Tuvalu Initial National Communication under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

Abstract

Tuvalu, a non-annex I party, signed and ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in March 1994. This Initial Communication describes the context for considerations of the impacts of climate change, provided by the natural and human systems in the country. This background information is followed a sectoral analysis of GHG emissions for the country. Tuvalu's vulnerability to climate change and sea level rise is then analysed in relation to the environmental changes expected for the country under two climate change models for "best guess" and "high" scenarios. The complex interactions of other environmental and socio- economic factors with the expected effects of climate change are examined to provide an overall assessment of the expected effects of climate change in Tuvalu. The final section of this document deals with the steps being taken in the country towards limiting emissions and adaptation to the expected changes due to climate change.