ESCWA Publication: E/ESCWA/CL1.CCS/2025/TP.1
Country: Arab Republic of Egypt
Publication Type: Information material
Cluster: Climate Change and Natural Resource Sustainability
Focus Area: Climate change, Trade & regional connectivity
Initiatives: Arab Centre for Climate Change Policies, Improving transport & logistics, Geographic Information System for transport networks and facilities in the Arab region
SDGs: Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, Goal 13: Climate Action
Keywords: Agriculture, Case studies, Climate change, Disaster loss, Economic aspects, Egypt, Employment, Housing, Inflation, Physical infrastructure, Public finance, Sea level, Statistical methodology, Tourism, Transport, Technical cooperation
Estimating the economic losses to transportation, housing and agriculture due to sea level rise: A case study of Alexandria, Egypt
August 2025
The Arab region is highly exposed to sea level rise due to climate change, with much of its population living along its 36,300-km coastline. Despite the risks, limited research exists on potential loss and damage. Sea level rise contributes to flooding, saltwater intrusion, land subsidence and erosion, threatening housing, infrastructure, agriculture, tourism, water resources, biodiversity and health.
This paper presents a methodology for estimating such impacts through a case study of Alexandria. Jointly prepared by ESCWA and ECLAC, the study estimates damage of $5.2–$17.3 billion by 2060 and annual economic losses of 0.15–0.33 percentage points of GDP based on 2019 data.
Related content
Climate change, Trade & regional connectivity
The Arab region is highly exposed to sea level rise due to climate change, with much of its population living along its 36,300-km coastline. Despite the risks, limited research exists on potential loss and damage. Sea level rise contributes to flooding, saltwater intrusion, land subsidence and erosion, threatening housing, infrastructure, agriculture, tourism, water resources, biodiversity and health.
This paper presents a methodology for estimating such impacts through a case study of Alexandria. Jointly prepared by ESCWA and ECLAC, the study estimates damage of $5.2–$17.3 billion by 2060 and annual economic losses of 0.15–0.33 percentage points of GDP based on 2019 data.
