A new study (💲) commissioned by Lloyd’s Register, a shipping services group, says a third of the world’s 3,800 ports are “located in a tropical band vulnerable to the most powerful effects of climate change”.
Some of the at-risk ports include:
- 🇨🇳 Shanghai (43.19 million containers moved in 2022)
- 🇺🇸 Houston (3.9 million containers), and
- 🇲🇽 Lazaro Cardenas in Mexico (1.7 million containers).
The report says a 40cm sea rise could render some ports unusable by 2050.
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What to do? The study calls for more investment in resilience, including flood defence systems like the one built along the Thames in the 1970s-80s.
Intrigue’s take: Bit by bit, the global economy is adapting to what it sees over the horizon. The shipping sector’s International Maritime Organization just adopted a revised net-zero emissions target of around 2050.
But this Lloyd’s Register report suggests cutting emissions in the sector ain’t enough on its own; more ports may need bigger floodwalls, sooner.
Also worth noting:
- The maritime sector accounts for around 3% of global emissions.
