Barcelona Moves Its Coastline Inland to Fight Rising Seas

Barcelona just earned a spot as a finalist for The Earthshot Prize by doing something radical: moving its coastline backwards.

The Spanish city is pouring €150 million into a project that intentionally shifts parts of its waterfront inland, including relocating a popular seafront football pitch and moving sea walls back. It's a bold answer to a mounting crisis: the Mediterranean is warming 20 percent faster than the global average, fueling stronger storms and coastal erosion that have already washed away 70 percent of the artificial sand added in 2010.

The wake-up call came in 2023 when a storm-battered promenade on Barcelona's northeast coast collapsed. "Cities like ours must learn to live with climate change while protecting the places and communities that define them," says Mayor Jaume Collboni.

Instead of rebuilding the same vulnerable structures, Barcelona is creating 22 hectares of climate-adapted public space along the Sant Martí seafront. That's roughly the size of 31 football pitches.

The wider beaches will act as natural shock absorbers, soaking up wave energy and providing breathing room for storms, erosion and rising sea levels. They'll also serve as vital cooling zones during increasingly severe heatwaves.

The Ripple Effect

Barcelona's nomination for The Earthshot Prize puts a global spotlight on a solution that coastal cities everywhere desperately need. The project, scheduled for completion in spring 2027, includes a 15,000-square-meter linear park, a 12-meter-wide pedestrian path, bike lanes stretching to the Fòrum, and solar pergolas producing clean energy.

"This is not a defensive structure added to the edge of the city; it is a new piece of climate-resilient public infrastructure designed for everyone to enjoy," says María Buhigas, Barcelona's Chief City Architect.

First launched in 2020 by Prince William, The Earthshot Prize recognizes environmental solutions that repair the planet. From nearly 7,000 nominations across 169 countries, just 15 finalists were selected. Barcelona is competing in the Revive Our Oceans category.

Other European finalists include Danish renewable energy company Ørsted and PFAS-Free France, which successfully banned forever chemicals from everyday products.

Winners in each of the five categories will receive £1 million (€1.17 million) when results are announced in Mumbai on November 17. But the real prize is already visible: proof that coastal cities don't have to choose between their shorelines and their survival.

"Every year, our Finalists give me renewed optimism," says Prince William. "They show us that, even as the environmental challenges remain urgent, extraordinary people around the world are already proving that progress is possible."