Keeping our head above water

Rising Sea Levels

World leaders are meeting in Copenhagen in what could be our last chance to reverse the effects of climate change as we approach our "point of no return" deadline of 2020. Unfortunately it's looking more unlikely by the day that any kind of comprehensive deal will be reached.

But in a stark warning from environmental experts, humans have been told they must follow the example set by nature - adapt or die.

Even a small rise in the world's sea levels, predicted as a result of global warming, could make environmental refugees of some 56 million people in developing countries. But 70 percent of the world's population live on coastal plains, including 11 of the world's 15 largest cities.

Whereas poorer countries, in particular places like Bangladesh and Mozambique, receive the majority of press on the threat rising sea levels pose to human settlements, there are plenty of people living in large, developed cities that are also in danger.

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New York in danger

For example, New York faces a greater flood risk over the next century as weaker Atlantic currents raise sea levels on the US East Coast by more than in London or Tokyo.

Low-lying nations such as Bangladesh are far from being alone in facing risks posed by rising seas, the research indicated. US centers of economy, politics and education in the northeast also have to face up to the threat.

"This important region will experience some of the fastest and largest sea level rises this century," Jianjun Yin, the author of the Florida State University report, said in a phone interview to Bloomberg. That will also put Boston and Washington more at risk from flooding and storm surges, he said.

Adapting to rising seas and higher temperatures is expected to be a big topic at the UN climate change talks in Copenhagen next week, along with the projected cost - likely to be hundreds of billions of dollars, much of which going to countries that can ill afford it.

Investing in protection

And whereas this fact is well documented, it is perhaps less well know that major cities in the developed world are also investing huge amounts in protecting themselves from rising waters.

In London, England half a billion dollars are being spent on strengthening the Thames Barrier. California is redesigning the gates that move water around the agriculturally vital Sacramento River Delta so that they can work when the sea level rises dramatically there.

Singapore plans to cut its flood-prone areas in half by 2011 by widening and deepening drains and canals and completing a $226 million dam at the mouth of the city's main river.

Rising sea levels are a real concern for a huge chunk of the global population, and there are as many if not more people in danger of flooding in developed nations as there are in developing nations. The problem is, developing countries have far less resources available to them to try and keep their heads above water.

Related Articles:

Mozambique: A case study | Copenhagen: The footprint | Did rich lie to poor over climate change cash?

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