It is a worrying time for those of us who believe that climate change is a defining issue of our generation, one that will have an increasingly profound impact on communities around the world in the coming decades. Initiatives to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels are under pressure by some politicians who are propagating the idea that this is a bogus issue. It is as if the changing weather patterns we are increasingly experiencing – extreme events such as heatwaves, droughts and wildfires, and intense storms and floods – are the normal acts of nature. What is true is that these outcomes were predicted several decades ago and reflect an environment under pressure, made so by greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere from man’s activities. The evidence is all around and each of us has their own observations of changing climate. This is one of mine.
I have just returned from a short break by a beach close to the city of Larnaca on the south coast of Cyprus. I have been going to that part of island for over thirty years for one reason or another and from the earliest years enjoyed a daily run on the same beach to a lighthouse 5 km away. In the first decade, I was able to run almost entirely on the beach although it was narrow in some sections. In the second decade, I found I was increasingly running part of the way on the path by the side of the beach but over the last few years, it has been difficult to find a part of the beach to run on not covered by the sea. Worse, a section of the path next to the beach has been eroded and the local council has placed large boulders to try and protect the land from the sea.
I did not think much about this changing environment since I went at different times of the year and had little knowledge of the local environment and the sea tides. A little research suggested the tides in the Larnaca area are small, ranging only 10–40 cm, with the highest in March and September, although weather-driven surges can occur in the winter months. Also, the coast has a very gentle sloping seabed, making the sea shallow and relatively calm for a significant distance offshore and this means that even small changes to the sea level affect the beach.
Further research suggested sea levels in the Mediterranean have risen at an accelerated average rate of approximately 3 mm/year over the last 30 years with some regions, such as the Levantine Sea around Cyprus, experiencing even higher increases at 4 – 5 mm/year. Sea levels, then, have risen from about 7 cm to over 10 cm in certain areas in the last two decades, driven by thermal expansion, due to ocean warming, and land-ice melt. Although this may sound a small increase, a 10 cm increase is significant when compared to the tidal variations of between 10-40 cm and in an area with a shallow seabed. The science suggests that see levels could rise by up to a metre in the period to the end of this century with major implications for the coastal areas.
There is a little doubt that the communities that reside in such areas all around the world will have to adapt to their changed environment. They will likely build more sea defences to delay the inevitable but ultimately, they may simply have to leave their homes and move further inland. There is little that can be done to reduce the concentration of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere, but common sense would suggest that we limit further emissions so that we do not make matters even worse.
It is up to governments to maintain emission reduction policies using all the tools at its disposal, and to counter those who propagate the bogus narrative; it is important that we continue to make the case for action, for ourselves and for future generations. But it is also incumbent on the individual to take responsibility for their emissions and to do so consistent with their own circumstances.
It is my hope that my latest book, Lifetime Carbon Debt, will help them do so.
Published in April 2026.