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It is now widely acknowledged that the causes of climate change are mostly anthropogenic in nature and that its effects will have far reaching consequences across the globe. Governments have been exhorted by the world’s scientists to expedite and scale up implementation of mitigation measures and prepare to adapt in order to “avoid the unmanageable and manage the unavoidable” (SEG 2007). This will require concerted and coordinated action by all parties affected at the global, regional, sub-regional, and national and community levels. While international cooperation is essential, each country will need to prepare for and adapt to environmental and socio-economic changes brought about by changes in temperatures, sea level, weather patterns, etc, which are expected to impact people and environment in different ways. The extent to which a country is able to mobilise and manage resources to mitigate and/or adapt to these impacts will depend largely on the capacity of its institutions and people, commonly described in this report as “institutional capacity”.

In the future no country will be immune from the impact of human-induced climate change. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is unequivocal in its pronouncement that global warming will cause significant climate changes throughout the world, including increases in air, sea surface and ocean temperatures and influencing pattern of precipitation, wind flow and ocean salinity (IPCC 2007). The world is expected to experience increased climate variability as well as extreme weather events, such as prolonged drought, heavy rains and heat waves, and the increased frequency and intensity of tropical cyclones. Sea level rise is also predicted. The effects of such changes will be significant to all the Pacific Island countries and territories (PICTs), although the nature and degree of the socioeconomic impact of climate change cannot be predicted with any certainty at this point in time