Rising sea levels will force massive expansion of global seaports

摘要

Seaport footprints will need to expand by up to 3,689 square kilometers (1,424 square miles) worldwide in the next three decades to cope with the combination of sea-level rise and rising demand, according to a new study1 published in Earth's Future, a peer-reviewed scientific journal focusing on climate change and future sustaina-bility. The new study modeled trade growth and port demand through 2050 under four combinations of climate policy interventions and global temperature increases. All scenarios lead to increased traffic through ports, requiring doubling or quadrupling port areas.