Abstract
Climate change has been recognized as one of the most critical and controversial issues facing the world in the twenty-first century. It is predicted to lead to adverse and irreversible impacts on the earth and ecosystems as a whole. This chapter discusses the causes of climate change and current and potential impacts that will affect the people now and in the coming decades while providing a comprehensive account of how Pacific Island nations face challenges from climate change-related impacts. Global warming, sea-level rise, changing weather patterns and extreme events, pressure on water and food security, human health risks, and impacts on wildlife and ecosystems are considered as major impacts of climate change. Pacific Island countries register the greatest negative impacts of climate change even though they account for only 0.03% of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions. Current and projected climate change poses a set of fundamental challenges to the local economy and livelihoods, resulting in human mobility and cross-border displacement and migration. The dispersed nature and heterogeneity of the Pacific Island countries presents special challenges for localized climate projections and adaptation strategies. Effective adaptation measures and policies to climate change impacts in the Pacific Islands should acknowledge their unique environmental and cultural characteristics.
Keywords
- Climate change
- Pacific Islands
- Sea-level rise
- Climate impacts
- Adaptation
- Mitigation
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.
Buying options





References
Acosta LA, Eugenio EA, Macandog PBM, Magcale-Macandog DB, Lin EKH, Abucay ER, Primavera MG (2016) Loss and damage from typhoon-induced floods and landslides in the Philippines: community perceptions on climate impacts and adaptation options. Int J Global Warming 9(1):33–65
Adger W (2006) Vulnerability. Glob Environ Chang 16(3):268–281. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2006.02.006
Albert S, Leon JX, Grinham AR, Church JA, Gibbes BR, Woodroffe CD (2016) Interactions between sea-level rise and wave exposure on reef island dynamics in the Solomon Islands. Environ Res Lett 11(5):054011. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/11/5/054011
Allen MR, Barros VR, Broome J, Cramer W, Christ R, Church JA et al (eds) (2014) IPCC Fifth Assessment Synthesis Report—Climate change 2014 synthesis report. IPCC, Geneva
Alley R, Marotzke J, Nordhaus W, Overpeck J, Peteet D, Pielke RA, Wallace JM (2003) Abrupt climate change. Science 299(5615):2005–2010. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1081056
Ash J, Campbell J (2016) Climate change and migration: the case of the Pacific Islands and Australia. J Pacific Stud 36(1):53–72
Asian Development Bank (2013) The economics of climate change in the Pacific. Asian Development Bank, Philippines
Earth System Grid Federation (ESGF) (2009) Climate Model Data Service, 1998–2012. NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center. Accessed on 17 May 2019. https://cds.nccs.nasa.gov/data/by-project/esgf/
Barnett J (2001) Adapting to climate change in Pacific Island countries: the problem of uncertainty. World Dev 29(6):977–993
Barnett J (2011) Dangerous climate change in the Pacific Islands: food production and food security. Reg Environ Chang 11(1):229–237
Barnosky A, Matzke N, Tomiya S, Wogan G, Swartz B, Quental T, Mersey B (2011) Has the Earth’s sixth mass extinction already arrived? Nature 471(7336):51. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature09678
Becken S, Hay J (2012) Climate change and tourism: from policy to practice. Taylor and Francis Group, Routledge, London
Bell J, Ganachaud A, Gehrke P, Griffiths S, Hobday A, Hoegh-Guldberg O, Matear R (2013) Mixed responses of tropical Pacific fisheries and aquaculture to climate change. Nat Clim Chang 3(6):591. https://doi.org/10.1038/NCLIMATE1838
Benitez M (2009) Climate change could affect mosquito-borne diseases in Asia. Lancet 373(9669):1070
Bowes G (1993) Facing the inevitable: plants and increasing atmospheric CO2. Annu Rev Plant Biol 44(1):309–332
Brierley A, Kingsford M (2009) Impacts of climate change on marine organisms and ecosystems. Curr Biol 19(14):R602–R614. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2009.05.046
Bruno J, Selig E (2007) Regional decline of coral cover in the Indo-Pacific: timing, extent, and subregional comparisons. PLoS One 2(8):711. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0000711
Campbell J, Barnett J (2010) Climate change and small island states: power, knowledge and the South Pacific. Routledge, London
