seagulls overhead, the faint smell of sulfur on the coast, and waves crashing against the cliffs — the uk’s relationship with its shoreline forms a fundamental part of national culture and identity. 

for an island nation with over 10,000 miles of coastline and nearly 40% of its population living within a few miles of the sea, this connection runs deeper than fish-and-chip shops or oceanfront arcades. it is the heartbeat of hundreds of communities.

yet as the climate crisis intensifies, with violent storms and rising sea levels, the cliffs and sea defenses that protect these towns crumble, accelerating the erosion that threatens their future. 

erosion explained 

experts say climate change actively causes an increase in the severity of coastal erosion, but how does this actually happen? 

according to nasa, atmospheric co2 levels have reached an unprecedented level — a staggering 50% increase since the pre-industrial era. these values intensify the natural greenhouse gas effect, leading to higher global temperatures. this in turn raises sea levels and fuels more powerful storms, allowing waves to reach further up the coast and strike cliffs more frequently, accelerating erosion. 

ken buchan is the project delivery manager for stronger shores, an innovative project tasked with mitigating coastal change. he highlighted that shoreline erosion ”makes coastal communities vulnerable” for a reason which may be overlooked in comparison to traditional physical processes. 

“when sea level rises, there’s coastal squeeze where beaches and so on become smaller,” he said, referring to an issue which buchan emphasized depreciates the power of beaches as the first line of defence for many seaside towns across the uk.

building on this, matthew agarwala, ph.d., a professor in sustainable finance at the university of sussex, discussed how the combination of higher seas, storm surges, and strong winds can allow waves to overcome existing man-made sea defenses on the uk’s shores and therefore damage the cliffs supporting these regions. 

for these british towns, long fortified by the fishing industry and tourism, these damages are more than physical: they are a burden on both their financial and cultural stability. for instance, onehome data predicts that by 2100, nearly £600 million [approximately $810 million] worth of assets and over 2,000 properties could be lost in the uk due to coastal battering. experts like agarwala say these losses can take different forms, such as damage to roads or water treatment facilities, posing “big risks” to an island nation.

transcript: that includes stuff like transport infrastructure, like roads, railways, bridges along the coast but it’s also utilities, water treatment facilities, power lines, gas infrastructure — a lot of that’s on the coast as well. and of course it’s tourism assets as well: the beaches, the holiday parks, the hotels, the places we all like to and hang out in the nice weather. so these really are big risks, not just for physical infrastructure but also to some degree the social and cultural identity of an island economy like the united kingdom.

matthew agarwala, ph.d., professor in sustainable finance at the university of sussex

communities in danger 

as some coastal towns respond to rising sea levels by beginning the process of decommissioning (forcing residents to move out as the town dissolves), it is evident that erosion is not a uniform process, with particular areas more at risk than others. a spokesperson for the environment agency, a governmental body tasked with protecting the environment in england, stated that certain geological rock types play a role in this vulnerability. 

in the southwest of england, cliffs are more prone to hydraulic action, where the sheer force of water wears away the rock, due to a mix of hard and soft stone types dominating the region. by contrast, the east coast, with its glacial deposits, sandstone, and clay boulders, experiences a faster erosion climate characterized by rock and sand grinding along the coastline. this is demonstrated by east yorkshire’s holderness coast, one of europe’s fastest-eroding coastlines.

agarwala expanded on this, discussing an interesting correlation he found amongst these vulnerable groups. ”some of the communities that are most at risk from climate change are also the communities that are voting for conservatives or are shifting to reform [uk],” he said in reference to the political parties which are less supportive of environmentalism in their policy-making. 

“there are places that are viable today and that have been viable for centuries in the past, that will not be viable even 20 years into the future,” agarwala said.

zooming in 

in northern england, on the north sea’s boundary, lies the small village of staithes, where maritime industry and seaside tourism form the engine of local life. 

