Rising North Carolina Sea Levels Come With Hefty Price Tag

$35 billion.

That's what it will cost to defend against rising seas in North Carolina, according to the Center For Climate Integrity. The chosen tactic is the construction of seawalls.

Seawalls are like large cement or steel barriers built to literally keep the ocean back. They would also be used in tidal and inland waters, where soil and grass would serve to reinforce the barricade.

These barriers would need to stretch out over 5,000 miles in North Carolina alone.

Executive Director Richard Wiles says that while federal and state governments are likely on the hook for these costs, someone else should foot the bill.

“Well we think the polluters who caused the problem should be paying for this,” says Wiles. “There's no reason that the citizens of North Carolina should have to pay $35 billion to defend themselves against sea level rise that they essentially had nothing to do with causing.”

The report shows that Dare County would cost the most to protect at $5.5 billion. The village of Ocracoke and the town of North Topsail Beach are the most expensive municipalities at over $700 million apiece.

Eddie Garcia: garciaea@wfu.edu