Flooding due to rising seas could cost $1 trillion by 2050, study says

VANCOUVER – A new study says coastal flooding could cost the global economy $1 trillion by 2050 due to the rise in sea levels caused by global warming.

And the article, part of a project of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, says Vancouver is one of the cities most at-risk to losses due to floods.

The authors based their prediction on an increase in sea levels of between 0.2 and 0.4 metres by 2050 caused by melting polar ice sheets.

Flood defences in coastal cities have been designed for past conditions, they say, and officials need to improve flood management and infrastructure.

Those improvements will cost about $50 billion a year for the 136 cities the study considered.

Stephane Hallegatte, a senior economist at the World Bank and lead author of the paper published today, says inaction is not an option, and policy makers should be considering early warning systems and evacuation planning.