Damage caused by rising sea levels could cost the EU and UK economies up to €872 billion by the end of the century.
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This is evidenced by the results of a modeling study published in the journal Scientific Reports, reports EurekAlert.
As part of the study, scientists:
- modeled the potential economic impacts of sea level rise on 271 European regions by 2100 under a high emissions scenario (SSP5-RCP8.5 – which would occur if society did not make a concerted effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions) without introducing new protection measures;
- combined a previously developed economic model with data on the projected impacts of sea level rise, investment trends and the distribution of economic losses caused by 155 floods in Europe between 1995 and 2016;
- assessed potential economic losses and benefits compared to a scenario with no sea level rise and 2% annual economic growth in all regions.
As a result, the following results were obtained:
- Under the high emissions scenario, sea level rise could cause €872 billion in combined economic losses in the UK and EU by 2100, compared with a no sea level rise scenario;
- there are regional differences in the economic impacts of sea level rise, with the majority of economic losses – up to 21% of regional GDP by 2100 – concentrated in coastal regions such as Veneto and Emilia-Romagna in Italy and West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland;
- other regions that suffered relatively large economic losses were centered around the Baltic Sea, the Belgian coast, western France and Greece;
- at the same time, inland regions – such as Germany, Austria and Hungary – are expected to experience economic growth of up to 1% of regional GDP by 2100. This may be due to the movement of production from flooded coastal regions to inland areas.
At the same time, the modeling showed that targeted investments in logistics, government services, construction and utilities would be a minor burden on the economy, but would reduce some regional losses under the high-emissions scenario.
Let us recall that earlier Danish scientists studied how global warming will affect the functioning of the European energy system.
Source: EurekAlert
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.