"The contributors to this book focus on climate change issues in Australia, New Zealand and the small island nations in the South Pacific, as the world struggles to formulate responses and cope with possible impacts of global warming. The emphasis is on the scientific, political and legal issues that frame the climate change debate. An effort is made to assess the implications of climate on critical ecosystems in the region, as well as possible social and economic impacts on the region's inhabitants. Many of the contributors also discuss the role of regional actors, including government representatives and non-government organizations, in the formulation and evolution of the primary international legal instrument that addresses climate change, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change."--BOOK JACKET.