This article has been updated.

Rising sea levels caused by climate change are impacting 1 billion people worldwide.

2024 saw an unexpectedly fast rising of sea levels, which are already unprecedented.

In the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2025 , ‘Critical change to Earth systems’, which includes sea level rise from collapsing ice sheets, is the third-biggest threat to the world in the coming decade.

Homes, livelihoods and, ultimately, lives are under threat from rising sea levels. Indeed, the United Nations (UN) calls it “a global crisis” – and one that is impacting 1 billion people worldwide.

Here’s what you need to know.

What is sea level rise?

Sea level rise refers to the increase in the average height of the ocean’s surface, measured from the centre of the Earth. This phenomenon is primarily driven by two main factors: the melting of glaciers and ice sheets, and the thermal expansion of seawater as it warms. As global temperatures rise due to climate change, ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica are melting at an accelerated rate, contributing significantly to sea level rise.

Additionally, as seawater warms, it expands, further increasing the sea level. This rise in sea level is a critical indicator of climate change, with far-reaching impacts on coastal communities, ecosystems and economies worldwide.

Why is the spotlight on sea level rise now?

There was an unexpectedly fast rising of the global sea level in 2024, NASA-led analysis has found. Scientists were anticipating a rise of 0.43 centimetres, but instead recorded a rate of 0.59cm.

Pacific island nations like Tuvalu, Kiribati and Fiji have been battling rising sea levels for years now and NASA predicts they will experience a further 15cm of sea level rise in the next three decades, even if greenhouse gas emissions are brought under control.

Representatives from small-island and low-lying countries came together for the UN General Assembly’s (UNGA) High-Level Week in 2024, which for the first time featured a dedicated meeting on Sea Level Rise to address this urgent issue.

“Today is our historical opportunity to turn the global tide and to embark on a common path that secures prosperity, dignity and rights to all affected countries and communities,” said the Prime Minister of Tuvalu.

The key initiatives discussed at the meeting were:

Creating a declaration on sea level rise in 2026

Embracing AI and other innovations to help monitor risks associated with sea level rise

Cooperation between scientists

A treaty between Australia and Tuvalu to protect statehood in the case of eroded coastlines.

How is sea level measured?

Traditionally, sea level is measured with a tide gauge, which you can see in ports and harbours around the world. But now satellites can carry out this task more accurately by bouncing radar signals off the sea surface to measure changes in sea level.

Because local weather conditions and other factors can affect sea level, measurements are taken globally and then averaged out.

The World Economic Forum’s work on Amplifying the Global Value of Earth Observation highlights monitoring changing sea levels as a key application of the technology to support vulnerability analysis.

Sea levels have risen by over 10cm between 1993 and 2024. Image: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

In 2021, scientists discovered a sea-level “fingerprint” from the Greenland ice sheet, confirming fears about the extent to which ice is melting.

These fingerprints are “detectable patterns of sea level variability around the world resulting from changes in water storage on Earth’s continents and in the mass of ice sheets,” according to NASA.

The Greenland ice sheet is now losing around 9 billion litres of ice an hour, according to the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland.

How much are sea levels rising?

With the ice sheet at “a tipping point of irreversible melting”, scientists currently expect an unavoidable sea level rise of 1-2 metres.

Global sea levels have already risen by over 10cm between 1993 and 2024, according to NASA, which says sea levels have been rising at unprecedented rates over the past 2,500 years.

While measuring in centimetres or even millimetres might seem small, these rises can have big consequences. This is particularly true where storm surges sweep further inland than they would have previously.

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What causes sea level rise?

The two main factors causing sea level rise are melting ice from glaciers and seawater expanding because of rises in global temperatures, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

There are also likely negative feedback loops that could speed up glacier ice melt. For example, the Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica is disintegrating more quickly than anticipated. It’s nicknamed the ‘doomsday glacier’ because sea levels could rise more than three metres without it and its supporting ice shelves.

