A country on the verge of disappearing? More than 80% of Tuvalu's inhabitants want to leave the archipelago in the face of climate risks
Threatened with extinction by rising sea levels, Tuvalu residents are seeking Australian climate visas under a climate migration deal that Canberra has touted as "the first agreement of its kind in the world."
More than 80% of the inhabitants of Tuvalu , a Pacific archipelago threatened by rising sea levels, are seeking visas for Australia under a treaty signed in 2024, according to official figures obtained this Wednesday, July 23, by Agence France Presse.
Australia is offering visas to citizens of Tuvalu as part of a climate migration deal that Canberra has billed as "the first agreement of its kind in the world."
"We have received extremely high levels of interest," with 8,750 registrations, the Australian diplomatic mission in Tuvalu said in a statement.
This represents 82% of the 10,643 inhabitants recorded in the archipelago, according to 2022 figures. "With 280 visas offered this year under this program, this means that many people will not be able to benefit from it," the Australian High Commission indicated, however.
BFM TV
