Data for Nicholls et al FINAL from Stabilization of global temperature at 1.5°C and 2.0°C: implications for coastal areas

By contrast, SLR is only slowed and continues to 2300 (and beyond). Hence, while coastal impacts due to SLR are reduced by climate stabilization, potential impacts continue to grow for centuries. SLR in 2300 under both stabilization scenarios exceeds unmitigated SLR in 2100.

Therefore, while the need for adaptation to SLR is reduced by climate stabilization, adaptation remains essential in densely populated and economically important coastal areas. Given the multiple adaptation steps that this will require, an adaptation pathways approach has merits for coastal areas.This article is part of the themed issue ‘The Paris Agreement: understanding the physical and social challenges for a warming world of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels’.