An Entire Country Has to Be Evacuated Because of Climate Change
Tuvalu, a small island nation in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, is planning to evacuate all of its over 11,000 inhabitants, due to rising sea levels caused by climate change that mean, essentially, that the low-lying country has no feasible future.
As Wired reports, the nation signed an agreement with Australia in 2023 to set up a migration scheme in which 280 residents will permanently settle on the continent per year through a climate visa program.
It's a sobering reminder of the incredibly damaging effects that global warming is having on our planet. Tuvalu is only 6.5 feet above sea level on average, meaning that rising tides will almost certainly be devastating to the region. Fierce storms, facilitated by rising temperatures, could make matters even worse for an already very vulnerable population.
Rising Tides
Australia's climate visas are allocated based on a lottery system. This week, the Australian High Commission of Tuvalu revealed that it had received "extremely high levels of interest in the ballot with 8,750 registrations, which includes family members of primary registrants."
In other words, moving every Tuvaluan is taking on increasing urgency even as demand for the program spikes.
"When combined with other Pacific pathways to Australia and New Zealand, nearly 4 percent of the population could migrate each year," UNSW Sydney research fellow Jane McAdam wrote in a recent piece for The Conversation. "Within a decade, close to 40 percent of the population could have moved — although some people may return home or go backwards and forwards."
Besides relocating all its residents, Tuvalu has attempted to 3D-scan its islands to preserve its cultural heritage if they're lost to the waters.
Tuvalu is far from the only nation facing a crisis caused by sea levels that are rising even faster than predicted. According to the UN Human Development Program, increased coastal flooding could endanger over 70 million people worldwide. By 2050, hundreds of highly populated cities will face increased risks of flooding thanks to climate change.
According to the UN, rising sea levels are already impacting one billion people worldwide.
"The existential threat we face is not of our making," said Tuvalu's prime minister, Feleti Teo, during a September speech at the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. "But it will remake us."
More on rising sea levels: Scientists Horrified by What They Found Under the Doomsday Glacier
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
2 hours ago
- Forbes
Natural Gas Is No Mirage — It's Triage
There is broad scientific consensus: man-made climate change is real, dangerous, and accelerating. Addressing it demands urgency and pragmatism. The viable resources available—natural gas, nuclear power, and renewables—must be deployed strategically. Triage, not idealism, must guide the response. In his Financial Times article, Stanford Professor Bård Harstad contends that natural gas, although cleaner than coal, risks confining the world to extended hydrocarbon dependence. However, by dismissing gas as just a short-term solution, Harstad misses the fundamental principle of triage: stabilizing the patient before recommending long-term treatment. Natural Gas is Key to the Energy Transition Natural gas emits about half the carbon dioxide of coal per unit of energy. A global shift from coal to gas could cut emissions by roughly 10%. Replacing oil with natural gas would result in an additional 9% reduction. These aren't just hypotheticals; they are scalable gains that buy valuable time for broader energy transitions. In the United States, unsubsidized wind and solar are now the cheapest sources of electricity. Natural gas remains competitive—especially when paired with firm capacity requirements. The market is not choosing between gas and renewables in zero-sum terms. Rather, both coexist in a dynamic mix. For gas to displace renewables, one must assume investors will irrationally ignore the most affordable options, even as renewables become cheaper. In Europe and elsewhere, gas (and LNG) plays a critical role in stabilizing electricity grids due to the intermittency of renewables. Gas-fired generators provide the flexibility needed to back up weather-dependent energy sources, Benjamin Lakatos, the CEO of MET Group, tells Forbes. He also underscores the importance of gas to Europe's energy security strategy, with LNG helping diversify supply and maintaining affordability and reliability. This became crystal clear with U.S. President Trump announcing the $750 billion energy purchase deal with the EU, which we discussed in Forbes recently. Meeting Energy Needs Abroad The gas vs. renewables debate often reflects the priorities of the developed world. For the 1.18 billion people living in energy poverty—mostly in the Global South—short-term solutions are existential. These communities lack refrigeration, computers, and air conditioning. Electricity costs impede their economic development. For many, energy poverty isn't just a policy issue but a life-threatening problem. Ignoring their needs as 'short-term' is ethically wrong, especially since these populations have contributed the least to overall emissions. In much of the developing world, renewables face limits due to cost, grid infrastructure, and intermittency. Policymakers must choose between a small amount of green energy and a dependable supply of affordable—though carbon-heavy—power. For these governments, tackling poverty often takes priority over environmental goals set in distant capital cities of the developed world. Geopolitics adds another layer of complexity. Natural gas is now a core instrument of U.S. foreign policy. American LNG offers Europe an alternative to the Russian supply, giving Washington greater flexibility in confronting geopolitical rivals. If the West retreats from gas, producers like Russia and Qatar will not. A Comprehensive Energy Strategy Must Include Natural Gas This isn't an argument against renewables or nuclear power—it's a call for realism. Every energy source has trade-offs. Solar and wind generate no emissions but are intermittent and land intensive. Natural gas releases more carbon, but it is plentiful, dispatchable, and scalable. A mature global infrastructure makes it an essential bridging fuel. Nuclear, for its part, remains the lowest-carbon large-scale energy source and the second safest after solar. It is technologically mature, with robust supply chains, markets, and regulations. France's nuclear fleet helped drive decades of low-emission growth, and China is now investing heavily in nuclear expansion. Energy strategy requires balancing climate goals with economic and geopolitical realities. Governments must use every available tool—gas, nuclear, and renewables—to fight both energy poverty and global warming. We cannot let luxury beliefs cloud our judgment when it comes to the futures of billions of people. To dismiss any energy source is to let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Humanity cannot afford this kind of dogmatism. The clock is ticking.
