Australia offers asylum to Tuvaluans as rising sea levels threaten Pacific islands

Canberra announced on Friday it would provide climate The United States has announced the terms of a deal that will allow citizens of the 26-square-kilometer archipelago – the world’s fourth smallest nation – to relocate to Tuvalu. Australia Live, study and work”.

An island country near the equator Tuvalu It consists of nine reef islands and atolls, with an average elevation of only two meters. climate changethis low-lying land is expected to be submerged by the Pacific Ocean by the end of this century.

New agreement signed by Australian and Tuvalu Prime Ministers Anthony Albanese and Kausea Natano, was described as “groundbreaking” by UNSW professor and refugee law expert Jane McAdam.

“This is the first agreement to specifically address climate-related mobility issues,” McAdam said.

Natano hailed the agreement as a “beacon of hope” for his country.

Under the agreement, which must be ratified by both countries before it can take effect, refugees from Tuvalu will be able to access education and health care in Australia, as well as financial and family support.

To avoid a damaging “brain drain”, the number of Tuvaluans who can move to Australia each year will initially be limited to 280.

Climate Migrants

Australia’s willingness to take in its South Pacific neighbour marks a new step in recognising climate change refugees.

In previous years, people from Tuvalu and other Pacific islands sought asylum in nearby countries, e.g. New Zealand Their request was rejected because climate change is not recognised as a basis for refugee status 1951 Refugee Convention.

Even the term “climate refugee” has no legal definition or United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

this At the same time, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) defines “Climate migrants” are defined as “persons or groups of people who are forced to leave their place of habitual residence or who choose to move temporarily or permanently within a country or across international borders, primarily due to sudden or gradual environmental changes caused by climate change.”

This could apply to the entire population of Tuvalu, which is currently threatened by the consequences of climate change. As the archipelago’s coastline continues to recede, its inhabitants may eventually be driven out of their homes entirely, becoming the world’s first climate-affected migrant.

The threat of prophecy

Many have raised alarms about the climate challenges Tuvaluans are currently facing.

Fanny Héros, project officer and science journalist at French Climate Action Love TuvaluAs early as 2008, it warned thatTuvalu residents will become world’s first climate refugees“.

In 2009, the then Prime Minister of Tuvalu, Apisai Jelemiah, stated at the Copenhagen Summit that the Tuvalu Islands were facing the threat of rising sea levels due to global warming caused by human activities.

Tuvalu sounds the alarm again in November 2021 COP26 In Glasgow.

“Climate change and rising sea levels are a deadly existential threat to Tuvalu and the low-lying island atoll nations,” Tuvalu Foreign Minister Simon Koffi said in a video statement, standing in knee-deep water.

“We’re sinking, but so is everyone else,” he said.

“Whether we feel the impact today, as Tuvalu is feeling, or a hundred years from now, one day we will all feel the terrible effects of this global crisis,” Coffey said.

Tuvalu’s top diplomat repeated the same message the following year. Conference of the Parties (COP) In Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, he called on the international community to take swift action to halt the devastating effects of global warming on the archipelago.

The Tuvaluan government announced earlier this year A digital version of its territory,”The first digital nation” to raise awareness of the island nation’s plight and allow it to continue to exist as a country even after all of its land mass is submerged.

“We want to be able to document the culture today and allow my children and grandchildren to have the same experience wherever they are.” Coffey said in an interview with the nonprofit Long Now.

“So even if we lose the physical territory, we will never lose the knowledge, culture and way of life that Tuvaluans have experienced and lived for centuries,” he said.

according to The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)sea levels have risen by about 23 centimeters since 1880. Over the past quarter century, the rate of sea level rise has steadily accelerated, with sea levels projected to rise by another 30 centimeters by 2050 and 77 centimeters by 2100.

This means that by 2050, half of Tuvalu’s territory will be submerged. Already, Tuvalu has lost two coral reefs to rising sea levels. By 2100, the archipelago will disappear from the map.

However, shrinking land mass is not the only challenge facing Tuvalu.

Funafuti, the capital of Tuvalu, has also suffered from severe drought, water shortages and groundwater contamination caused by rising sea levels. The adverse climatic conditions have led to widespread malnutrition and displacement across the archipelago.

“Good neighborliness”

“Australia and Tuvalu are one family. Today, we are elevating our relationship to an even more comprehensive partnership,” Albanese tweeted on social media platform X on Friday, announcing the signing of the agreement with Natano, dubbed the “Falepili Alliance”.

“Falepili is a Tuvaluan word that refers to the traditional values ​​of neighbourliness, care and mutual respect. In short, it means being a good neighbour,” Albanese said.

He added that the two countries will work together on “climate adaptation, working arrangements and security” in the new partnership, which “recognizes that climate change is the greatest threat to the livelihoods, security and well-being of the people of Tuvalu.”

While some praised the new agreements, others pointed out the irony of them highlighting Australia’s responsibility for global warming.

“Australia is helping the people of Tuvalu who are suffering from the effects of climate change. Yet it is Australia that has undermined all international agreements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and is behind many environmentally disastrous projects,” one user tweeted.

Another netizen quipped: “If Tuvalu suffers from the effects of climate change, this hero (Albanis) will lend a hand and provide a lifeline to the island while continuing to sell coal and gas to countries like China and India.”

Australia’s economic reliance on coal and gas exports has long been a point of friction with many of its Pacific neighbours, which face huge economic and social costs from severe weather and rising sea levels.

Australia’s contribution is slightly higher than One percent of global greenhouse gas emissions In 2020, it is the world’s Major coal exporting countries It remains the leading cause of global warming.

According to Geoscience Australia, the country is the world’s Largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (Liquefied Natural Gas), which is another reason for the rise in global average temperatures.

Albanese said developed countries needed to start taking more responsibility because developing countries were bearing the brunt of the climate crisis.

Tuvalu is far from the only island nation threatened by climate change: others such as the Maldives (Indian Ocean), Kiribati (Polynesia), the Marshall Islands and Nauru (Oceania) are also becoming increasingly vulnerable to rising sea levels and increased natural disasters caused by global warming.

(Source: AFP)

This article is adapted from French original.