The Canarian nationalists are concerned about the impacts of the latest coastal storms on the coasts of Lanzarote and La Graciosa, which show how the waves are increasingly entering the interior
Nueva Canarias-Bloque Canarista expressed this Wednesday its concern, through a press release, as a result of the climatological phenomena suffered on the coasts of the island. The strong waves managed during this past Tuesday and the early hours of this Wednesday, "to penetrate several meters inland, causing damage to public and private buildings, promenades and terraces".
For the Canarian nationalists, "these phenomena are becoming increasingly recurrent on the island. In just a few months we have seen strong waves in coastal urban centers such as Caleta de Famara, Playa Honda, Arrieta or Caleta del Sebo in La Graciosa, where the sea has reached areas where they have never been seen or recorded."
According to the Canarian nationalists, "these phenomena should make us aware of the obligation to take immediate measures in terms of adaptation to climate change, as is being done on the coasts of other Canary Islands and other coasts of Europe and other continents. We must plan according to the impact on the territory of a reality that is already here with an exponential rise in sea level."
They continue from the organization that "while we discuss roads, congress centers and parties, the climate and nature are warning us that the future of the island will be linked to the transformation of the territory due to climate change."
From NC-BC they remember that there are already many reports from academic and administrative research groups that warn of the vulnerability of the coasts of the islands, and especially those of lower relief such as Lanzarote, where the exposure of essential human infrastructures such as the airport, the power plant, residential and tourist buildings, and beaches, contemplate serious risks due to the rise in sea level.
In this sense, it should be noted that the Government of the Canary Islands presented in 2022 the results of the Project PIMA (Plan de Impulso al Medio Ambiente) Adapta Costas Canarias, a document that allows us to know, for the first time, the risks faced by the coastal environments of the islands if the necessary adaptation measures against climate change are not taken urgently.
The PIMA Adapta Costas report describes that the consequences of climate inaction could generate an increase in episodic floods with direct impact on the population, damage to key infrastructures such as land and sea transport routes, reduction and/or disappearance of beaches, reduction of habitats and ecosystems, and an increase in erosion on all the coasts of the islands. The study by the Government of the Canary Islands reflects that the scope and intensity of these phenomena (components of danger) have been projected for the mid and late 21st century on two climatic hypotheses, one of medium intensity (50th percentile of sea level rise) and another of high intensity (95th percentile of sea level rise)."
The work carried out reflects that the economic losses linked to erosive processes and coastal flooding can reach 11% of the current GDP in the worst scenario in 2100, highlighting that 75% of the direct economic losses correspond to the effects of structural or permanent erosion on tourist beaches of the Archipelago. The most negative climate scenario for 2050 could affect 147 tourist beaches, with a total loss of surface area of 10.6%. In this sense, it is expected that the coasts of Fuerteventura and Lanzarote will be subject to significantly higher risks in 2050 and 2100. The study has identified 47 sections of coastline with high accumulated risk in the Canary Islands, which should be the priority object of detailed studies and adaptation plans to climate change at the local level.
"We are not talking about mitigating greenhouse gases or producing clean energy, we are talking about adapting to the climatic impacts that are already present and will intensify. Heat waves, rising sea levels, Danas and tropical storms, or severe, prolonged and recurrent droughts, are a reality that should make us think and plan. We are arriving late and the future of Lanzarote does depend on this," they comment from NC-BC.
For all these reasons, the Canarian nationalists demand that the Cabildo of Lanzarote coordinate with urgency and with the highest priority a Climate Change Adaptation Strategy including a diagnosis of the risks and vulnerabilities of the island, and design a short, medium and long term planning of actions on the coast, with special attention to urban centers and essential infrastructures.
