New York City is sinking and lower Manhattan could end up underwater — literally. Here are 3 stocks to hedge against the effects climate change

New York City is sinking under the weight of its iconic buildings and towers, which may threaten some of its most prestigious real estate over time, a new study has found.

There are over one million buildings across the city, collectively weighing 1.68 trillion pounds, according to researchers. This immense weight is partly causing New York to sink an average of one to two millimeters a year. Certain spots are sinking even faster, including lower Manhattan.

It may not sound like much, but extended across several decades, coupled with the rise of sea levels and threat of natural disasters, some experts fear New York’s coastal areas will one day be unrecognizable.

“There could be as much as six feet of sea level rise [give or take] by the end of the century,” Klaus Jacob, a geophysicist and professor emeritus at Columbia University, told the New York Post.

“The best way to deal with rising sea levels combined with storm surge would be, of course, retreating to higher ground,” Jacob added. “But tell that to the property owners in lower Manhattan and other places that they have to move skyscrapers to a higher ground. That’s not going to happen.”

Real estate investors and developers don’t seem to be taking this risk very seriously, according to the study. About 90% of the 67,400 structures in the expanded post-Hurricane Sandy flood-risk areas have not been built to floodplain standards. In terms of future real asset value exposed to flood risk, New York ranks third in the world.

Investors on Wall Street are just as exposed. Rising sea levels are likely to impact the stock valuations of insurance firms, banks and property managers across the world. On the other hand, some stocks could serve as a hedge against the effects of climate change. Here are the top three picks.