Can Lower Manhattan survive climate change? New York’s sea level rise plan faces pushback

While cities like New Orleans and Houston have had to confront the consequences of sea level rise in the wake of historic storms, devising their own tailored solutions to the problem, others remain uncertain how it will creep in and wreak havoc on daily life in the decades to come. Robert Kopp is a climate scientist and professor at Rutgers University who also serves as one of the directors of the Climate Impact Lab, which assesses the economic risks of climate change. “I think Manhattan is defensible across a range of sea level rise predictions,” Kopp said. “But there is a breaking point, and that’s why you need the contingency plans. There surely is a point where you either need to relocate people or you have to redesign the area to accommodate flooding.”