Global sea levels could rise as much as 1.2 metres (4 feet) by 2300 even if we meet the 2015 Paris climate goals, scientists have warned.

The long-term change will be driven by a thaw of ice from Greenland to Antarctica that is set to re-draw global coastlines.

Sea level rise threatens cities from Shanghai to London, to low-lying swathes of Florida or Bangladesh, and to entire nations such as the Maldives.

It is vital that we curb emissions as soon as possible to avoid an even greater rise, a German-led team of researchers said in a new report.

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Global sea levels could rise as much as 1.2 metres (4 feet) by 2300 even if we meet the 2015 Paris climate goals, scientists have warned. The long-term change will be driven by a thaw of ice from Greenland (file photo) to Antarctica that is set to re-draw global coastlines

By 2300, the report projected that sea levels would gain by 0.7-1.2 metres, even if almost 200 nations fully meet goals under the 2015 Paris Agreement.

Targets set by the accords include cutting greenhouse gas emissions to net zero in the second half of this century.

Ocean levels will rise inexorably because heat-trapping industrial gases already emitted will linger in the atmosphere, melting more ice, it said.

In addition, water naturally expands as it warms above four degrees Celsius (39.2°F).

The report also found that every five years of delay beyond 2020 in peaking global emissions would mean an extra 20 centimetres (8 inches) of sea level rise by 2300.

'Sea level is often communicated as a really slow process that you can't do much about ... but the next 30 years really matter,' lead author Dr Matthias Mengel, of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, in Potsdam, Germany, told Reuters.

None of the nearly 200 governments to sign the Paris Accords are on track to meet its pledges.

Global emissions of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas given off by burning fossil fuels, rose last year after a three-year plateau.

WHAT ARE THE KEY GOALS OF THE PARIS CLIMATE AGREEMENT? The Paris Agreement on Climate Change has four main goals with regards to reducing emissions: 1) A long-term goal of keeping the increase in global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels 2) To aim to limit the increase to 1.5°C, since this would significantly reduce risks and the impacts of climate change 3) Goverments agreed on the need for global emissions to peak as soon as possible, recognising that this will take longer for developing countries 4) To undertake rapid reductions thereafter in accordance with the best available science Source: European Commission Advertisement

And President Donald Trump, who doubts that human activities are the prime cause of global warming, plans to quit the Paris deal and instead promote US coal, oil and natural gas.

Maldives Environment Minister Thoriq Ibrahim, who chairs the 44-member Alliance of Small Island States, said Tuesday's findings showed a need for faster action to cut emissions, especially by rich nations.

'Unfortunately, the study confirms what small island nations have been saying for years: decades of procrastination on climate change have brought many of us to the brink of inundation,' he told Reuters.

Sea level rise threatens cities across the globe. It is vital that we curb emissions as soon as possible to avoid an even greater rise, scientists said in a new report. One way we could limit global emissions is to invest more in renewable energy (stock)

Professor John Church, of the Climate Change Research Centre at the University of New South Wales, who was not involved in the study, said 100 million people now live within one metre of the high tide mark.

'With the order of 100 million people living within 1 m of current high tide level, the world is vulnerable to rising sea levels,' he said in a statement.

'More people are moving to live within the coastal zone, increasing the vulnerable population and infrastructure.

'Adaptation to sea level rise will be essential.'