This book is an attempt to address two main difficulties we have encountered in our teaching and practice of international environmental law. One is of a substantive nature and stems from the daunting reach and diversity of the subject matter. No other area of international law gives the newcomer such an impression of dispersion, lack of articulation, even exoticism. The topics gathered under the label international environmental law range from the protection of wetlands or whales or genetic resources to nuclear energy, ozone depletion or hazardous waste control.
During the course of this century the resilience of many
ecosystems (their ability to adapt naturally) is likely to be
exceeded by an unprecedented combination of change in climate, associated disturbances (e.g., flooding, drought, wildfire, insects, ocean acidification) and in other global change drivers (especially land-use change, pollution and over-exploitation of resources), If greenhouse gas emissions and other changes continue at or above current rates (high confidence).
Since the IPCC Third Assessment Report (TAR), understanding of the implications of climate change for coa systems and low-lying areas (henceforth referred to as 'coasts has increased substantially and six important policy-relevant messages have emerged.
Available online|(* NB these materials are also available on the workshop CDROM deposited with the IRC NBSAP workshop Nadi, Feb 2009)
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 43 p.
While acknowledging their diversity, the IPCC Third
Assessment Report (TAR) also noted that small island states
share many similarities (e.g., physical size, proneness to natural disasters and climate extremes, extreme openness of their economies, low adaptive capacity) that enhance their vulnerability and reduce their resilience to climate variability and change.
Available online|(* NB these materials are also available on the workshop CDROM deposited with the IRC NBSAP workshop Nadi, Feb 2009)
Call Number: [EL]
The Working Group I contribution to the IPCC Fourth
Assessment Report describes progress in understanding of
the human and natural drivers of climate change,1 observed
climate change, climate processes and attribution, and
estimates of projected future climate change. It builds
upon past IPCC assessments and incorporates new findings
from the past six years of research. Scientific progress
since the Third Assessment Report (TAR) is based upon
large amounts of new and more comprehensive data,