Heat stored in the ocean is responsible for between a third and half of global sea level rise, NASA says. The past decade has been the ocean’s warmest since at least 1800, and ocean temperatures reached a new high in 2023/2024.

Since 1971, oceans have absorbed over 90% of excess heat in the Earth system caused by rising greenhouse gas emissions.

The relationship between sea level rise and climate change

Climate change is the primary driver of global sea level rise.

As the Earth’s temperature increases, the polar ice caps and glaciers melt, releasing vast amounts of water into the oceans. This melting ice contributes directly to the rising sea levels.

Furthermore, the warming of the ocean causes the water to expand, a process known as thermal expansion, which also contributes to sea level rise.

The relationship between sea level rise and climate change is complex. Understanding it is crucial for predicting future sea level rise scenarios and developing strategies to mitigate its impacts.

As global warming continues, the rate of sea level rise is expected to accelerate, posing significant challenges for coastal regions around the world.

In the Forum’s Global Risks Report 2025, ‘Critical change to Earth systems’ is the third-biggest threat to the world in the coming decade – and sea level rise from collapsing ice sheets is identified as a key contributing factor.

Effects of global sea level rise

The effects of global sea level rise are profound and multifaceted, impacting both human and natural systems. Rising seas threaten infrastructure, including roads, bridges and buildings, leading to increased costs for maintenance and repair.

As coastal flooding becomes more frequent and severe, it will exacerbate erosion and cause saltwater intrusion into freshwater sources, which can compromise drinking water supplies and agricultural productivity. The Forum’s Water Futures: Mobilizing Multi-Stakeholder Action for Resilience white paper addresses the issue of water pollution as a result of extreme water-related events and lays out five pathways to water resilience.

Additionally, sea level rise poses a significant threat to coastal ecosystems such as mangroves, coral reefs and salt marshes, which provide critical habitats for numerous species.

The displacement of people living in low-lying areas due to rising seas can lead to social and economic challenges, including loss of property, livelihoods and increased pressure on social services.

Addressing these impacts requires comprehensive adaptation strategies to protect vulnerable communities and ecosystems.

Economic and social impacts

The economic and social impacts of sea level rise are significant and far-reaching. Rising seas can lead to increased costs for coastal protection measures, such as building sea walls and surge barriers, and repairing damage to infrastructure.

The loss of property and livelihoods due to coastal flooding and erosion can have devastating effects on communities, particularly in vulnerable regions. Additionally, sea level rise can exacerbate social and economic challenges by displacing people, disrupting economic activities and straining social services.

For example, communities that rely on tourism, fishing and agriculture may face significant economic losses as rising seas threaten their way of life.

Understanding these economic and social impacts is critical for developing effective adaptation strategies and mitigating the effects of sea level rise on vulnerable populations.

Past sea level rise and historical context

Throughout Earth’s history, sea levels have fluctuated significantly, with major changes occurring during the last ice age and the subsequent warming period. However, the current rate of sea level rise is unprecedented.

Since 1890, the global average sea level has risen by approximately 21-24cm, a rate much faster than historical averages, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. This rapid increase is largely attributed to human-induced climate change, driven by the burning of fossil fuels and the resulting increase in greenhouse gas emissions.

Understanding past sea level rise and its historical context is essential for predicting future changes and developing effective adaptation strategies.

By studying historical data, scientists can better understand the natural variability of sea levels and the extent to which current trends are influenced by human activities.

Which countries will be most affected by rising sea levels?

Bangladesh, China, India and the Netherlands were singled out by the UN in 2023 as being at high risk from rising sea levels, with nearly 900 million people living in low-lying coastal areas in acute danger.

NASA says the East Coast and Gulf Coast of the US, as well as Asia and islands, are at high risk from the rising ocean. But it’s not just the changing sea level that’s a threat, it says. “Storm surges are amplified by sea-level rise, causing them to hit higher water levels and allowing the surges to reach farther inland”.

While research in the US has found that almost 1,100 critical buildings in coastal communities could be at risk of monthly flooding by 2050. Some communities could become unliveable within two to three decades, the report says.

