Some scientists predict that a warmer climate will trigger more violent storms, which will cause increased rates of coastal erosion.
This is a section of shoreline at Cape Hatteras in North Carolina in the USA, pictured in 1999 and 2004. The southern United States and Caribbean region were battered by a series of powerful hurricanes last year.
Rising sea levels are also expected to speed up coastal erosion.
Image: Gary Braasch ©