Extra 23 million people could face coastal flooding within 30 years, even with emission cuts, study says

Human-caused sea level rise, storm surges and high tides will put trillions of dollars of assets at risk around the world by the end of the century

The combined impacts of human-caused sea level rise, storm surges and high tides could expose an extra 23 million people to coastal flooding within the next 30 years, even with relatively ambitious cuts to greenhouse gas emissions, a new global study has found.

In a worst-case scenario where emissions continue to rise and no efforts are made to adapt to the rising sea levels, coastal assets worth US$14.2tn - about 20% of global GDP - could be at risk by the end of the century.