Miami Herald
2 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Photo Shows China Missile System Replica Training US Fighter Pilots
The United States is using a replica of a Chinese air defense missile system as part of its fighter pilot training in preparation for combat, the Wisconsin National Guard has said. Newsweek has contacted the Wisconsin National Guard and the Chinese Defense Ministry for comment via email. The Pentagon has designated the Indo-Pacific as its "priority theater," identifying China as both its "pacing threat"-a direct, consequential and near-term danger to U.S. security and values-and its "pacing challenge"-a long-term risk to U.S. influence, position and power. In July, U.S. forces participated in two large-scale Pacific war games simultaneously-the Australia-hosted, multinational Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025 and the U.S. Air Force's "first in a generation" Department-Level Exercise series-amid growing threats from China. According to a photo released by the Wisconsin National Guard on Tuesday, the Volk Field Combat Readiness Training Center showcased an "HQ-16 towable surrogate target" during an aviation gathering at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, on July 25. The HQ-16 is a Chinese medium-range air defense missile system. The towable surrogate target replicates the system's radar vehicle, a Chinese military observer who requested anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the topic told Newsweek. In a news release, the Wisconsin National Guard said the Chinese air defense system replica serves as a full-scale training aid designed to familiarize fifth-generation fighter pilots with modern surface-to-air missile systems they may encounter in a combat scenario. The term "fifth-generation fighter" refers to aircraft designed with stealth capabilities that reduce their visibility to radar detection. Both the U.S. and China operate such combat jets and are racing to develop more advanced next-generation-or sixth-generation-aircraft. Full-scale mock-ups allow aircrews to train against realistic representations of peer and near-peer threats, according to David Cenciotti, the editor of the Aviationist. "Depending on the type of decoy, they can support visual identification as well as the detection of electronic signatures via onboard sensors," Cenciotti told Newsweek. He added that some of the world's most advanced training ranges were equipped with so-called high definition targets, which are used for both visual and sensor training. According to the Aviationist, the HQ-16 air defense system initially had a range of about 24.8 miles to intercept aerial targets, with the upgraded version extending this to about 46.6 miles. U.S. Air Force Technical Sergeant Alan Hughes, a vehicle maintenance specialist assigned to the Volk Field Combat Readiness Training Center, said in a news release on Tuesday: "People are often familiar with our aircraft, but may not understand all the effort that goes into getting those planes into the fight. Our HQ-16 target display offers a tiny snippet of all the behind-the-scenes work that goes into keeping our pilots and aircraft combat-ready." David Cenciotti, the editor of the Aviationist, told Newsweek: "Similar mock-ups have been observed in the past at U.S. test ranges, as documented by reports and satellite imagery, and are often used to replicate adversary systems for threat emulation and pilot training." It is likely that the U.S. military has increased its use of such decoys in training. The most recent mock-ups in the U.S. all replicate Chinese military hardware, according to Cenciotti. Related Articles US Blocks Visas for Palestinian LeadersChina Wants Nuclear Weapons To Strike Fear Into AmericaIran Issues Update on Nuclear EnrichmentWealthy Americans Buy Up London Mansions Amid Price Slump 2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
E&E News
3 hours ago
- E&E News
Farm coalition urges MAHA panel to resist conservation cuts
A coalition of farm groups is pushing the Trump administration's 'Make America Healthy Again' campaign to split with some of the Agriculture Department's own proposals to cut conservation programs. In a set of recommendations to the MAHA Commission, the Food and Agriculture Climate Alliance pushed back against the administration's proposal to cut conservation assistance for farmers and urged creation of a new grant program to help states boost soil and water quality. 'The health of our nation is deeply rooted in the health of our land,' said the coalition, created at the end of the first Trump administration to encourage bipartisan solutions to climate change. Advertisement The recommendations cover a broad swath of agriculture and forest policy that, in the group's view, will lead to healthier soil and environmentally sustainable food production — a goal that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins say they're jointly seeking.
