Sea levels are rising… and Jersey’s sinking

The research into the impact of climate change on Jersey’s sea levels and coastline, which was commissioned by the Environment and Infrastructure departments and carried out by the National Oceanography Centre, concludes that in line with global averages the sea levels around Jersey are increasing by 3 mm a year.

Based on current estimates, which take into account factors such as global carbon emissions, that will lead to a likely increase in the mean sea level by 2100 of 48 cm.

Meanwhile, the NOC found that ‘it is likely that Jersey is suffering from a downwards vertical land movement’, although a lack of local data means it is difficult to give exact figures.

The report, which recommends that further work is carried out by the States in order to prepare for the impact of climate change on Jersey’s coast, also found that the frequency of extreme coastal events such as the storms of 2008 and 2014 – which caused combined damage worth about £1.5 million – are likely to increase. And, in certain areas if trends continue as they are then the report warns there will be ‘a significant increase in sea water overtopping defences’.

The NOC has now made a number of recommendations based on the report, including that extra work is carried out to assess the impact of more water going over sea defences.

It also recommends that departments and agencies work together more closely, to create a steering group to work on climate resilience and that the options and costs for improving coastal monitoring are reviewed.

Environment Minister Steve Luce said the States had expected such conclusions and work is already underway to address the recommendations, while various other projects that will also help to address the issues are also being carried out.

‘We’ve been working closely with colleagues from all the various agencies in Jersey for some time, but as the report proposes, we need to put that joint working on a more formal footing. We’ll announce plans for this, and for the next steps for monitoring and modelling work to provide the relevant information for climate adaption across both the public and private sectors soon,’ he said.

Infrastructure Minister Eddie Noel added: ‘We have a robust programme of coastal defence maintenance which is ongoing but it is important for us to prepare for the future and this report provides us with a good basis for planning in association with our colleagues at the Environment Department.’

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