Sea level rise is one of the ‘Critical changes to Earth systems’ – the third-highest threat to the world in the coming decade. Image: World Economic Forum

How are areas at risk of rising sea levels adapting?

Developed nations need to double climate adaptation finance to at least $40 billion a year, according to the Glasgow Climate Pact. But even if this was achieved, the adaptation finance gap of $187-359 billion per year would only be reduced by 5%, says the United Nations Environment Programme.

In the meantime, countries and cities around the world are putting strategies into action. In New Zealand, climate adaptation policies are being designed to ensure public housing is not built near areas prone to climate hazards.

Sea walls, surge barriers and other coastal defences are being built and strengthened in several countries including Denmark, Germany and the United Kingdom.

Discover What’s the World Economic Forum doing about the ocean? Show more Our ocean covers 70% of the world’s surface and accounts for 80% of the planet’s biodiversity. We can’t have a healthy future without a healthy ocean – but it’s more vulnerable than ever because of climate change and pollution. Tackling the grave threats to our ocean means working with leaders across sectors, from business to government to academia. The World Economic Forum convenes the Friends of Ocean Action, a coalition of global leaders from a wide range of sectors who are working together to protect the seas. From a programme to scale blue carbon benefits through coordinated action with governments to unlock finance, strengthen and empower local communities, to a global partnership to catalyze science-based actions towards healthy and sustainable blue food value chains, the Forum’s Ocean Action Agenda is pushing for new solutions and aiming to support 1000 Ocean Startups by 2030 that are creating a wave of innovation to address global challenges. Loading… The Forum’s Ocean Action Agenda also works closely with our industry partners, such as offshore wind developers and ports, to support them in their transitions towards a nature positive and net zero future. Climate change is an inextricable part of the threat to our ocean, with rising temperatures and acidification disrupting fragile ecosystems. The Forum runs a number of initiatives to support the shift to a low-carbon economy, including hosting the Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders, who have cut emissions in their companies by 9%. Is your organization interested in working with the World Economic Forum? Find out more here.

South Korea and the islands of the Maldives in the Indian Ocean are experimenting with floating homes, while China, India and other nations are finding ways to absorb and store storm water for reuse.

More drastic action is taking place in Fiji, where government officials are making plans to relocate whole villages because of rising sea levels – 42 villages have been recommended for relocation, while six have already been moved to safer ground, The Guardian reports.

“They look like chocolate truffles, just don’t eat them,” jokes Jean Mason, the curator of the Cook Islands Library and Museum as she reaches into a display cabinet and pulls out a black, knobbly rock.

The “rock” she is holding may well determine the future of this Pacific nation.

It is what scientists call a polymetallic nodule, created over millennia as minerals accumulate on the seabed.

Packed full of cobalt, nickel and manganese, these ancient formations are now valuable: the metals go into batteries that power modern life, from electric cars to mobile phones.

They have become a source of friction in the low-lying Pacific Islands, which are among the nations most vulnerable to climate change.

With rising sea levels, the ocean – or Moana, as it’s called in Māori and many other Polynesian languages – remains their greatest threat, but it is also their biggest provider.

They fish in it and they live off the tourists drawn to their turquoise waters, but now the Cook Islands wants to dig deeper, up to 6,000m (19,685 ft), where the nodules lie.

It’s a pet project for Prime Minister Mark Brown, who believes it will reshape this country of 15 volcanic islands in the southern Pacific.

When Kiribati broke ties with Taipei in 2019, it was a blow to Taiwan, despite the Pacific island nation’s small stature on the international stage.

Taiwan had already lost six diplomatic allies to China in the years prior, including, just days earlier, the Solomon Islands, as Beijing stepped up its efforts to isolate the self-ruled democracy that it claims as its own.

Kiribati President Taneti Maamau’s decision to switch allegiance was also controversial at home, causing a rift within his own government and costing him his comfortable parliamentary majority in a fiercely fought election in 2020.

