Boston faces deep risk from sea level rise

Brace yourself Boston: Sea level rise from climate change could jeopardize Hub assets worth $463 billion.

A new report out by World Wildlife Fund and insurer Allianz warns that sea levels could rise along the U.S. coast a whopping 26 inches by 2050 as the world warms. That would place assets worth $7.4 trillion at risk along the US coast.

“With each new study the alarm bells become deafeningly clear that climate change will have devastating consequences for our economy and way of life,’’ said David Reed, senior vice president of policy at WWF.

The report comes several weeks before the world’s nations meet in Copenhagen to work toward a binding agreement to lower greenhouse gases from power plants, cars, and factories that are warming the earth and causing sea levels to rise.

New scientific evidence shows that the pace of warming in some places is outstripping even dire projections. (The simulation to the left was done by Applied Science Associates).

In the report, Boston is cited as the city with the fourth greatest risk exposure. The top three are Miami with $2.8 trillion; New York-Newark area with $1.8 trillion and New Orleans with $753 billion.

Download the report here.