New analyses indicate that rising sea levels due to the climate change crisis threaten to submerge many of the world's largest oil ports.

According to the newspaper "The Irish Times," scientists said that one of the main reasons for the threat is the burning of fossil fuels, which causes global warming. They added that reducing emissions by transitioning to renewable energy could stop global warming and provide more reliable energy.

A one-meter rise in sea level will significantly impact 13 of the busiest ports for supertankers, according to the analysis.

The researchers stated that the threatened list includes the oil ports in Houston and Galveston in the United States, which is considered the largest oil producer in the world, as well as in China, Singapore, and the Netherlands.

Time passes

According to a study by the International Climate Initiative for the Cryosphere, or ICCI, a one-meter rise in sea level is now inevitable and could happen within a century, or possibly sooner, by 2070, if the ice sheets collapse and emissions do not decrease.

The newspaper explains that rising sea levels are already causing problems around the world even before they exceed coastal areas.

Researchers point out that the rise so far means that storms have become higher and more likely to cause coastal flooding, while the seepage of saltwater into coastal lands can lead to foundation erosion.

Reducing emissions sharply will not only slow the rate of sea level rise in the near term but will also limit the final increase.

Pam Pearson, director of the International Cryosphere Initiative responsible for the study, said, "Ironically, these oil tanker ports are located below a one-meter sea level rise, so we need to monitor these higher potential sea level rise rates, which in turn come from the continued use of fossil fuels."

The greatest impact

Rising sea levels are considered the biggest long-term impact of the climate crisis, redrawing the map of the world and affecting many major cities from New York to Shanghai, which is something the world's governments must take seriously, according to Pearson.

James Kirkham, the chief scientific advisor at ICCI, said, "Refusing to turn off the oil taps means keeping the possibilities open for rising sea levels. We must double our efforts to address the accelerated melting of ice, which has already doubled the rate of sea level rise in the past thirty years.

The Irish Times explained that the results of the new analysis were based on work conducted in May 2024, where researchers found that 12 of the 15 oil ports with the highest tanker traffic are at risk of rising sea levels.

We used sea level rise maps from Climate Central and Google Maps to illustrate how a one-meter increase in sea level would harm docks, oil storage facilities, refineries, and other infrastructure.