“for a long, long time, fishing was the main job for the people in the village, along with some mining. these days it’s tourism,” said sallie hernandez, a local resident who has lived in the area for 16 years. “a lot of people refer to staithes as their happy place and visit more than once, twice a year.”

despite the area’s economic success and picturesque nature, coastal deterioration has battered the region for decades, with the community pub, the cod and lobster, washing away on multiple occasions. most notably, on the northwest of the village resides a small hamlet known as cowbar cottages, accessible by a singular entry route named cowbar lane.

over many years, this access road has eroded and been rebuilt multiple times under the burden of perpetual wave action from the sea below. resident and local authority concerns are now escalating, following a rockfall event in october 2024 that has placed the route at immediate risk of collapse. 

“walking through today, big chunks are missing,” hernandez said, on one of her daily walks through cowbar. ”all along by cowbar cottages is all fenced off. i recently saw some drone footage of the cliff and it was terrifying to see what was going on underneath.”

a council report published by north yorkshire, redcar, and cleveland borough council — the government bodies responsible for overseeing staithes — have since attributed reasons for the rockfall.  most strikingly, the document acknowledges erosion processes exacerbated by sea level rise, increased storm frequency due to climate change, and foreshore lowering — a process in which wave energy removes protective layers of sediment at the base of a cliff — as integral factors. 

council efforts are advancing to manage the issue and involve a three-phased road realignment, whereby the lane is gradually moved southwards away from the cliff edge over 50 years.

“keeping access is vital. there are cottages down there that are only accessible via that road and the lifeboat station, so all these things would need to move if access cannot be maintained,” hernandez said. 

elsewhere in the village, the council has worked tirelessly, installing sea defenses in the form of rock armor and breakwater piers to protect the harbor from the destructive nature of the north sea. despite this, local anxiety prevails, particularly following the loss of a child’s’s life at seaton garth, staithes, due to a rockfall in the summer of 2018. 

transcript: at the end of the day, the cliffs are soft, water’s harsh, and it’s just going to keep going until it wins. the piers at staithes, i think, were given a 50-year lifespan, at which point that will need to be revisited. but 25 years from now, i think the coastline will look completely different again.

sallie hernandez, a local staithes resident who has lived in the area for 16 years

stemming the tide 

for regions like staithes, mitigation frameworks named shoreline management plans are the leading unit tasked with stemming the tide of coastal erosion. using factors such as population, technical feasibility, and climate change, these models assign a planned course of action to every section of the english coast. 

however, these schemes often focus on hard-engineered solutions, such as sea walls, which sustainability experts like agarwala argue come with significant drawbacks.

enter stronger shores, a £200 million [$269 million] research project focused on innovative ways of improving coastal resilience. having started in 2023 and currently funding 25 different schemes across the northeast oceanfront of the uk, the program is rooted in a philosophy of trial and error.

“at this stage it’s quite experimental, it’s quite research orientated,” said ken buchan, the delivery manager of the project. “if things don’t work, that’s okay. because we are learning from that.”

the focal point of stronger shores targets soft-engineered solutions to climate change, exploring how oyster restorations, kelp forests, or seagrass meadows can improve the robustness of maritime communities.

buchan discussed how one student at newcastle university is actively using artificial kelp structures in laboratory wave tanks to understand biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and wave reduction benefits.

transcript: the hard engineering things include the sea walls and the groynes, rock armor, offshore breakwaters, etc. but these are really quite expensive, they’re difficult to maintain, and the problem with a lot of these hard sea defenses is that you create a solution here that just shifts the problem there. 

matthew agarwala, ph.d., a professor in sustainable finance at the university of sussex

“with the [kelp] fronds being up on the surface of the water as the wave energy comes through, that energy gets dissipated by the top of the plant. it’s like it puts the brakes on as the waves come over,” buchan said, referencing how kelp systems can mitigate erosive forces. 

with the project set to finalize in 2027, one main ambition drives buchan and his team: the creation of a toolkit combining all the research, methods, benefits, and challenges from stronger shores. it will guide coastal engineers nationwide, helping to protect the uk’s enduring bond with its marine identity. 

