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"In the face of global warming, rising sea levels and the climatic extremes they are intensifying, the question is no longer whether some communities will withdraw, moving people and goods out of harm's way – but why, where, when, and in what way? retreat, "begins the study.

Researchers suggest that it's time to rethink retirement, which is often seen as a last resort and a sign of weakness. Instead, it should be seen as a smart option and an opportunity to create new communities.

"We are proposing a reconceptualization of retirement as a result of both strategic and managed adaptation options," the paper says. "The strategy integrates retirement into long-term development goals and identifies the reasons for this retirement and, in doing so, influences where and when."

The billions of dollars spent on rebuilding the New Jersey coast and creating dunes to protect against future storms after Sandy Storm in 2012 could be a waste if rising sea levels flood the entire coast.

"There is a clear rhetoric of" We are going to rebuild better. We will win. We will beat that. Something technological is coming and it's going to save us, "said AR Siders, an assistant professor at the University of Delaware's Disaster Research Center and lead author of the newspaper, at The New York Times." C & # 39 is like, let's go back and think a minute. You are fighting against the ocean. You are fighting to keep the ocean in place. Maybe it's not the battle we want to choose. "

Rethinking retirement could make it a strategic, effective and equitable way to adapt to the climate crisis, says the study.

Dr. Siders pointed out that it had already happened. She noted that in the 1970s, the small town of Soldiers Grove, Wisconsin, had left the floodplain after an overflow. The community has found and reoriented the business district to take advantage of road traffic and has powered it entirely to solar energy, as reported by the New York Times.

This is an important lesson as the rise in sea level poses a catastrophic risk around the world. Nearly 75% of the world's cities are located along the shores. In the United States alone, coastal communities account for almost 40% of the population, more than 123 million people. That's why Siders and his research team discuss the urgency and complexity of their findings, according to Harvard magazine.

Some of these complexities include, coordination of movements across cities, states or even international lines; cultural and social considerations such as the importance of cemeteries or ancestral lands; repairs for loss or damage to historical practices; long-term social and psychological consequences; financial incentives often contrary to environmental imperatives; and the critical importance of managing pensions so as to protect vulnerable and poor populations and not to exacerbate past injustices, as reported by Harvard magazine.

According to the study, if communities could practice strategic retreats, this would not only reduce the need for people to choose from the wrong options, but would also improve their situation.

"You have to think a lot," Siders told Harvard magazine. "And there will be tough choices, it will hurt – I mean, we have to go to a new future state here, and the transition will be difficult … But the longer we delay making these decisions, the worse it will become, and the more decisions will become difficult. "

To facilitate the transition, the paper recommends better access to climate risk maps so communities can make informed risk choices. And, the cards need to be improved and updated regularly, the paper said in a New York Times article.

"It's not that everywhere should be retreating," said Dr. Siders at The New York Times. "It's that retirement should be an option – it should be a real viable option on the table that some places will have to use."