Campbell J, Warrick O (2014) Climate change and migration issues in the Pacific Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. United Nations, New York, p 34. https://www.ilo.org/dyn/migpractice/docs/261/Pacific.pdf
Carlos G, Velmurugan A, Jerard B, Karthick R, Jaisankar I (2008) Biodiversity of Polynesian Islands: distribution and threat from climate change. In: Biodiversity and climate change adaptation in tropical islands. Academic Press, Cambridge, MA, pp 105–125
Cave D (2012) Digital islands: how the Pacific’s ICT revolution is transforming the region. Lowy Institute for International Policy, Sydney
Chen X, Zhang X, Church J, Watson C, King M, Monselesan D et al (2017) The increasing rate of global mean sea-level rise during 1993–2014. Nat Clim Chang 7(7):492. https://www.nature.com/articles/nclimate3325
Cheung W, Sumaila R (2013) Managing multiple human stressors in the ocean: a case study in the Pacific Ocean, vol 11. Elsevier, Burlington, MA
Cheung W, Lam VW, Sarmiento J, Kearney K, Watson R, Zeller D, Pauly D (2010) Large-scale redistribution of maximum fisheries catch potential in the global ocean under climate change. Glob Chang Biol 16(1):24–35. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2009.01995.x
Christensen J, Kanikicharla K, Marshall G, Turner J (2013) Climate phenomena and their relevance for future regional climate change. In: IPCC WGI Fifth Assessment Report. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Church J, Clark P, Cazenave A, Gregory JM, Jevrejeva S, Levermann A, Payne AJ (2013) Sea-level and ocean heat-content change. Int Geophys 103:697–725. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-391851-2.00027-1
Cobb KM, Charles CD, Cheng H, Edwards RL (2003) El Niño/Southern Oscillation and tropical Pacific climate during the last millennium. Nature 424(6946):271
Conn D (2014) Aquatic invasive species and emerging infectious disease threats: a one health perspective. Paper presented at the Aquatic Invasions, Niagara Falls, Canada
Connell J, Lowitt K (2019) Food security in small island states. Springer, Singapore
CSIRO (2015) Tidal Dataset – CAMRIS – Lowest Astronomical Tide. v1. CSIRO. Data Collection. https://doi.org/10.4225/08/55148535DD183. Accessed 25 May 2019
Dasgupta S, Laplante B, Meisner C, Wheeler D, Yan J (2007) The impact of sea level rise on developing countries: a comparative analysis. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 4136. Paper presented at the Velichko (2007). Ecosystems, their properties, goods, and services. Climate change 2007: impacts, adaptation and vulnerability; Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate, Canada. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/7174
DESA (2015) World population prospects: the 2015 revision, key findings and advance tables. United Nations, New York
Doherty, B., Roy, E. A. (2017). World Bank: let climate-threatened Pacific islanders migrate to Australia or NZ. The Guardian. Accessed 12 June 2019. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/may/08/australia-and-nz-should-allow-open-migration-for-pacific-islanders-threatened-by-climate-says-report
Dornan M, Newton Cain T (2014) Regional service delivery among Pacific Island countries: an assessment. Asia Pacific Policy Stud 1(3):541–560
Du Plessis A (2018) Current and Future water scarcity and stress. In: Water as an inescapable risk. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03186-2_2
Easterling D, Meehl G, Parmesan C, Changnon S, Karl T, Mearns L (2010) Climate extremes: observations, modeling, and impacts. Science’s Compass 289(5487):2068–2074. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.289.5487.2068
Ede P (2003) Come hell or high water: rising sea levels and extreme flooding threaten to make the South Pacific’s Tuvalu the first victim of global warming. Alternatives J Waterloo 29(1):8–10
ESCAP (2010) Statistical yearbook For Asia and the Pacific 2009. Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand, p 260. https://www.unisdr.org/files/13373_ESCAPSYB2009.pdf
Esler S (2015) Vanuatu post-disaster needs assessment tropical cyclone Pam. Government of Vanuatu, Vanuatu. https://dfat.gov.au/about-us/publications/Documents/post-disaster-needs-assessment-cyclone-pam.pdf
Everett H, Simpson D, Wayne S (2018) Tourism as a river of growth in the Pacific. In: A pathway to growth and prosperity for Pacific Island countries, vol 2. Asian Development Bank, Manila, p 26
