The Tribune

A NEW book warns that The Bahamas faces greater risks from climate change than almost any other country.

In her book, “Sea Change,” Christina Gerhardt, an academic, author and environmental journalist, argues the country’s low elevation, abundant limestone, and high population density along coastlines make the country one of the most susceptible to climate change impacts.

The book builds on projections from Climate Central, a non-profit organization that reports climate science news.

In 2019, The Tribune reported Climate Central’s findings that most of Grand Bahama, Abaco and Spanish Wells is projected to be under flood levels by 2050 because of climate change.

Much of Crooked Island, Acklins, Andros and Cat Island will also be under flood levels, while the eastern and south-eastern parts of New Providence will be there too.

The Guardian, a British daily newspaper, published an extract from Ms Gerhardt’s new book yesterday.

The extract said: “According to a report on the threat of sea level rise in the Caribbean by Climate Central, ‘The Bahamas confront by far the greatest proportional threat: 32 per cent of land [and] 25 per cent of population … are below 0.5 metres [1.64 ft]’.” For the Bahamas, 32cm (1.04ft) of sea level rise is predicted by 2050, and 82cm (2.68ft) by 2100.

“The Bahamas are also at a high risk of hurricanes and tropical storms because the archipelago sits at the northern end of the Atlantic ‘hurricane alley’.”

“According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s fifth assessment report, the impacts of sea level rise measured in national GDP found that alongside islands in the Pacific – specifically Palau, Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and Nauru – the island group that would be most affected is The Bahamas. In 2020, Moody’s rating agency said The Bahamas was among the four nations forecast to be hit hardest financially by sea level rise, with an estimated 11 per cent of its residents and 15 per cent of its GDP at risk.”