· Restoring natural coastal defences: Rising sea levels as a result of climate change mean that coasts are eroding at a fast rate and storm surges are more likely to cause damaging coastal flooding. Natural coastal vegetation, such as saltmarshes and mangrove swamps can, in the right places, stabilise the shoreline and act as a buffer, absorbing the force of waves. On a natural coast, the shoreline will move inland and as the sea level rises, the coastal vegetation will gradually move inland with it. This contrasts with hard coastal defences such as sea walls and banks, which can be overwhelmed and fail. In many places, however, coastal habitats have been cleared and where there are hard sea defences behind the coastal zone, the vegetation disappears as the coast erodes rather than moving inland. This is often referred to as 'coastal squeeze' as the vegetation is squeezed between the sea and the sea wall. Restoring coastal habitats and removing hard sea defences, can help reduce the risks of catastrophic flooding.
IPCC
Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability
IPCC Report