Europe needs a joint shield against €800bn coastal erosion

Economic losses from coastal erosion now exceed €1 billion every year across 28 European countries, according to reporting by Euronews. Facing a total threat estimated at €800 billion, Europe's shorelines are washing away.

Rising seas do not stop at national borders, yet climate adaptation along Europe's coasts remains largely fragmented. When individual nations or regions build isolated sea defences without joint strategy, uncoordinated barriers risk diverting wave power and accelerating erosion for their neighbours.

To be sure, local councils understand their own shorelines best and must retain control over spatial planning decisions on the ground.

Yet local knowledge requires the support of continental scale. Pooled European funding and shared engineering standards can protect vital coastal infrastructure far more efficiently together than 27 nations building separate walls alone.