given the uncertain future, buchan is left asking, “can we [as a nation] be doing things differently from what we’ve currently been doing to try and improve resilience and protect coastal communities?”

let’s take a look at three interconnected initiatives across northern england, all tasked with trapping and transporting carbon emissions permanently underground. 

enter teesside, a north-eastern british community shadowed by a history of steelwork manufacturing, entrenched cycles of poverty, and pollutants dominating the skies, where carbon capture and storage (ccs) projects are being developed. 

these efforts emerge as political consensus over the uk’s net-zero target for 2050 begins to fragment. the policy framework, originally devised in line with the 2015 paris climate agreement to balance the nation’s carbon footprint, has been thrown into question by domestic politicians over its feasibility. 

as a result, regions like teesside look to bring net-zero back on track.

initiative #1: east coast cluster 

the initial scheme central to these net-zero efforts is the east coast cluster, an emerging decarbonization initiative designed to link the manufacturing hubs of teesside and the humber – an estuary region in northeast england – through a uk-first carbon capture, utilization, and storage (ccus) network.  

“ccus includes all the steps of carbon capture and storage plus a utilization component that means some or all of the captured co2 is used instead of, or before, being stored,” said faizan ahmad, ph.d., a professor and lead researcher in hydrogen and clean-energy innovations at the centre of sustainable engineering for teesside university. this concept, he stated, can involve industrial uses such as producing man-made fuels, as well as biological processes like food production and biofuel generation.  

dawid hanak, a professor in the decarbonization industry at teesside university’s net zero industry innovation centre – a £16 million [$21 million] regional hub recognized for its cutting-edge research, knowledge exchange and consultancy services in the realm of climate activism, and for these three initiatives – has outlined the east coast cluster as part of a much broader developmental process materializing on tees valley soil. 

the once-overlooked district of teesside is beginning to attract green investment into its network of local enterprises, alongside complementary plans for hotels, eco-friendly trail links and retail parks. together, these initiatives offer fresh opportunities to families and businesses across a longstanding marginalized community, which hanak labelled as “one of the main benefits from the societal perspective.” 

however, the practical rollout of sequestration networks, like the east coast cluster, are not always plain sailing, and faces various roadblocks on the road to implementation. ahmad discussed this, highlighting premature technological readiness, scalability constraints, and even public perception as some of the core issues involved.  

“communities may be concerned about safety, environmental impact, or prolonging fossil fuel use,” said ahmad, in reference to the worries people may have regarding the sustainability of carbon capture.  

he emphasized, however, that this can be rectified through publicly accessible environmental reviews, and by engaging communities through consultation, education campaigns, and local benefits sharing such as with teesside’s wider transformation. 

initiative #2: the northern endurance partnership 

to support the east coast cluster project, a joint venture known as the northern endurance partnership (nep) will develop the infrastructure needed to transport and sequester carbon emissions from industrial sites across the east-coast region.

founded in 2020, the nep is a collaboration backed by european energy giants equinor, totalenergies, and bp, aiming to tackle large-scale carbon capture. the project’s endeavors will commence in 2028 and include constructing onshore carbon-processing facilities, laying 145km of offshore pipeline in the nearby north sea, and ultimately managing storage for 1 billion tons of co2.

“the carbon dioxide will be permanently and safely stored in the endurance aquifer, a large, well-characterized reservoir,” said a spokesperson for the nep. this infrastructure, they added, will be “crucial to achieving net zero in the uk’s most carbon intensive industrial regions.”

despite these ambitions, the set-up of this sequestration framework has proved challenging, with the “coordination of complex project timings and investment decisions across difficult industries” hampering development, stated the spokesperson. however, they stressed that the uk’s geographical positioning with access to industrial hubs and “world-class offshore storage potential” has helped alleviate some of these obstacles. 

hanak furthered this discussion into progress, outlining how international political affairs have hindered momentum in the field of carbon capture. 

