Copenhagen: check list
Surrounded by open waters and prone to heavy rainfall, Copenhagen faces the same risks as low-lying, poorer cities. Sea level around the harbour city is expected to rise by up to 1 metre over the next century, according to the Danish Meteorological Institute. Copenhagen council estimated that if there were no form of protection from flooding due to storm surges, the damage over the next century would cost up to 20 billion Danish crowns ($3.14 billion). By comparison, it would cost up to four billion crowns ($627 million) to prevent this from happening.
The city is also on a mission to become the first capital to cut climate-changing emissions by 2025 by future-proofing itself from the sea-level rise and flooding — from green roofs and parks that absorb rainwater, to large barriers that can curb flooding .
“If investments are not climate-friendly, then [climate change] will be impossible to solve,” Jorgen Abildgaard, director of the city’s climate programme, said.