SYDNEY: Nearly one-third of citizens in Pacific nation Tuvalu are seeking a landmark climate visa to live in Australia as rising seas threaten their palm-fringed shores, official figures obtained show.
Australia is offering visas to 280 Tuvalu citizens each year under a climate migration deal Canberra has billed as "the first agreement of its kind anywhere in the world". More than 3,000 Tuvaluans have already entered a ballot for the first batch of visas, according to official figures on the Australian programme, almost a full third of the nation's population.
One of the most climate-threatened corners of the planet, scientists fear Tuvalu will be uninhabitable within the next 80 years.
Two of the archipelago's nine coral atolls have already largely disappeared under the waves.
"Australia recognises the devastating impact climate change is having on the livelihoods, security, and wellbeing of climate vulnerable countries and people, particularly in the Pacific region," Australia's foreign affairs department said.
Australia and Tuvalu inked the groundbreaking Falepili Union in 2024, part of Canberra's efforts to blunt China's expanding reach in the region.
Under that pact, Australia opened a new visa category specially set aside for adult citizens of Tuvalu.
Already, there are signs the programme will be hugely oversubscribed.
Official data on the programme shows 3,125 Tuvaluans entered the random ballot within four days of it opening last week.
"This is the first agreement of its kind anywhere in the world, providing a pathway for mobility with dignity as climate impacts worsen," a spokesperson for Australia's foreign affairs department said.
Tuvalu is home to 10,643 people, according to census figures collected in 2022. Registration costs Aus$25 ($16), with the ballot closing on July 18.
The visa programme has been hailed as a landmark response to the looming challenge of climate-forced migration.
"At the same time, it will provide Tuvaluans the choice to live, study and work in Australia," Australia's foreign affairs department said.
But they have also fanned fears that nations like Tuvalu could be rapidly drained of skilled professionals and young talent.
University of Sydney geographer John Connell warned that a long-term exodus of workers could imperil Tuvalu's future.
"Small states do not have many jobs and some activities don't need that many people," he said. — AFP
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