“we have good links with the us and researchers over there. they’ve been quite badly affected by cuts in grants, unfortunately, because the [trump] administration decided not to support net zero anymore,” said hanak. “so that naturally has [an] impact on what’s going on in europe because everyone is looking at what’s going on over the pond.” 

“so i think we lost a little bit of momentum now, but just need to carry on,” he added. 

initiative #3: net zero teesside power 

the third initiative integral to teesside’s net-zero grid is the proposed net zero teesside (nzt) power facility, which aims to be the first gas-fired power station with carbon capture and storage, while connecting to the nep pipeline. 

to be constructed in the redcar and cleveland district, the plant will adopt a first-generation carbon removal technology, featuring a modernized gas turbine and specialized chemicals known as amines to remove 2 million tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year.

the site also claims it will generate enough electricity to light up approximately 1 million uk homes and create 1,000 employment opportunities once operations commence in 2028.  

these environmental and financial gains are a phenomenon which hanak outlined will “demonstrate to investors that carbon capture technology can work in an economically viable way,” a concept that could improve the cost-effectiveness and overall future of decarbonisation initiatives across both teesside and the uk as a whole.  

despite this optimism, hanak noted that first-generation sequestration systems, dependent on amines, are not perfect, with financial and efficiency flaws. as a result, he and his team are exploring next-generation ccs technologies, with particular focus on porous materials known as solid sorbents, at high temperatures. 

from steel to sustainability 

by overcoming financial, political and public challenges, co2 capture in teesside can sustain a greener future, delivering real benefits to local citizens whilst steering the nation’s 2050 net zero target back on due course. a spokesperson for nzt power emphasised this, stressing that the deployment and operation of their emerging facility should catalyse a movement in the growth of similar technologies locally. 

hanak highlighted this is already coming to fruition, with interest for carbon capture projects arising from sectors that would not usually consider such an approach. 

“so we did work with quorn [a meat-free food company] for example, to see whether they can do carbon capture, even though they are at 15,000 tons [of co2 emissions] a year,” he said. “we are having these discussions with industry and they seem keen on doing carbon capture if they can connect to the [nep] pipeline.” 

the blueprints of the east coast cluster, northern endurance partnership, and net zero teesside power are therefore more than plans – they are a vision. teesside is on the brink of becoming the “heart of the green industrial revolution,” hanak said.

once the hub of smog and steel manufacturing, coined ‘the british engine room,’ the humble community of tees valley has the chance to become britain’s eco-epicenter, offering jobs, regenerative development and societal prosperity.  

steelwork smoke in the air, young faces on their way to school, and the familiar silhouette of industry in the distance. this is teesside — a region tucked away in the northeastern corner of the british isles, long burdened by a legacy of petrochemical production and laborious toil. 

in the early 2000’s, tees valley thrived as the steel-making capital of the world, shipping raw materials to even the most remote edges of the globe. however, in 2015, the collapse of the region’s iron and steel industry saw a shadow cast over the manufacturing heartland, tarnishing the pride and grit of the “smoggies,” a community now marked by economic deprivation and environmental pressure. 

today, teesside has become one of several dumping grounds for the nation’s waste, hosting multiple incineration and landfill sites. and with the construction of a new waste-incineration facility looming in the future, local families, councillors, and grassroots campaign groups are expressing concerns over regional air quality and economic hardship.

what’s on the table? 

the tees valley energy recovery facility (tverf) is a waste-incineration site proposed for the area of grangetown, a historically deprived district of the uk where average healthy life expectancy falls well below the national average. this large-scale, £2.4 billion (approximately $3.2 billion) infrastructure project is a publicly led initiative, organized by a partnership of seven different councils across the north east. with the promise of 50 permanent jobs, and enough electricity to power 60,000 homes, the facility frames itself as a sustainable alternative to landfill for managing residual waste — material that cannot be recycled. 

however, alarm bells have begun ringing over these sustainability claims and some community members allege that the operator of the site, viridor, has not had a promising environmental track record. a 2025 uk governmental report by the environment agency outlines 916 breaches of pollution limits at a station in southern england, which the company attributed to human error in calibrating monitoring software. 

tristan learoyd, an unaffiliated independent councillor from teesside said that the proposed site holds “massive effects for the environment locally and for the planet internationally.”

