Rising Seas & Climate
Rising Seas & Climate
Rising Seas & Climate
By 2050 between 300 million and 1 Billion people will be displaced by global sea rise alone across more than 500 coastal cities. Others will be forced to flee in search for food as farmland globally fails due to rising temperatures. Where will they all go? Listen or scroll for more on:
- 40% of the World’s Population lives on or near the Coast
- 570 Cities are Already Affected by Rising Seas
- Seas are Rising Faster than Ever
- Entire Nations will be Lost to Sea Rise
- This is Not a Future Problem
- Climate Mitigation Will be a Boon for Employment
40% of the World’s Population lives on or near the Coast
Today around 40% of the world’s population lives within 100 kilometres (60 miles) of the coastline. With a sea-rise of just 1.5-2 meters by 2100, this puts hundreds of millions of people at risk, and we aren’t doing nearly enough to mitigate that risk today. Unless you can breathe underwater, sea rise is going to be a massive problem for humanity’s coastal cities.
40% of the World’s Population lives on or near the Coast
Today around 40% of the world’s population lives within 100 kilometres (60 miles) of the coastline. With a sea-rise of just 1.5-2 meters by 2100, this puts hundreds of millions of people at risk, and we aren’t doing nearly enough to mitigate that risk today. Unless you can breathe underwater, sea rise is going to be a massive problem for humanity’s coastal cities.
570 Cities are Already Affected by Rising Seas
By 2050, even a rise of just 0.5 of a meter in sea levels (1.5 feet) will affect 570 cities globally. That puts at least 800 million people at risk of storm surges and the like. What once were 100 year flood events are now occurring every few years and will become an annual feature of our city’s weather systems. Major urban planning will be required to mitigate these changes in coastal sea levels and flooding.
Seas are Rising Faster than Ever
Since the 1960s global sea level rise has been accelerating. When sea levels rise 25 centimeters above 2000 norms, they will reach a point when 100-year floods on coastlines could be a near annual occurrence. Scientists believe that threshold will be reached sometime between 2040 and 2060. Ocean warming and melting ice are combining to accelerate sea-level rise to never before seen rates.
Seas are Rising Faster than Ever
Since the 1960s global sea level rise has been accelerating. When sea levels rise 25 centimeters above 2000 norms, they will reach a point when 100-year floods on coastlines could be a near annual occurrence. Scientists believe that threshold will be reached sometime between 2040 and 2060. Ocean warming and melting ice are combining to accelerate sea-level rise to never before seen rates.
Entire Nations will be Lost to Sea Rise
While rich nations like the United States may be able to mitigate some of the effects of rising sea levels, other nations won’t be so lucky. Disastrous storms and unusually high tides currently occur once each decade in Bangladesh, but this could become as regular as three to 15 times each year by 2100, resulting in 20-30% of the population being displaced. 80% of the Maldives land mass (1,190 islands) lie under 1 meter above sea level, and at least 70% of their critical infrastructure too. Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Tokelau and Tuvalu—low-lying coral atolls and reef islands—are recognised as among the most vulnerable nations in the world to climate change
This is Not a Future Problem
The total cost of U.S. billion-dollar disasters over the last 5 years (2016-2020) exceeds $600 billion, with a 5-year annual cost average of $121.3 billion, both of which are records for the last 300 years. Up to 60% of the entire world’s GDP will be spent on climate mitigation and response. But the human cost is almost unfathomable. Sea level rise is already baked in, even if we stopped all carbon emissions today. Even if you don’t believe climate change is real, 7-9 million people die each year from pollution related effects alone – and we have not done anything material to fix that.
This is Not a Future Problem
The total cost of U.S. billion-dollar disasters over the last 5 years (2016-2020) exceeds $600 billion, with a 5-year annual cost average of $121.3 billion, both of which are records for the last 300 years. Up to 60% of the entire world’s GDP will be spent on climate mitigation and response. But the human cost is almost unfathomable. Sea level rise is already baked in, even if we stopped all carbon emissions today. Even if you don’t believe climate change is real, 7-9 million people die each year from pollution related effects alone – and we have not done anything material to fix that.
Climate Mitigation Will be a Boon for Employment
By 2030 Energy and Climate related Jobs will Boom. There remains the question of who is going to pay for all this? Well, in The Rise of Technosocialism we propose forgiving all national debt to be redirected into climate mitigation and preparedness starting in 2030, which will create entirely new industries and hundreds of millions of jobs.