Senior figures in Kiribati, a low-lying atoll nation of about 130,000 people, feared a lack of transparency around Maamau’s relationship with China, which has previously formed debt-laden relationships with developing countries under its Belt and Road Initiative.

Five years since the switch, as Kiribati heads to the polls again, those fears persist following a turbulent period which has seen strained relations with Pacific neighbours, tensions with traditional ally Australia and a continuing constitutional crisis.

Banuera Berina, Maamau’s ally-turned-rival, who was his main opponent in 2020’s presidential election after splitting from the ruling Tobwaan Kiribati Party (TKP) over concern about its dealings with China, told Al Jazeera the relationship was “not healthy for the country”.

“Transparency is of paramount importance, which unfortunately is lacking in our government now,” said Berina, who is standing again as a parliamentary candidate, but does not plan to run for the presidency again.

While domestic issues such as the cost of living are set to dominate parliamentary elections this week and next, international observers will also be “watching closely” for any insight into the presidential elections later this year, according to Jessica Collins, a Pacific aid expert at the Lowy Institute.

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“There’s a lot at stake. If the people vote for change, President Maamau may not get re-elected later in the year, frustrating China’s ambition and curtailing its successes,” she told Al Jazeera.

“If parliament – and later in the year the president – remains largely the same, Australia will have its work cut out trying to remain a valued and welcome partner,” she added.

‘Hoping for a reset’

On Wednesday, 114 candidates were contesting 44 seats in Kiribati’s parliament, Maneaba ni Maungatabu. A second round of voting is scheduled for August 19 to decide seats where no candidate has secured a majority.

Although political alignment is often clear, parliamentary candidates in Kiribati officially stand without party affiliation. Those elected to parliament then choose at least three candidates to be put forward for a presidential election, which is expected to take place in October.

Rimon Rimon, a local investigative journalist, said it was hard to gauge the mood in Kiribati because “people live in a landscape of fear”. But he said the vote would offer a “preview of what the people want” ahead of the presidential election.

While Rimon believes many people sense the governing party “has not been honest in their promises”, in a political system dominated by personal patronage over party affiliation, “well-resourced” government-aligned candidates might have the edge over the opposition.

“I think this whole election process is going in favour of the ruling party,” he told Al Jazeera.

A strong showing at the parliamentary elections for government-aligned candidates would boost Maamau’s campaign for a third successive presidential term, but some observers, like Rimon, worry about the consequences for Kiribati’s democratic future.

The past four years under the TKP have been among the most turbulent in Kiribati since the country gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1979.

In July 2022, Maamau withdrew Kiribati from the Pacific Islands Forum, citing his belief that the body, which plays a key role in regional cooperation on issues including security, economic development and climate change, was not serving his country’s interests.

While Maamau rejoined six months later, Kiribati’s opposition feared China played a role in the initial decision, suggesting that Beijing would benefit from an isolated Kiribati, not least in terms of security and exploiting the country’s fisheries. Beijing said the claim was “groundless”.

Kiribati is tiny but strategically significant. The closest of its 33 islands and atolls is just 2,160km (1,340 miles) south of Honolulu on the United States island of Hawaii.

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China has promised to help Kiribati achieve KV20, a 20-year development plan launched by Maamau and structured around fishing and tourism. As part of that it has said it will help rebuild a World War II US military airstrip on Kiribati’s Kanton Island, which sits roughly halfway between Hawaii and Fiji.

In February, the Reuters news agency, citing the acting police chief, reported that Chinese police officers were working in Kiribati, taking part in community policing and a crime database programme under an agreement that has not been made public.

Kiribati also boasts one of the largest exclusive economic zones in the world, covering more than 3.5 million square kilometres of the equatorial Pacific – a pristine marine region roughly the size of India. The 2021 scrapping of the Phoenix Islands Protected Area, one of the world’s largest marine reserves and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has resulted in “Kiribati now hosting too many Chinese fishing vessels”, Berina said.