“it’s a cumulative effect of one incinerator after the other,” learoyd said. “the tverf will produce more carbon than the whole of redcar and cleveland,” he said, referencing one of the councils involved in the proposal. this issue, he adds, makes a “mockery of anyone” who installs a heat pump, lowers their carbon footprint, or drives an electric vehicle.

however, according to a statement provided on behalf of the project partners, the tverf will be “future-proofed,” designed not only to generate electricity but also to export heat and capture carbon emissions if the opportunity to develop supporting infrastructure arises.

meanwhile, learoyd highlights that projects of similar waste-composition globally have shown levels of pollution that could cause severe damage to lung health, lead to heart problems, and accelerate brain issues such as dementia. these concerns are particularly significant at a time when air pollution already claims the lives of more than 30,000 individuals in the uk per year. 

“the tverf is regressive. it’s not needed,” said fiona dyer, a volunteer and campaigner for the north east climate justice coalition, and stop incineration north east. “people are thinking about their kids, and their kids’ futures.”

a costly proposal 

as of 2023, the north east region’s capacity for processing residual waste is on target to exceed municipal needs based on volume of solid and residual waste. and, with the introduction of government recycling schemes such as the circular economy package, the amount of waste available for incineration in districts like teesside becomes increasingly scarce. 

according to advocates like dyer, there is a broad suspicion that, as fuel supplies drop, more waste will be shipped in from elsewhere as councils potentially buy up refuse to avoid penalties for missing incineration targets.  

learoyd expands on this, arguing that councils importing waste, alongside paying gate fees for incineration, covering carbon taxes on emissions, and funding the initial contract with operator viridor, will result in a “15% increase in council tax for every single payer in the north east of england for 30 years.” this concept, he adds, is an “economic disaster and politicians need to wake up.” 

in contrast, the tverf project partners maintain that this technology is the only “safe, reliable, sustainable, and affordable” solution for disposing of the region’s residual waste. they further claim the facility will create “hundreds of employment and training opportunities,” while injecting “nearly £30 million [$40 million] over the contract term” into the local economy and its communities.

critics argue that despite assurances, these financial complications could not only negatively affect individuals in teesside already facing cycles of entrenched poverty, but also threaten environmental targets.

“what i anticipate councils will do is they’ll deliberately reduce the amount of recycling they do, so they’ve got more to burn in the incinerator,” learoyd said.

forward-thinking 

nonprofit organizations such as the north east climate justice coalition have urged regional councils to accelerate investment into highly innovative forms of waste management that present a promising alternative to incineration for teesside.  

particular focus has been placed on a facility within the english midlands, known as sherbourne recycling. this publicly organized program, managed by eight local authorities, uses industry-leading ai sorting and machine technology to process residential curbside waste more efficiently. 

serving a population of 1.5 million people, roughly the same population the proposed tverf aims to cover, this model shows potential for adoption in teesside. nevertheless, observers argue that for an initiative like this to succeed, an amendment of local government direction and re-allocation of funds may be necessary.

grassroots charitable group, stop incineration north east (sine), are a collective who have advanced suggestions for alternatives to the tverf. from compiling in-depth reports on anaerobic digesters for food waste management to debating modern u.s. landfill practices — aimed at reducing methane emissions through secured containment — sine’s grassroots level work is focused on spreading awareness for these alternatives.

dyer, a spokesperson for sine says, “we are very keen to get people, more young people in the area to actually join the campaign or support it.” 

with the tverf set to begin construction in 2026, and operations anticipated to commence in late 2029, a verdict on the facility’s sustainability remains unclear. a transparent review of the project and potential alternative technologies could therefore help address community concerns and steer teesside toward a cleaner, more sustainable future.