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Australia is offering residents of the Pacific island nation of Tuvalu a chance to migrate to escape climate change as part of a landmark treaty with one of the countries most affected by global warming.
“We believe the people of Tuvalu deserve the choice to live, study and work elsewhere, as climate change impacts worsen,” said Anthony Albanese, Australia’s prime minister.
“Australia has committed to provide a special pathway for citizens of Tuvalu to come to Australia, with access to Australian services that will enable human mobility with dignity.”
The two countries signed the deal, which included a security pact, at the Pacific Islands Forum in Rarotonga, Cook Islands. The so-called mobility pathway allows 280 people affected by climate change to apply for a special visa to resettle in Australia every year. The island nation’s total population is about 11,000.
Tuvalu had asked Australia to implement a migration scheme, given the risk that low-lying islands and atolls faced from rising sea levels. Albanese said the request had led to a treaty that was “without doubt the most significant agreement between Australia and a Pacific island nation ever”.
Kausea Natano, Tuvalu’s prime minister, said the treaty with Australia “stands as a beacon of hope, signifying not just a milestone, but a giant leap forward in our joint mission to ensure regional stability, sustainability and prosperity”.
Natano added that the two countries would work together to ensure there would not be a “brain drain” from Tuvalu. Australia will also pump A$350mn ($220mn) into climate infrastructure in the region.
Analysts said the agreement represented a global first in tying a visa explicitly to climate change, an existential problem for many Pacific island states.
Mihai Sora, a research fellow at the Lowy Institute’s Pacific Islands Program, said the treaty was a “remarkable diplomatic achievement” given the geopolitical landscape in the Pacific, where China and the US have competed for security and economic deals with some of the world’s smallest countries.
“Tuvalu may be a small nation, but this treaty is a huge step forward for Australia’s partnerships in the region. By weaving together climate co-operation, human mobility with dignity and intimate security collaboration, the treaty is a model for compassionate and strategic partnerships in the face of global threats.”
New Zealand had introduced a visa in 2017 for Pacific islanders displaced by climate change but dropped the plan. “Climate refugees” often wanted to stay in their own country to preserve their society and culture, according to a research paper published by the New Zealand Association for Impact Assessment.
Last year’s Pacific Islands Forum in Fiji focused on regional strategic competition between China and the US, which came to a head when the Solomon Islands signed a security pact with Beijing.
Australia and the US have stepped up efforts to increase aid and improve diplomatic relations with small island states in the Pacific in the past two years.
That has culminated in an agreement between Australia and Tuvalu to “mutually agree co-operation with other countries in Tuvalu’s security sectors”.
Albanese said the agreement was a “clear guarantee” that Australia would provide military support if Tuvalu were threatened.
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