SPAIN -- Water levels will impact tourism and
port activity, as well as intensifying the effect of storms. Costs will amount
to up to 3% of GNP in 2050. The worst impact will be felt at the deltas of the
Guadalquivir, Ebro and Guadiana rivers. This,
according to research on climate change and its effect on the Spanish
coastline. It concludes that by 2050, the average retreat of the coastline of
the Iberian Peninsula will be between 2 and 4
metres. This would reflect a rise in sea level of between 60 and 72 centimetres
above the average levels that existed between 1986 and 2005. This worst case
scenario would happen if nothing at all is done now, and there is no change in
the ever more rapid advance of climate change, or global warming – but don’t
hold your breath. The main threat is the rise in sea level, warmer water
temperature and its acidity.
