This makes it one of the most critical and vulnerable pieces of infrastructure at risk from sea level rise, the Climate Change Risks to Australia's Coast report finds.

A sea level rise of 1.1 metres combined with a storm surge would inundate the airport including parts of the northern runways and taxiways and damage critical safety equipment.

"The combined effects of sea-level rise, storm surge and tidal action resulting in significant inundation of the airfield movement area could effectively close the airport," the report said.

Options suggested in the report to avoid disaster include building sea walls around the airport and installing locks in the Cooks River.

If these were insufficient it may become necessary to raise the airfield and associated facilities by up to one metre at a cost of $1 billion.

Big potential problems also lie in the sheer size of the coastal infrastructure.

Within 200 metres of the coastline there are 120 of the nations ports, five power stations and substations, three water treatment plants, 170 industrial zones and 1800 bridges.

Many emergency services are also located within 200 metres of the coastline.

Another deadly problem would be dealing with 41 waste disposal facilities near the coast. A number of dumps are likely to contain oil, asbestos, pesticides, plastic and heavy metals. SMH