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This is an educational audio presentation by Dr. Patrick Nunn of the University of the South Pacific’s Geography Department. In it, he explains the fundamentals of the greenhouse effect—how greenhouse gases like CO₂ trap heat in Earth’s atmosphere—and outlines its critical role in moderating global temperatures. Dr. Nunn connects this science to the Pacific context, discussing the region’s vulnerability to rising temperatures, sea-level rise, and changing weather patterns. He emphasizes the importance of understanding the greenhouse effect for local climate adaptation strategies and policy planning across Pacific Island nations, drawing on research and climate modeling relevant to the South Pacific.

UNEP’s Emissions Gap Report 2024: No more hot air … please! is the 15th edition in a series that brings together many of the world’s top climate scientists to look at future trends in greenhouse gas emissions and provide potential solutions to the challenge of global warming. As climate impacts intensify globally, the report finds that nations must deliver dramatically stronger ambition and action in the next round of Nationally Determined Contributions or the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C goal will be gone within a few years.

environmental change has been associated with human mobility over the years and climate change is starting to affect movement in new ways, now termed climate mobility. In this research brief, the effect of climate change on women and persons with disability in Fiji, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu is examined with emphasis on human mobility.

Anthropogenic climate change and its consequences affect human mobility patterns, such as migration, displacement, autonomous and planned relocation and immobility both voluntary and involuntary.

Pacific regionalism has long attracted both hope and despair. The hope is that regional organisations can overcome the challenges of small island developing states (SIDS)

This reports considers transformation required in the sectors of electricity supply, industry, transport and buildings. It furthermore investigates cross-cutting systemic transformations of food systems and the financial system, illustrating that there is immense potential to reduce emissions beyond current mitigation pledges.

South Tarawa’s water resources are highly stressed due to the capital’s small land area, lack of natural water storage, competing land uses, and densely populated urban environment. Kiribati already faces significant challenges from oceanic and meteorological conditions, all to be exacerbated by climate change. Sea level rise is of particular concern. Sea water over topping will increasingly threaten the fresh water stored in the groundwater lenses, and sea level rise will also exacerbate existing seasonal conditions such as heavy rains and king tides4 that affect access to safe water