Final Validation Workshop: Key Takeaways from CoCliCo

The final validation workshop for the CoCliCo project featured several of our experts to discuss the latest scientific advancements, policy implications, and the practical application of the CoCliCo platform. Below, we summarise the main insights from each section. At the end of this blog you can download the first two presentations.

The Science of Coastal Risk (Presented by Gonéri Le Cozannet)  

The session opened with a deep dive into the latest scientific findings on coastal risks and adaptation. Key points included:  

• Sea Level Rise Projections: According to the IPCC 2021 report, sea levels have already risen by approximately 20 cm since the 20th century and will continue to rise even if global warming is stabilised.  

• Emerging Hazards: Key threats include increased coastal erosion, chronic flooding, flooding during storms and rising groundwater tables from salinity intrusion.  

• Adaptation Needs: Beyond incremental measures, transformational adaptation will be necessary in certain high-risk areas.  

• Time Sensitivity: While sea level rise is a gradual process, adaptation requires long-term planning, with some projects needing decades to implement.  

This emphasises the importance of decision-centric climate services that can effectively support adaptation efforts across various sectors, including urban planning and infrastructure management. The CoCliCo platform has been developed to meet these needs.    

• The platform is built on integrated climate and socio-economic scenarios, using IPCC AR6 data and high-resolution sea-level projections. Users can compare past, present and future risks using consistent datasets from multiple climate and socio-economic scenarios (e.g., SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, SSP5-8.5). 

• Coastal erosion will be incorporated into future platform updates, addressing a point raised in the Q&A.  

• The project includes cost-benefit analyses for adaptation strategies, helping policymakers evaluate long-term investment in coastal protection and relocation.  

• The platform aligns with the needs of the EU Flood Directive goals and can support national and regional governments in assessing flood risks.   

Insights for Policy and Practice (Presented by Paul Sayers)  

This section focused on the role of climate services in supporting policy decisions for coastal adaptation. Notable insights included:  

• The CoCliCo project emphasises that effective adaptation is not just about more data but about making information useful, usable, and used by policymakers. CoCliCo climate services seek to support this decision-making process. 

• The project has collaborated with initiatives such as Adapt4Coast including the SCORE and PROTECT projects to ensure coherent policy messaging on adaptation needs through collaborative policy briefs. Read our previous policy briefs here. Our following policy brief will be published in June 2025.  

• Decision-making requires localised, detailed information to complement broad-scale projections. Therefore, high-resolution climate services are essential.  

• Rather than just mitigating risk, adaptation strategies can enhance resilience and create socio-economic benefits for coastal communities.  

Demonstration of the CoCliCo Platform (Presented by Arjen Luijendijk)  

A live demonstration showcased the CoCliCo web platform, which provides mapping and analysis tools for coastal risks. The web platform consists of several components: a web viewer, data repository, user stories, user handbook and an interactive workbench for advanced users.  

Key functionalities include:   

• Projections of sea-level rise and extreme storm surges up to 2150.  

• Flood risk maps for various return periods (1-year, 100-year, 1000-year).  

• Population and infrastructure exposure analysis.  

• Cost-benefit assessments of adaptation strategies.  

• Scenario-based planning to analyse risk and adaptation needs under different climate change scenarios, extending projections to 2150.  

The platform is positioned for potential integration into the European Digital Twin of the Ocean initiative, ensuring it is a long-term resource.   

Discussion and Feedback  

The workshop concluded with an interactive session where stakeholders provided valuable feedback. During the workshop, a Slido poll was conducted to gauge participant perspectives on CoCliCo’s usefulness and future development. Key findings included:  

• Stakeholder representation: 34% of respondents were from academic or research institutions, 26% from government bodies, 16% from consultancies, 13% from private companies and 11% from nonprofit/NGOs.  

• On a scale of 1 to 5, respondents averaged 3.3 to the question “How seriously is adapting to coastal change taken in your region/sector?” This indicates that the majority are taking action, but the scale of action still needs to match the urgency and necessity.   

• The usefulness of CoCliCo: 4.2/5 respondents would use CoCliCo to access sea level rise projections, while 4.1/5 saw its value in assessing present and future coastal risks.  

• Integration with Copernicus: 4.3/5 supported the idea of developing CoCliCo into a Copernicus core service.  

• Future improvements: Users highlighted priorities such as improved navigation (31%), better data export options (28%), and improved access to underlying datasets (25%).  

Some questions and feedback were:   

• Participants requested better access to underlying data, prompting discussion on potential future Copernicus integration.  

• Data resolution and updating frequency concerns were noted, particularly for local-scale applications.  

• The platform’s ability to handle high-resolution flood modelling was highlighted as an area for potential improvement.  

Conclusion  

The final validation workshop underscored the significant progress made in the CoCliCo project. The combination of robust scientific insights, practical policy applications, and an interactive digital tool provides a strong foundation for future coastal adaptation strategies. As the project nears completion, the feedback collected will help shape the final version of the CoCliCo platform, ensuring it meets the needs of policymakers, researchers, and coastal managers alike.  

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