Some of Dublin's most noted pubs, museums and hotels could be under water by the end of this century if radical measures are not taken to combat climate change, experts have revealed.
The dire warning has come as the Dublin Climate Summit which took place on Thursday heard that more than 8,500 buildings in the capital will be at risk of coastal flooding by 2100 as a consequence of increasing global warming.
A stark 3D image from climate technology company Cervest shows how areas of the city centre that are closest to the mouth of the River Liffey are in danger of being swamped by rising waters.
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It means that many inner city residential areas, tourist hotspots and the city's financial services district will be badly effected.
In its report, Cervest stated: "This image stands as a powerful visual and emotional reminder that climate change, if left unabated, will have a devastating effect on cityscapes and infrastructures, creating negative economic and social consequences - within and outside of cities.
"Images like these leave no doubt – we must act now to mitigate the damage to physical assets that climate change will bring if left unchecked.
Cervest added: “It reinforces the importance of keeping global heating to a minimum and that the places we know and take for granted as ‘permanent fixtures’, are today part of a fragile and interconnected system that is being transformed by climate change."
Globally, physical assets worth $2.5 trillion were already at risk from climate change, the summit was told, while economic losses associated with climate change are expected to rise to $23 trillion by 2050.
While achieving net-zero was now essential; “business and governments can no longer afford to ignore “physical risk”; the impact of climate change at a physical asset level”, said Cervest founder and chief executive Iggy Bassi.
He said: "You don’t need to be a climate scientist to understand this powerful image. It makes a global problem relatable on a local level. My city is going to look like this … unless we take action.
“Cervest’s science-backed climate intelligence enables a view of connected assets across multiple scales. Using these insights, decisions can be made across multiple timeframes, climate hazards and emissions scenarios."
Meanwhile, Taoiseach Micheal Martin told the summit that climate change was the biggest threat facing the country, and the planet.
Mr Martin said during the summit: "The serious impacts in recent years from extreme weather events show us the truly enormous cost of not acting. The truth is that not acting, is not an option.
"Climate change is the single greatest challenge we face as a country and as a planet, and we must work in unison to meet our goals."
Read more: Terrifying flood map shows what Dublin will look like by 2030
It comes as environmental group, Friends Of The Earth, questioned the focus on technologies “that could distract attention away from the need to rapidly end the fossil fuel era and cut emissions at source”.
FOE head of policy Jerry Mac Evilly said that it is "time to demand real emission reductions now."
He said: "New technologies are evidently necessary but depending on investment in unproven technologies, like CCS, will not deliver near-term emissions reductions and risks a lock-in to ever-increasing fossil fuels.
“We must rapidly stop using fossil fuels. The Taoiseach and Government must pay heed to warnings from UN secretary general Antonio Gutteres who highlighted fossil fuel interests are now ‘cynically’ using the war in Ukraine to lock in a high carbon future, noting ‘the world is in a race against time.
He added: "We cannot afford slow movers, fake movers or any form of greenwashing’."
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