How much will climate change cost
coastal cities?
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| The TV movie version |
Global damage from
flooding could cost coastal cities as much as US$1 trillion per year — and
developing countries will be hardest hit, a study warns.
According to the paper
published today in Nature Climate Change, a "risk sensitive planning"
strategy is needed to protect coastal cities, which are increasingly at risk
because of climate change, subsidence and a growing population.
The researchers looked
at the 136 largest coastal cities in the world and found that cities in
developing countries are particularly vulnerable to flood losses as they often
lack resources for long term planning.
"No city is doomed, but we have to expect huge disasters in the future. And better international coordination to provide support for the affected countries is really important," says Stephane Hallegatte, senior economist at the Sustainable Development Network of the World Bank and lead author of the study.
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| The Boston of the future |
"For each city we
assessed the total cost of potential damages," says Hallegatte. "But
we also looked at the relative losses, comparing the absolute cost to the
city's gross domestic product, to give an idea of the actual vulnerability of
each city."
Among the top 20 cities
with highest relative losses in proportion to their gross domestic product in
2005, only three are located in developed countries. The list is topped by
cities such as Guangzhou in China, Guayaquil in Ecuador, Ho Chi Minh City in
Vietnam, Abidjan in the Ivory Coast, Zhanjiang in China and Mumbai in India.
Read more at ENN
Affiliate, SciDevNet.