A new report says 263,500 jobs and more than $11 billion in wage income across the Chesapeake Bay region will be at risk from 100-year flooding by 2050 due to sea-level rise. (Adobe Stock)
WASHINGTON – A new report concludes that sea level rise in the Chesapeake Bay will cost jobs in surrounding regions.
The Resources for the Future report concludes that in Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay region, nearly 180,000 — or 7.4% of the region’s jobs — will be exposed to 100-year floods by 2050.
This, in turn, means that $6.1 billion in wage income is at risk over the same period.
Of Virginia’s 134 counties, 42 will be affected by sea level rise by 2050.
Yanjun “Penny” Liao, a fellow at Resources for the Future and co-author of the report, said some country-level solutions included better coordination between resilience planning and incentives for economic development.
“In order for the economy to adjust to increasing risk in some of these high-risk areas, structuring the impact of the grants is important,” Liao said. “And don’t put it in the most exposed spots.”
One thing the research has failed to account for is how hurricanes have intensified in recent years due to climate change.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration found that the 60 major weather events between 2020 and 2022 caused more than $445 billion in damage.
Liao noted that some states, such as Virginia and Maryland, are already incorporating climate change into their grants and incentives for economic development.
However, she noted that other states need to consider similar measures to be more proactive in resilience planning.
“If the state and local government do proactive planning and fund more development at higher altitudes or for location reasons, for example,” Liao said, “you can gradually move some of these operations and jobs to low-risk areas.”
She said this will help make the local economy in the Chesapeake Bay area more resilient and resilient.
According to the report, Virginia established a resilience fund in early 2022, endowed with $25 million from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.
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