. When studying these processes, one should take into account the fundamental lack of appropriate precedents and analogies in international law, especially in the context of the extinction of the state, which could be used for guidance in this respect. The article analyses sea level rise impact on baselines and agreed maritime boundaries (in particular taking into account fundamental change of circumstances rule). Furthermore, the issue of submergence of the entire territory of a State is discussed taking into account the presumption of statehood, past examples of extinction of states and the importance of recognition in this respect.

scholarly journals Climate Change, Environmental Security and Global Justice

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 119
Author(s):  
Solomon E. Salako
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
International Law ◽  
Global Justice ◽  
Storm Surges ◽  
Environmental Security ◽  
Small Island ◽  
Atmospheric Concentration ◽  
International Consensus ◽  
Sea Levels ◽  
Security Issues

There is an international consensus that climate change is caused by human activities which substantially increase the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases.The ill-effects of climate change are droughts which adversely affect the global poor who are engaged in agriculture; storm surges which destroy local infrastructure, housing and crops; and the rise of sea levels which adversely affect the inhabitants of small island states which could eventually be totally submerged. Military strategists and intelligence analysts are preparing for future conflicts likely to be caused by environmental security issues.The objects of this article are: (i) to evaluate the ill-effects of climate change as a matter of global justice, (ii) to consider whether future generations have the right not to suffer from the ill-effects of climate change, and if so, (iii) to evaluate the relevant conceptions of global justice, and (iv) to assess critically whether international law provides effective preventive responses to climate change and environmental security threats.Finally, a monist-naturalist conception of global justice privileging human dignity as one of its guiding principles is proffered as a solution to the problems raised by the mechanisms of dealing with the ill-effects of climate change and the attendant environmental security issues under international law.

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