New study uncovers jaw-dropping costs of crisis facing cities around the globe: 'Direct and indirect economic consequences'

A new in-depth study that considers both the direct and indirect consequences of sea-level rise includes some jaw-dropping numbers when it comes to their economic costs.

What's happening?

The future costs that coastal cities will incur from rising sea levels as the planet overheats could exceed $3 trillion by the end of this century, as reported by Earth.com. A team of scientists from the Netherlands and Italy analyzed the possible economic impacts of a high-emissions scenario in 271 regions worldwide.

"A key finding of the study is the estimated 872 billion euros in combined economic losses for the United Kingdom and European Union alone by 2100," the research team noted in its study, per Earth.com.

"Economic costs of climate change are conventionally assessed at the aggregated global and national levels, while adaptation is local," according to the study, which was published in Scientific Reports. "When present, regionalized assessments are confined to direct damages, hindered by both data and models' limitations. This article goes beyond the aggregated analysis to explore direct and indirect economic consequences of sea level rise at regional and sectoral levels in Europe."

Why is this new study important?

While this new study focused on Europe, the U.S. is also well aware of the potential impacts of rising sea levels. Maps of the U.S. might have to be altered if the projections for sea-level rise from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change are verified. A forecast rise of 1.4 to 2.8 feet by the end of the century, with a higher-end increase of 6.6 feet possible, would inundate portions of North Carolina's and South Carolina's coastline.

A recent study warns that if heat-trapping pollution continues to increase, sea levels could actually exceed the IPCC projections by a range of about 3 feet. 

Rising sea levels exacerbate the damage from tropical storms and hurricanes that strike coastal communities because they raise the base water level, which means storm surges can push water further inland and impact an area for a longer period.

What's being done about the impact of rising sea levels?

Several of the researchers behind the Scientific Reports study on the costs to coastal cities from rising sea levels are from the Netherlands. Their home country has already experimented with some novel ways of combating sea-level rise, including floating homes, offices, and even a dairy farm. 

Researchers believe investments will be targeted at four critical sectors: logistics, public services, transport, and utilities. 

"These targeted sectoral recoveries reflect likely public responses to disasters which aim to restore damaged infrastructure and key services locally rather than elsewhere," their study concluded. "They seek to dampen the otherwise cascading negative impacts of [sea-level rise], like long-term degradation of local economies and increases in inequality across regions."

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