The international community is facing rising oil prices since early 2002, compounded by a global food crisis and unprecedented climate changes. The implications for the Asia Pacific region are immense and daunting. This region is home to 65% of the world's population and has two of the largest oceans on Earth. As major climate disasters impact across the region, most recently in Myanmar, we all understand that global warming, does not respect national borders. No one cae say that this does not affect me.

While the economic profile of the Asia Pacific region has been changing rapidly, stimulated by the global movement of goods and services, it is also vulnerable to increasing freight costs as oil prices surge.

As we shift to find replacements for oil through biofuels, there has been an increase in agricultural land used for this purpose. At the same time, in parts of Asia, we have witnessed shortages of key commodities such as rice and associated social unrest.

These problems are evidence of complex interlinkages in the modern world whereby the vibrant national economies for some can work to undermine the bases for a sustainable life for others. This raises a number of important questions: 1) how can policy coordination be sustained amongst nations when the beneficiaries of economic development may not coincide with those who bear the burden for that development? 2) How can an environmental issue in one country be properly recognized by others in distant areas? 3) How can environmental issues as perceived at local level be communicated effectively and efficiently to the policy-makers?

The Asia Pacific region, with an immense diversity in cultural, geographic, economic, political, and historical make-ups, offers an excellent site to explore these questions. On a per capita basis, the emissions of greenhouse gases in most countries in this region have historically been lower than in other industrialized parts of the world although it is predicted that China will overtake the United States as the world's biggest emitter of CO2 before 2010. Climate change, its underlying causes, mitigation and adaptation, therefore is a matter of great importance for the region.

At the same time, it is predicted that world energy demand will expand by more than 50% by 2030. Two-thirds of the increase will be from developing countries, led by China and India. These trends amplify the magnitude of global climate change but also raise fundamental questions regarding the issue of energy security and sustainability in the region. Finally, as the global population continues to grow, we have more mouths to feed. This is placing increased stress on an already stressed global agricultural system.

In this rather daunting context, rhis course is designed for the thought leaders, decision-makers and innovators of the future. We recognize that in order to make sound decisions, you need the right information at your finger-tips. With a realistic assessment of the problems we all face, you will make decisions to re-design our transportation systems, to better plan our cities, to reform our energy systems and to re-shape our agricultural industries. .