Rising seas could cost Australia economic losses of $855 billion, study finds
Rising sea levels due to climate change could damage hundreds of thousands of properties and millions of hectares of land along Australia’s coastline by 2100, according to a recent study. This could cost the country an economic loss of $855 billion, researchers estimate. To calculate the costs, researchers in Australia used existing projections of sea […]
A recent study warns that rising sea levels resulting from climate change could inflict significant economic damage on Australia by 2100. Projected costs amount to a staggering $855 billion under a moderate emissions scenario. Researchers from the University of Melbourne utilized existing projections for sea level rise and storm surges to map out areas susceptible to flooding in 2100.
They then identified all properties, agricultural land, and infrastructure in these vulnerable regions and estimated their values to calculate potential damage. Under moderate emissions, around 268,000 properties and 2 million hectares (4.9 million acres) of land could face damage, leading to a present-value economic loss of $855.1 billion.
In a high-emissions scenario, the damages could escalate to nearly 720,000 properties and 3.7 million hectares (9.1 million acres), resulting in economic losses of up to $1.91 trillion. Lead author Tom Kompas emphasized that sea level rise could impact a large number of Australians, as the majority of the population resides within 50 kilometers (31 miles) of the coastline.
With Australia's coastline spanning approximately 34,000 kilometers (21,000 miles), the analysis covers every region across the country.
Written by urgent.news from Mongabay's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