FAO (2008) Climate change and food security in Pacific Island Countries: issues and requirements. In: Climate change and food security in Pacific Island Countries. United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome
Farbotko C, McGregor H (2010) Copenhagen, climate science and the emotional geographies of climate change. Aust Geogr 41(2):159–166. https://doi.org/10.1080/00049181003742286
First P (2018) Global warming of 1.5°C. An IPCC Special Report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, in the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate poverty. World Meteorological Organization, Geneva
Firth S (2018) Instability in the Pacific Islands. A status report. Lowy Institute. https://www.lowyinstitute.org/publications/instability-pacific-islands-status-report
Fröhlich C, Lean J (1998) The Sun’s total irradiance: cycles, trends and related climate change uncertainties since 1976. Geophys Res Lett 25(23):4377–4380. https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1029/1998GL900157
Funk M (2009) Come hell or high water. World Policy J 26(2):93–101. https://doi.org/10.1162/wopj.2009.26.2.93
Gharbaoui D, Blocher J (2016) The reason land matters: relocation as adaptation to climate change in Fiji Islands. In: Migration, risk management and climate change: evidence and policy responses, vol 8. Springer, Switzerland, pp 149–173
Gutowski J, Hegerl C, Holland J, Knutson R, Mearns O, Stouffer J, Zwiers W (2008) Causes of observed changes in extremes and projections of future changes. In: Weather and climate extremes in a changing climate; Regions of Focus: North America, Hawaii, Caribbean, and U.S. Pacific Islands, vol 3. The US Climate Change Science Program, pp 81–116. https://www.gfdl.noaa.gov/bibliography/related_files/wjg0801.pdf
Hanna E, McIver L (2014) 19 small island states–canaries in the coal mine of climate change and health. Clim Change Global Health:181–192
Henderson R, Reinert S, Dekhtyar P, Migdal A (2015) Climate change in 2018: implications for business. vol. 1, pp. 39. https://www.hbs.edu/environment/Documents/climate-change-2018.pdf
Hermann E, Kempf W (2017) Climate change and the imagining of migration: emerging discourses on Kiribati’s land purchase in Fiji. Contemp Pac 29(2):231–263
Hoegh-Guldberg O (2014) Coral reef sustainability through adaptation: glimmer of hope or persistent mirage? Curr Opin Environ Sustain 7:127–133. https://doi.org/10.1071/MF99078
Hoegh-Guldberg O, Cai R, Poloczanska ES, Brewer PG, Sundby S, Hilmi K et al (2014) The Ocean. In: Climate change 2014: impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability. Part B: Regional aspects. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge/New York, NY
Howes E, Birchenough S, Lincoln S (2018) Effects of climate change relevant to the Pacific islands. Pacific Marine Climate Change Report Card Science Review:1–19
Hunter J (2002) A note on relative sea level change at Funafuti, Tuvalu. Antarctic Cooperative Research Center, Hobart, Austrilia, p 125
IPCC (2001) Climate change 2001: impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
IPCC (2007) Climate change 2007: impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. In: Parry ML, Canziani OF, Palutikof JP, Van Der Linden PJ, Hanson CE (eds) Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge. https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/03/ar4_wg2_full_report.pdf
IPCC (2014) Summary for policymakers in climate change 2014: impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability. Part A: Global and sectoral aspects. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. In: Field CB, Barros VR, Dokken D, Mach K, MAS-TRANDREA M, Bilir T, Chatterjee M, Ebi K, ES-TRADA Y, Genova R (eds) Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, pp 1–32. https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/03/ar5_wgII_spm_en-1.pdf: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
IPCC (2018) Global Warming of 1.5° C: An IPCC Special Report on the Impacts of Global Warming of 1.5° C Above Pre-industrial Levels and Related Global Greenhouse Gas Emission Pathways, in the Context of Strengthening the Global Response to the Threat of Climate Change, Sustainable Development, and Efforts to Eradicate Poverty. Geneva, Switzerland: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Johnston I (2015) Traditional warning signs of cyclones on remote islands in Fiji and Tonga. Environ Hazard 14(3):210–223. https://doi.org/10.1080/17477891.2015.1046156
Keener V (2013) Climate change and pacific islands: indicators and impacts. In: Report for the 2012 pacific islands regional climate assessment. Island Press, Washington, DC
