Australia Offers Tuvalu Citizens Climate Refuge
Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published November 10, 2023 | 12:20 PM
Sydney, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Nov, 2023) Citizens of climate-threatened Tuvalu will have the right to live in Australia under a landmark pact unveiled Friday -- an offer of refuge as their Pacific homeland is lost beneath the seas.
Prime ministers Kausea Natano and Anthony Albanese inked a treaty to help Tuvalu's 11,000 residents tackle climate change, and to take up sanctuary should the worst fears materialise.
Tuvalu is among the world's most vulnerable nations due to rising sea levels.
z
Two of Tuvalu's nine coral islands have already largely disappeared under the waves, and climate scientists fear the entire archipelago will be uninhabitable within the next 80 years.
Natano said the agreement was a "beacon of hope" for his imperilled nation, and an offer of support that "has touched our hearts profoundly".
According to the pact, Tuvalu's citizens would be able to "live, study and work in Australia" and gain access to "Australian education, health, and key income and family support on arrival."
Refugee law expert Jane McAdam described the pact as "groundbreaking."
"It's the first agreement to specifically deal with climate-related mobility," the University of New South Wales professor told AFP.
"Most people don't want to leave their homes, they have very deep ancestral ties to their land and sea -- but this offers a lifeline."
To avoid a damaging "brain drain", the number of Tuvaluans able to move to Australia will initially be capped at 280 per year.
New Zealand had previously floated the idea of offering Pacific Island nations a "climate visa", but the idea was scrapped amid opposition from islands fearing mass economic emigration.
Under the agreement unveiled on Friday, Australia has also pledged to spend AUD$16 million (US$10 million) buttressing the country's shrinking shorelines and reclaiming lost land.
But there is also an acknowledgement that action has not come fast enough, and the impact of climate change is already being felt.
"At the same time, we believe the people of Tuvalu deserve the choice to live, study and work elsewhere, as climate change impacts worsen," a joint statement said.
Albanese said Australia could be open to offering Pacific neighbours similar agreements.
"We're open to approaches from other countries on how we can enhance our partnerships." he said, stressing they would have to be tailored to each country.
Related Topics
Recent Stories
Mahira Khan delights at Arijit Singh’s concert in Dubai
Dubai Customs Celebrates World Intellectual Property Day, Honors Schools and Uni ..
Vivo Reveals Durefishan Saleem as Brand Ambassador for its Upcoming Y100 Smartph ..
FIA investigates alleged irregularities in tickets’ sale for PSL, int’l matc ..
IMF approves $1.1b final tranche for Pakistan
Naseem Shah among others who registers for LPL 2024
NAB withdraws LNG reference against Shahid Khaqan Abbasi
Mohsin Naqvi to visit Karachi today
Currency Rate In Pakistan - Dollar, Euro, Pound, Riyal Rates On 30 April 2024
Today Gold Rate in Pakistan 30 April 2024
Wembanyama in France: NBA Spurs to play Pacers in Paris in January
Russian missile kills two in Ukraine's Odesa: governor
More Stories From World
-
Russian strikes kill railway worker in Ukraine's Kharkiv
13 minutes ago -
DR Congo police fend for themselves after peacekeepers quit UN base
13 minutes ago -
UK to deport 5,700 migrants to Rwanda this year
23 minutes ago -
Tennis: ATP/WTA Madrid Open results
23 minutes ago -
Nadal keeps his clay dream alive as he battles past Cachin
43 minutes ago -
Hamas says readying response to Gaza truce offer
43 minutes ago
-
Nine face trial in Germany for alleged far-right coup plot
53 minutes ago -
EU probes Facebook, Instagram over election disinformation worries
53 minutes ago -
King Charles III resumes public duties as he fights cancer
53 minutes ago -
India's influencers still struggle years after TikTok ban
53 minutes ago -
Sword-wielding man held in east London after attacks
1 hour ago -
Indonesia volcano erupts, thousands evacuated over tsunami threat
1 hour ago