--- chapter: doi: 10.7930/NCA4.2018.CH8 identifier: coastal-effects number: 8 report_identifier: nca4 sort_key: 108 title: Coastal Effects url: https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/chapter/8 chapter_identifier: coastal-effects cited_by: [] confidence: '

There is very high confidence that structural inequalities in coastal communities will be exacerbated by climate change and its attendant effects (for example, storms, erosion). In the absence of clear policies and legal precedent, questions about land ownership and home ownership will persist.

' contributors: [] evidence: "

Reports and peer-reviewed articles are clear that socioeconomic challenges are being both driven and intensified by climate change.{{< tbib '33' '5d78768d-4392-494e-90c1-466cd61644c7' >}} Particularly on the coasts, where there are multiple risks to contend with, including hurricanes, SLR, shoreline erosion, and flooding, the high cost of adaptation is proving to be beyond the means of some communities and groups.{{< tbib '97' '17dfdc09-42c6-48e9-8756-88f04887a960' >}},{{}},{{}} In areas where relocation is more feasible than in-place adaptation, coastal tribes of Indigenous people are at risk of losing their homes, cultures, and ways of life as they seek higher ground (Ch. 15: Tribes, KM 3).{{< tbib '98' '15012d21-a3e9-41fe-93b6-65e2fba81f10' >}},{{}} New tools are being developed to quantify risks and vulnerabilities along the coast. For example, tools such as the Coastal Community Social Vulnerability Index{{< tbib '160' '30b236e8-d525-40dc-a4f6-a7b5e6e56401' >}} and the Coastal Economic Vulnerability Index{{< tbib '161' 'd4e56643-d8b8-4955-98b7-e593b3a664f8' >}} measure the social vulnerability of hurricane- or flood-prone areas to better quantify and predict how climate-driven changes are likely to impact marginalized groups. The Coastal Flood Exposure Mapper tool{{< tbib '162' 'f7c40fbd-81b6-43dd-a483-9cbd73025d18' >}} supports communities that are assessing their coastal hazard risks and vulnerabilities with user-defined maps that show the people, places, and natural resources exposed to coastal flooding. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Justice Screening and Mapping Tool provides consistent national data that allows the agency to protect the public health and environments of all populations, with a focus on traditionally underserved communities.{{< tbib '163' '2b6d802a-c666-4acd-be5a-93d2343eddff' >}} Moreover, involving diverse representation in the adaptation process through community-driven resilience planning{{< tbib '115' 'ec4d3830-c3b9-491b-9bc0-facccd717e00' >}} is likely to be a part of developing adaptation strategies that are fair and just.{{< tbib '99' '87cfc4e1-f44b-4fb0-ae65-cbeec57ebfac' >}},{{}}