Keppel G, Morrison C, Watling D, Tuiwawa MV, Rounds I (2012) Conservation in tropical Pacific Island countries: why most current approaches are failing. Conserv Lett 5(4):256–265. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1755-263X.2012.00243.x
Khormi H, Kumar L (2014) Climate change and the potential global distribution of Aedes aegypti: spatial modelling using geographical information system and CLIMEX. Geospat Health 8(2):405–415
Khormi HM, Kumar L (2016) Future malaria spatial pattern based on the potential global warming impact in South and Southeast Asia. Geospat Health 11(416):290–298. https://doi.org/10.4081/gh.2016.416
Kier G, Kreft H, Lee T, Jetz W, Ibisch P, Nowicki C et al (2009) A global assessment of endemism and species richness across island and mainland regions. Proc Natl Acad Sci 106(23):9322–9327. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0810306106
Kleypas J, Castruccio F, Curchitser E, Mcleod E (2015) The impact of ENSO on coral heat stress in the western equatorial Pacific. Glob Chang Biol 21(7):2525–2539. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.12881
Kossin JP, Olander TL, Knapp KR (2013) Trend analysis with a new global record of tropical cyclone intensity. J Climate 26(24):9960–9976. https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-13-00262.1
Kumar L, Taylor S (2015) Exposure of coastal built assets in the South Pacific to climate risks. Nat Clim Chang 5(11):992. https://www.nature.com/articles/nclimate2702
Kumar L, Tehrany M (2017) Climate change impacts on the threatened terrestrial vertebrates of the Pacific Islands. Sci Rep 7(1):5030. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-05034-4
Lal M (2004) Implications of climate change in small Island developing countries of the South Pacific. Fiji Stud 2(1):15–35. https://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=708892373132239;res=IELNZC.
Lee Y, Dong G (2012) Air pollution and health effects in children. In: Khare M (ed) Air pollution-monitoring, modelling and health, vol 15. InTech, China, p 386
Levitus S, Antonov J, Boyer T, Baranova O, Garcia H, Locarnini R, et al. (2017) NCEI ocean heat content, temperature anomalies, salinity anomalies, thermosteric sea level anomalies, halosteric sea level anomalies, and total steric sea level anomalies from 1955 to present calculated from in situ oceanographic subsurface profile data (NCEI Accession 0164586). Accessed 14 April 2019, from NOAA, National Centers for Environmental Information. https://doi.org/10.7289/V53F4MVP
Llewellyn L (2010) Revisiting the association between sea surface temperature and the epidemiology of fish poisoning in the South Pacific: reassessing the link between ciguatera and climate change. Toxicon 56(5):691–697. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxicon.2009.08.011
McIver L, Naicker J, Hales S, Singh S, Dawainavesi A (2012) Climate change and health in Fiji: environmental epidemiology of infectious diseases and potential for climate-based early warning systems. Fiji J Public Health 1:7–13. https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/41240/
McKenzie E, Prasad B, Kaloumaira A (2005) Economic impacts of natural disasters on development in the Pacific. Tool one: guidelines for estimating the economic impact of natural disasters on development in the Pacific, University of the South Pacific (USP) and the South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC): Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), p. 102
McNamara KE, Gibson C (2009) We do not want to leave our land’: Pacific ambassadors at the United Nations resist the category of ‘climate refugees. Geoforum 40(3):475–483
McNeill J (1994) Of rats and men: a synoptic environmental history of the island Pacific. J World Hist 5(2):299–349. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20078602
Meinshausen M, Meinshausen N, Hare W, Raper S, Frieler K, Knutti R, Allen M (2009) Greenhouse-gas emission targets for limiting global warming to 2 C. Nat Lett 458(7242):1158. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature08017
Mercer J, Dominey-Howes D, Kelman I, Lloyd K (2007) The potential for combining indigenous and western knowledge in reducing vulnerability to environmental hazards in small island developing states. Environ Hazard 7(4):245–256. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envhaz.2006.11.001
Michelangeli, P. A., Vrac, M., & Loukos, H. (2009). Probabilistic downscaling approaches: Application to wind cumulative distribution functions. Geophysical Research Letters, 36(11).
