Migration isn’t driven only by politics or social issues. In the era of climate change, the environment itself is becoming a reason to leave home.
The first climate migrants from the remote Pacific island nation of Tuvalu have arrived in Australia, marking a key step in a bilateral agreement designed to offer long-term mobility while maintaining links to a country increasingly threatened by climate change.
More than one-third of Tuvalu’s population of around 11,000 applied for the climate visa under a deal struck between the two countries two years ago. Australia has capped the intake at 280 visas annually, seeking to prevent a brain drain in the small island nation while offering a structured pathway for migration.
Those selected in the first intake reflect the fabric of Tuvaluan society, including the country’s first female forklift driver, a dentist and a pastor focused on preserving community and spiritual life thousands of kilometres from home, Australian officials said.
Tuvalu is among the countries most exposed to sea level rise, made up of low-lying atolls scattered across the Pacific between Australia and Hawaii. On the main atoll of Funafuti, land narrows to just metres in places, with families living under thatched roofs and children playing football on the airport runway because of space constraints.
NASA scientists project that by 2050, daily tides could submerge about half of Funafuti, home to roughly 60% of Tuvalu’s residents, assuming a one metre rise in sea levels. A more severe scenario could leave up to 90% of the atoll under water, according to the projections cited by officials.
Among those migrating is dentist Masina Matolu, who said the move to Australia is driven by a desire to serve communities while continuing to support Tuvalu. In a video released by Australia’s foreign affairs department, she said she was excited to help people and alleviate suffering, adding that skills gained abroad could be brought back through volunteer work in her home country.
Pastor Manipua Puafolau, from Funafuti, said migration was about more than physical safety and economic opportunity. Speaking in Tuvaluan in the same video, he said that people relocating also need spiritual guidance as they adjust to life away from their island home. Puafolau plans to settle in regional South Australia, where many Pacific Islanders work in agriculture and meat processing.
Kitai Haulapi, identified as Tuvalu’s first female forklift driver, described feeling happy and excited when she learned about the opportunity, saying it opened a new pathway for her future. She plans to relocate to Melbourne and hopes to continue supporting her family in Tuvalu by sending money home.
Tuvalu’s Prime Minister Feleti Teo visited the Tuvaluan community in Melbourne last month, urging migrants to maintain strong cultural bonds and connections across borders as relocation accelerates, according to Tuvalu officials.
Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the climate visa offers “mobility with dignity”, allowing Tuvaluans to live, study and work in Australia as climate impacts worsen, while contributing to Australian society. Support services are being established in Melbourne, Adelaide and Queensland to help families settle as Tuvalu confronts a future shaped by rising seas and shrinking land.
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In the pre-dawn darkness of Funafuti atoll, 16-year-old Teleke Palani races across a coral causeway as spring tide waters creep across the pavement, her phone capturing the encroaching sea that threatens to swallow her homeland whole.
Over a third of Tuvalu's population has applied for Australia's climate visa, as rising sea levels threaten to submerge the Pacific nation within decades.
For the first time, Tuvalu’s residents can access cash and make card payments locally, following the launch of the country's first ATMs and point-of-sale terminals.
Tuvalu's Prime Minister Feleti Teo is urging U.N. members to permanently recognize the nation’s maritime borders and statehood amid rising sea levels.
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