To protect themselves from the inevitable threat of rising sea levels, coastal communities in the United States will have to shell out more than $400 billion, according to a new report released by the Center for Climate Integrity.

Authors of the new report estimate 50,000 miles of coastal barriers will need to be built across 22 states over the next two decades. The report, compiled with the help of engineering firm Resilient Analytics, organizes the costs by city, county, congressional district and state.

Not surprisingly, researchers with the Center for Climate Integrity expect Florida to pay the steepest price — more than $75 billion — to protect its coastal communities from rising seas.

For the report, researchers relied on moderate sea-level rise projections and expected yearly storm surge. Should sea levels rise more quickly than expected, governments will be forced to spend more and build more quickly.

Recent surveys of melting patterns in Antarctica and Greenland suggest Earth’s biggest ice sheets are increasingly unstable, with melt rates accelerating as a result of warmer air and ocean temperatures. Climate scientists agree that the burning of […]