Moriondo M, Good P, Durao R, Bindi M, Giannakopoulos C, Corte-Real J (2006) Potential impact of climate change on fire risk in the Mediterranean area. Climate Res 31(1):85–95. https://www.int-res.com/articles/cr2006/31/c031p085.pdf
NASA (2019). Ice Sheets. Global climate change; vital signs of the planet. Accessed 18 May 2019. https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/ice-sheets/
Nerem R, Beckley B, Fasullo J, Hamlington B, Masters D, Mitchum G (2018) Climate-change–driven accelerated sea-level rise detected in the altimeter era. Proc Natl Acad Sci 115(9):2022–2025
New M, Liverman D, Schroder H, Anderson K (2011) Four degrees and beyond: the potential for a global temperature increase of four degrees and its implications. Philos Trans A Math Phys Eng Sci 369(1934):6–19. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2010.0303
NOAA (2018) Ocean Explorer. https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/facts/pacific-size.html. Accessed 13 May 2019
Nunn P (1994) Oceanic Islands (natural environment), 1st edn. Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford
Nunn P (2007) The AD 1300 event in the Pacific Basin. Geogr Rev 97(1):1–23. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1931-0846.2007.tb00277.x
Nunn P (2009) Responding to the challenges of climate change in the Pacific Islands: management and technological imperatives. Clim Res Vlim Res 40(2–3):211–231
Nunn P, Kumar R (2018) Understanding climate-human interactions in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Implications for future livelihood sustainability. Int J Clim Change Strategies Manage 10(2):245–271. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCCSM-01-2017-0012
Nunn P, Kumar L, Eliot I, McLean R (2016a) Classifying pacific islands. Geosci Lett 3(1):7. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40562-016-0041-8
Nunn P, Mulgrew K, Scott-Parker B, Hine D, Marks AD, Mahar D, Maebuta J (2016b) Spirituality and attitudes towards Nature in the Pacific Islands: insights for enabling climate-change adaptation. Clim Change 136(3–4):477–493. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-016-1646-9
Nunn P, Kohler A, Kumar R (2017) Identifying and assessing evidence for recent shoreline change attributable to uncommonly rapid sea-level rise in Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia, Northwest Pacific Ocean. J Coast Conserv 21(6):719–730. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11852-017-0531-7
Pachauri R, Allen M, Barros V, Broome J, Cramer W, Christ R, et al. (2014) Climate change 2014: synthesis report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. In Pachauri R, Meyer L (Eds.), Vol. 151, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Geneva, Switzerland
Padilla E, Serrano A (2006) Inequality in CO2 emissions across countries and its relationship with income inequality: a distributive approach. Energy Policy 34(14):1762–1772
Parmesan C (2006) Ecological and evolutionary responses to recent climate change. Annu Rev Ecol Evol Syst 37:637–669. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.37.091305.110100
Parry, W. (2011). Recent heat waves likely warmest since 1500 in Europe. Live Science. Accessed 15 May 2019. https://www.livescience.com/13296-europeanrussia-heat-waves-climate-change.html
Patel S (2006) A sinking feeling. Nature 440(7085):734–736
Pearce, F. (2000). Turning back the tide. New Scientist, 165(2225), 44–7. Accessed 16 May 2019. https://www.turnbackthetide.ca/
Pearson J, McNamara E, Nunn P (2019) Gender-specific perspectives of mangrove ecosystem services: case study from Bua Province, Fiji Islands. Ecosyst Serv 38:100970. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2019.100970
Perch-Nielsen S, Bättig M, Imboden D (2008) Exploring the link between climate change and migration. Clim Change 91(3–4):375–393. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-008-9416-y
Piggott-McKellar A, McNamara K, Nunn P, Watson J (2019) What are the barriers to successful community-based climate change adaptation? A review of grey literature. Local Environ 24(4):374–390. https://doi.org/10.1080/13549839.2019.1580688
Pimentel D (2012) Food and natural resources. Elsevier Science, Amsterdam
Pörtner H, Karl D, Boyd P, Cheung W, Lluch-Cota S, Nojiri Y, Armstrong C (2014) Ocean systems. In Climate change 2014: impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability. In: Field CB, Barros V, Dokken D, Mach K, Mastrandrea M, Bilir T, Chatterjee M, Ebi K, Estrada Y, Genova R, Girma B, Kissel E, Levy A, MacCracken S, Mastrandrea P, White L (eds) Part A: Global and sectoral aspects. Contribution of Working Group Ii TO THE Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 411–484
Rahmstorf S, Foster G, Cahill N (2017) Global temperature evolution: recent trends and some pitfalls. Environ Res Lett 12(5):054001. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aa685
Rhein M, Rintoul S, Aoki S, Campos E, Chambers D, Feely R et al (2013) Observations: ocean. In: Freeland H, Garzoli S, Nojiri Y (eds) Climate change 2013: the physical science basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, p 62
Rogers S, Evans L (2011) World carbon dioxide emissions data by country: China speeds ahead of the rest. The guardian
Sabine C, Feely R, Gruber N, Key R, Lee K, Bullister J et al (2004) The oceanic sink for anthropogenic CO2. Science 305(5682):367–371. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1097403
Saxena A, Qui K, Robinson S (2018) Knowledge, attitudes and practices of climate adaptation actors towards resilience and transformation in a 1.5 C world. Environ Sci Policy 80:152–159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2017.11.001
Schelling TC (2002) What makes Greenhouse sense?-Time to rethink the Kyoto protocol
Schmutter K, Nash M, Dovey L (2017) Ocean acidification: assessing the vulnerability of socioeconomic systems in Small Island Developing States. Reg Environ Chang 17(4):973–987. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-016-0949-8
Scott-Parker B, Kumar R (2018) Fijian adolescents’ understanding and evaluation of climate change: implications for enabling effective future adaptation. Asia Pac Viewp 59(1):47–59. https://doi.org/10.1111/apv.12184
Singh R, Hales S, De Wet N, Raj R, Hearnden M, Weinstein P (2001) The influence of climate variation and change on diarrheal disease in the Pacific Islands. Environ Health Perspect 109(2):155–159. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.01109155.
