A recent report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) recommended that Copenhagen build a number of dikes along its coastline in preparation for rising sea levels that could flood much of the Danish capital. The report examined the effects of a 25 to 50cm rise in sea levels over the next century due to climate change and found that Copenhagen is not equipped to handle the increase in water.
The Copenhagen Post wrote that most of the region’s coastline surrounding the city is well-protected, but the city itself is in danger. If dikes and sluices are not built, areas like the Gammel Strand and the Nyhavn harbour could become flooded. The historic city centre and the suburb of Hvidovre are also particularly vulnerable to a rise in sea levels.
The OECD report estimates it will cost millions of dollars per year to protect Copenhagen against what it sees as the inevitable rise in sea levels. The longer the city waits to begin the measures, the more it will cost in the end. Denmark’s climate minister, Connie Hedegaard, agreed the report represents accurate costs of climate change, but feels it is based too much on an unpredictable future.
“We must, of course, build dikes and higher port docks. But we also have to think about water level increases when we construct new buildings and roads in exposed areas,” she told Berlingske Tidende newspaper. “A good example where we’ve done that is the city’s new playhouse, which is secured against sea swells higher than two metres.”