Rising sea-levels could inflict US$724 billion in economic damage to seven of Asia’s major cities this decade, a report by environmental campaigners Greenpeace has cautioned. Around 600 million people live in low-lying coastal regions at risk of flooding, with 11 of the 15 highest risk cities in Asia, as the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere continues to build, and the rate of sea-level rise accelerates. Greenpeace’s report projected the economic risk from sea-level rise to Hong Kong, Taipei, Seoul, Tokyo, Jakarta, Manila and Bangkok if greenhouse gas emissions and global temperatures continue to rise at the current rate. The report is the first of its kind to use high spatial resolution data to predict which areas of each city are most at risk from floods, and gauged the effects of sea-level rise on population, land area and gross domestic product (GPD). Asia’s most severely hit city by rising seas will be Bangkok. Some 1,500 square kilometres of the Thai capital’s land area could affected by regular flooding by 2030, according to Greenpeace’s analysis. This will mean that 96 per cent of the city’s GDP — worth US$500 billion — and more than 10 million people will be affected.

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