Days Until Our
2023 Conference!

Accelerating resiliency planning in communities across the Commonwealth

Costs of Doing Nothing: Economic Consequences of Not Adapting to Sea Level Rise in the Hampton Roads Region

Home » Economic Activities » Business Case for Resiliency » Costs of Doing Nothing: Economic Consequences of Not Adapting to Sea Level Rise in the Hampton Roads Region

Costs of Doing Nothing: Economic Consequences of Not Adapting to Sea Level Rise in the Hampton Roads Region

Home » Economic Activities » Business Case for Resiliency » Costs of Doing Nothing: Economic Consequences of Not Adapting to Sea Level Rise in the Hampton Roads Region

Costs of Doing NothingRecent studies have pointed out the economic costs of rising temperatures, increased sea levels, and extreme weather events — all factors associated with climate change impact in the Southeast United States.

Costs of Doing Nothing: Economic Consequences of Not Adapting to Sea Level Rise in the Hampton Roads Region, a 2016 report from Virginia Coastal Policy Center, College of William & Mary Law School, narrows down the data to the Hampton Roads area. This report looks at several scenarios for sea level rise and the economic consequences.

Sea Level Rise
Sea Level Rise: Click for larger image.

Key findings include:

  • Sea level rise will substantially increase damages to residential properties in the Hampton Roads region. Without additional sea level rise the expected damages in any given year are estimated to be roughly $12 million. These expected damages would increase to roughly $50 million annually with a sea level rise of .5 meters and to over $100 million annually with a sea level rise of .75 meters.
  • Sea level rise will significantly increase the regional economic impacts of large storm events. The decline in Gross Regional Product (GRP) of the Hampton Roads economy as a result of a 100-year storm event would go from $611 million without sea level rise (in the year of the storm) to over $1 billion with sea level rise of .5 meters and over $2 billion with a sea level rise of .75 meters.

From: Costs of Doing Nothing: Economic Consequences of Not Adapting to Sea Level Rise in the Hampton Roads Region

The full report can be viewed in the Resilient Virginia Resource Center. Click here for the report summary.

Become a Member
Become a Sponsor
Become a Volunteer

Sign Up for E-News

Get news and notifications from Resilient Virginia.

The Resilience Calendar

  • UEDA 2023 Summit
    Date: October 8, 2023
    Location:

    The UEDA Summit will bring together national experts in leveraging college and university resources for greater economic development and community impact. These domain experts work within higher education, the private sector, economic development organizations,…

  • Lessons Learned: How We Adapt on the Road to Climate Adaptation
    Date: October 12, 2023
    Location:

    Learn from this expert panel as they reflect on the limitations and challenges they’ve encountered in a wide variety of climate change adaptation projects

    Learn more and register More details...

  • Virginia Clean Energy Summit
    Date: October 16, 2023
    Location:

    The Virginia Clean Energy Summit serves as a vital forum for presenting innovative clean energy technologies, policies, and business practices that are driving the transformation of Virginia's energy sector. The main goal is to…

Latest News & Resources

Economic Opportunities for Community Resilience in Virginia

We chose to focus this year’s Resilient Virginia Conference on the numerous economic opportunities that currently exist for building community resilience in the state. Let’s be clear – businesses and communities will increasingly face risks in infrastructure damage, supply chain disruptions, and the toll on workers. However, by taking advantage of economic opportunities, they can begin to address the risks they are facing.

Read More »

Lynchburg Rising Final Report

In 2022 and 2023, the  Lynchburg Rising  project, funded by the  US Environmental Protection Agency Office of Environmental Justice , engaged historically disinvested neighborhoods in the City, which are disproportionately impacted by these hazards, to better understand their risks and to develop community capacity to address them.

Read More »

Pursuing a Resilient Virginia

In this report, we look at the attributes of a resilient community, the various approaches Virginia communities have taken to build resilience, and how we can work together to become more resilient.

Read More »

Six Foundations for Building Community Resilience

A community is more than just homes, stores, roads, and sidewalks. It is also the people inhabiting that space and it is defined by their social relationships, culture, economic and governance structures, and shared activities and memories. This report from the Post Carbon Institute looks at 6 foundations for building long-lasting community resilience. It approaches resilience building as an on-going process and not as an end goal.

Read More »