Jon Barnett: Climate Adaptation Not Just Building Infrastructure, But Expanding Options

“I think it’s appropriate to think about [climate change] adaptation or investments in adaptation as investments to open up the range of choices available to people to deal with an uncertain future,” said Jon Barnett, associate professor of geography at the University of Melbourne, in an interview with ECSP. “In some circumstances it might be appropriate [...]

Q&A: The Finer Points of Rising Sea Levels

(Inter Press Service) November 18, 2011 – Rousbeh Legatis interviews Mary-Elena Carr, associate director of the Columbia Climate Centre at the Earth Institute of Columbia University in New York. Long before the Pacific will rise to a level that will leave its estimated 30,000 islands submerged, most of them might be severely affected by frequent [...]

News: Rising Sea Levels Threaten Ghana’s Coastal Communities

(SciDevNet) October 21, 2011 - Ghana will experience increased flooding brought on by rising sea levels caused by global warming, a modelling study has predicted. The study, published in Remote Sensing last month (7 September), says that about 650,000 people and almost 1,000 buildings in the three communities in the Dansoman area of Accra will be vulnerable to [...]

Publication: On the Front Line of Climate Change and Displacement: Learning From and With Pacific Island Countries

Pacific Island countries are internationally regarded as a barometer for the early impacts of climate change. Their geophysical characteristics, demographic patterns and location in the Pacific Ocean make them particularly vulnerable to the effects of global warming. Small Island Developing States, a UN-established category which includes most Pacific Island countries, are characterized by a high [...]

News: Gregory Wannier Analyzes the Legal Implications of Sea-Level Rise

(chinadialogue) July 11, 2011 - In December 2008, a series of swells coinciding with seasonal high (“king”) tide engulfed the island atoll of Majuro, capital of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. These waves washed out roads and low-lying houses, forced a state of emergency and caused over US$1.5 million [...]

New Paper: Climate Change and the Risk of Statelessness: The Situation of Low-lying Island States

Susin Park, Head, UNHCR Office for Switzerland and Liechtenstein, wrote a paper entitled “Climate Change and the Risk of Statelessness:The Situation of Low-lying Island States.” The paper begins by examining the elements of statehood under public international law. While there is a strong presumption of continuity for established states, the possibility of a total loss [...]