RUDN Journal of Economics (Dec 2015)
THE IMPACT OF THE SEA LEVEL RISE ON THE EUROPEAN UNION PASSENGER AND FREIGHT TRANSPORT BY AIR
Abstract
An estimation of airport infrastructure flooding has been done for the stationary levels of the sea-level rise (from 1 m to 65 m). It was found that airport network is situated close to the coastline and it is very sensitive to the sea-level rise. So the sea-level rise up to 1 m will lead to flooding of 7 airports (0,08%), and reduction of air traffic (passenger 3,5%, freight 9,9%). Further sea-level rise up to 6 m (in the present time the Global Surface Air Temperature is 0,8 °С higher then pre-industrial level) will lead to flooding of 80 airports (9,2%) and 13,6% air traffic reduction. The EU Strategy on adaptation to climate change assume that the global warming must be limited to below 2 °C above pre-industrial level, that within some ages will lead to the sea-level rise up to 15 m, this corresponds to flooding of 172 airports (19,9%), and reduction of air traffic (passenger 20,4%, freight 14,7%). The EU Strategy on adaptation to climate change does not assume the sea-level rise above 1 m, so in the near future that could lead to the huge economic losses.
