The western Pacific Ocean has experienced sea level rises two to three times greater than the global average, leading to almost 0.3 meters of net rise since 1990. Additionally, a high surf event in Dec. 2008 overwashed numerous atolls in Micronesia, devastating freshwater supplies and agriculture on 60% of the inhabited islands. Natural disasters such as this exacerbate the living conditions of the residents of these islands, but with countries like Kiribati contributing to just 0.6% of the world greenhouse gas emissions, they are not the root cause of the problem.