Skinner M, Brewer T, Johnstone R, Fleming L, Lewis R (2011) Ciguatera fish poisoning in the Pacific Islands (1998 to 2008). PLoS Negl Trop Dis 5(12):1416. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0001416
Taylor S, Kumar L (2016) Global climate change impacts on pacific islands terrestrial biodiversity: a review. Trop Conserv Sci 9(1):203–223. https://doi.org/10.1177/194008291600900111
Team, R. C. (2019). A language and environment for statistical computing. Vienna, Austria: R Foundation for Statistical Computing; 2012. URL https://www. Rproject.org
The climate data factory, (2019) Climate Projections, 1951 to 2100. 12 rue de Belzunce, Paris, France. Accessed 18 May 2019. https://theclimatedatafactory.com/search-results/?q=suva
Thornton PK (2010) Livestock production: recent trends, future prospects. Philos Trans Royal Soc Biol Sci 365(1554):2853–2867. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2010.0134
Trenberth K, Jones P, Ambenje P, Bojariu R, Easterling D, Klein Tank A., Soden B (2007) Observations: surface and atmospheric climate change Climate change. IPCC Working Group I: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, United Kingdom, pp. 235–336
UNESCO (2015) In: Bokova IG (ed) UNESCO Science Report: towards 2030. United Nations, France
United Nations (2017) International Migration Report 2017: Highlights (ST/ESA/SER.A/404). Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations, New York, p 38
Van Aalst M (2006) The impacts of climate change on the risk of natural disasters. Disasters 30(1):5–18. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9523.2006.00303.x
WACOP (2016) Changing Waves and Coasts in the Pacific. https://www.pacificclimatechange.net/project/wacop-changing-waves-coasts-pacific. Accessed 10 May 2019
Walsh K, McBride J, Klotzbach J, Balachandran S, Camargo S, Holland G et al (2016) Tropical cyclones and climate change. Clim Change 7(1):65–89. https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.371
Weber E (2010) What shapes perceptions of climate change? Clim Change 1(3):332–342. https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.41
Wickham, H. (2018). tidyverse: Easily Install and Load ‘Tidyverse’Packages (2017). r package version 1.1. 1.
WHO (2015) World report on ageing and health. World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland
Wing T (2017) Submerging paradise: climate change in the Pacific Islands. http://climate.org/submerging-paradise-climate-change-in-the-pacific-islands/. Accessed 13 April 2019
Woodward A, Hales S, Litidamu N, Phillips D, Martin J (2000) Protecting human health in a changing world: the role of social and economic development. Bull World Health Organ 78:1148–1155
World Bank (2017) Climate vulnerability assessment—making Fiji climate resilient. The Government of the Republic of Fiji, pp. 172. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/163081509454340771/Climate-vulnerability-assessment-making-Fiji-climate-resilient
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Kumar, L., Jayasinghe, S., Gopalakrishnan, T., Nunn, P.D. (2020). Climate Change and the Pacific Islands. In: Kumar, L. (eds) Climate Change and Impacts in the Pacific. Springer Climate. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-32878-8_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-32878-8_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-32877-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-32878-8
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)