Potential implications of climate change for the coastal resources of Pacific island developing countries and potential legal and policy responses

Abstract

As one commentator has observed, “one ironic and tragic aspect of this environmental crisis of greenhouse emissions is the fact that those parts of the world least responsible for creating the global warming problem will be the first to suffer its horrifying consequences.”[1] Pacific Island Developing Countries (PIDCs) are responsible for only 0.03% of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions, and the average island resident produces only one quarter of the emissions of the average person worldwide [2]. However, it is anticipated that these nations will experience some of the earliest and most severe consequences of climate change over the next two centuries [3]. Some of the most serious ramifications for these nations may be for built and natural coastal resources