" files: [] gcmd_keywords: - definition: 'Any measurement or statistic of, related, or based on the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.' href: https://data.globalchange.gov/gcmd_keyword/cdbe5ef5-408d-489d-b6ff-4482ce4a99c7.yaml identifier: cdbe5ef5-408d-489d-b6ff-4482ce4a99c7 label: ECONOMIC RESOURCES parent_identifier: fb93d937-c17c-45d0-a9e3-ca5c8a800ca8 uri: /gcmd_keyword/cdbe5ef5-408d-489d-b6ff-4482ce4a99c7 - definition: 'A concept in political ecology or environmental policy related to defining the elements needed to achieve sustainability. All human activities--political, social and economic—should be understood and managed as subsets of the environment and ecosystems. Governance includes not only government, but also business and civil society, and emphasizes whole system management. To capture this diverse range of dynamic forces, environmental governance often necessitates founding alternative systems of governing, for example watershed based management.' href: https://data.globalchange.gov/gcmd_keyword/d81b77be-0177-4e26-942c-aa911239482d.yaml identifier: d81b77be-0177-4e26-942c-aa911239482d label: ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE/MANAGEMENT parent_identifier: fb93d937-c17c-45d0-a9e3-ca5c8a800ca8 uri: /gcmd_keyword/d81b77be-0177-4e26-942c-aa911239482d - definition: 'A general term used in archaeology, geography, landscape history and other subjects for a permanent or temporary community in which people live, without being specific as to size, population or importance.' href: https://data.globalchange.gov/gcmd_keyword/fee25cad-7ffe-4ee2-a6f2-8116b8a0a707.yaml identifier: fee25cad-7ffe-4ee2-a6f2-8116b8a0a707 label: HUMAN SETTLEMENTS parent_identifier: fb93d937-c17c-45d0-a9e3-ca5c8a800ca8 uri: /gcmd_keyword/fee25cad-7ffe-4ee2-a6f2-8116b8a0a707 - definition: 'The use of economics in the study of society. More narrowly, contemporary practice considers behavioral interactions of individuals and groups through social capital and social "markets" (not excluding for example, sorting by marriage) and the formation of social norms. In the latter, it studies the relation of economics to social values.' href: https://data.globalchange.gov/gcmd_keyword/a96e6cd6-0f35-491d-8198-7551d03e1cbc.yaml identifier: a96e6cd6-0f35-491d-8198-7551d03e1cbc label: SOCIOECONOMICS parent_identifier: fb93d937-c17c-45d0-a9e3-ca5c8a800ca8 uri: /gcmd_keyword/a96e6cd6-0f35-491d-8198-7551d03e1cbc - definition: 'Any behavior caused by or affecting another individual, usually of the same species.' href: https://data.globalchange.gov/gcmd_keyword/c8317644-4cb2-4e37-b536-c762f7e670ab.yaml identifier: c8317644-4cb2-4e37-b536-c762f7e670ab label: SOCIAL BEHAVIOR parent_identifier: fb93d937-c17c-45d0-a9e3-ca5c8a800ca8 uri: /gcmd_keyword/c8317644-4cb2-4e37-b536-c762f7e670ab - definition: 'Water covering previously dry area: a very large amount of water that has overflowed from a source such as a river or a broken pipe onto a previously dry area.' href: https://data.globalchange.gov/gcmd_keyword/fd03d204-4391-4e98-8142-8b8efa235231.yaml identifier: fd03d204-4391-4e98-8142-8b8efa235231 label: FLOODS parent_identifier: ec0e2762-f57a-4fdc-b395-c8d7d5590d18 uri: /gcmd_keyword/fd03d204-4391-4e98-8142-8b8efa235231 href: https://data.globalchange.gov/report/nca4/chapter/coastal-effects/finding/key-message-8-3.yaml identifier: key-message-8-3 ordinal: 3 parents: [] process: '

The selection of the author team for the Coastal Effects chapter took into consideration the wide scope and relative sufficiency of the Third National Climate Assessment (NCA3) Coastal chapter. With input and guidance from the NCA4 Federal Steering Committee, the coordinating lead authors made the decision to convene an all-federal employee team with representation from key federal agencies with science, management, and policy expertise in climate-related coastal effects, and to focus the content of the chapter on Key Messages and themes that would both update the work conducted under NCA3 and introduce new themes. For additional information on the author team process and structure, refer to Appendix 1: Process.

A central component of the assessment process was a chapter lead authors’ meeting held in Washington, DC, in May 2017. The Key Messages were initially developed at this meeting. Key vulnerabilities were operationally defined as those challenges that can fundamentally undermine the functioning of human and natural coastal systems. They arise when these systems are highly exposed and sensitive to climate change and (given present or potential future adaptive capacities) insufficiently prepared or able to respond. The vulnerabilities that the team decided to focus on were informed by a review of the existing literature and by ongoing interactions of the author team with coastal managers, planners, and stakeholders. In addition, the author team conducted a thorough review of the technical inputs and associated literature. Chapter development was supported by numerous chapter author technical discussions via teleconference from April to September 2017.

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As the pace and extent of coastal flooding and erosion accelerate, climate change impacts along our coasts are exacerbating preexisting social inequities, as communities face difficult questions about determining who will pay for current impacts and future adaptation and mitigation strategies and if, how, or when to relocate. In response to actual or projected climate change losses and damages, coastal communities will be among the first in the Nation to test existing climate-relevant legal frameworks and policies against these impacts and, thus, will establish precedents that will affect both coastal and non-coastal regions. (Likely, Very High Confidence)

' uncertainties: '

The main uncertainty for this Key Message is predicated on how different types of coastal effects (chronic flooding versus storms) will impact areas and communities along the coast. The degree of variation between communities means that it will be challenging to predict exactly which communities will be affected and to what extent, but the evidence thus far is clear: when it comes to climate-driven challenges and adaptation strategies, areas that have traditionally been underrepresented will continue to suffer more than wealthier or more prominent areas. Large-scale infrastructure investments are made in some areas and not others, and some local governments will not be able to afford what they need to do.

The variability in state laws and the pace at which those laws are evolving (such as shoreline management plans and setback policies for structures in the coastal zone) create major uncertainty.

' uri: /report/nca4/chapter/coastal-effects/finding/key-message-8-3 url: ~