As ties have warmed with Beijing, Kiribati’s relations with traditional ally Canberra have cooled. Australian officials have reported that their visas have been denied or delayed, while a bilateral strategic partnership agreement, already a year overdue, has been put on ice indefinitely.

Blake Johnson, Pacific analyst at the government-funded Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), said the past four years had “seen the relationship between Australia and Kiribati decline” but that Canberra would be “hoping for a reset” even if Maamau got a third term.

“I would expect the Australian government to invest more time and effort into rebuilding that relationship,” he said.

‘No politics, no ideology’

Last May also saw judge David Lambourne, an Australian national who served in Kiribati’s High Court, forced out of the country following a years-long saga that has thrown the judiciary into crisis.

Maamau’s government first levelled charges of misconduct against Lambourne – a resident of Kiribati for three decades and husband of opposition politician Tessie Lambourne – in 2022. That year, attempts to deport Lambourne were deemed illegal by Kiribati’s Court of Appeal, composed of members of New Zealand’s judiciary.

Thwarted by expatriate judges, which have long formed the backbone of Kiribati’s high courts, Maamau’s government suspended Chief Justice William Hastings and the Appeal Court judges, causing the country’s judicial system to grind to a halt.

A senior source with close knowledge of Kiribati, who requested anonymity due to fears over his security, told Al Jazeera that the saga “completely compromised” the judiciary. The source added that “respect for democratic norms has deteriorated to such an extent that I don’t think it can be denied that the president is an autocrat”.

The source continued that the case against David Lambourne was a “blatant attack on the opposition” given his marriage to Tessie Lambourne, who is widely viewed as having the best chance of unseating Maamau in the presidential race.

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While he did not think Beijing was providing explicit instructions to Maamau, the source said, “their interests certainly align” in wanting to “unseat Tessie Lambourne if they possibly could”.

“I imagine there are people in Beijing who would not want to see a change of government in Kiribati,” the source added.

A spokesman for President Maamau said he was not able to answer questions before publication. The Chinese embassy in Kiribati did not respond to Al Jazeera’s requests for comment however, ahead of the polls Ambassador Zhou Limin praised Maamau’s government and its “historic achievements in various areas”.

Einar Tangen, a senior fellow at the Taihe Institute in Beijing, paints a more benign and pragmatic picture of China’s relationship with Kiribati. He says the accusations of malevolent Chinese influence in Kiribati are part of the “same playbook” used by the US and Australia to discredit Beijing in other parts of the Pacific, and curtail its influence.

“There’s no politics [in the relationship], there’s no ideology. Kiribati has asked for help, and China has offered it,” he told Al Jazeera.

“Kiribati is not interested in the international politics of the US and China. They’re interested in food. They have one of the lowest GDPs per capita in the area and they’re trying to get on with their life. If somebody offers them more aid, they’re going to take it.”

‘An uphill battle’

Whether China is helping or not, several observers told Al Jazeera that the scales in the election appear tipped in the ruling party’s favour – not least in terms of financial resources.

Money, an important commodity in any election, becomes even more influential in a system in which ideology and party affiliation come second to personal patronage.

The anonymous source pointed to Tessie Lambourne’s constituency, the island of Abemama.

With two parliamentary seats up for grabs, Lambourne is competing against the current Minister for Infrastructure and Sustainable Energy, Willie Tokataake, and a previously unknown local school teacher, who has been “an extremely generous benefactor in the lead-up to the elections”.

While he cautioned that it was impossible to know for sure, the “generally understood view is that this money almost certainly originated in China and has been funnelled to him through the president’s political party”.

Journalist Rimon says several candidates have “raised eyebrows” because they are “splashing a lot of cash and giveaways for people”. “You just wonder, where are they getting all these resources? Why do they have so much money?” he said.

Berina alleged that when he was a TKP member, President Maamau promised that he and other parliamentarians would be “given money by China in order to retain our seats”.

Similar allegations were made in the last round of elections in 2020, with Maamau denying he received any financial support from China.

“There wasn’t any involvement especially in funding by the Chinese government,” he said in a rare interview with the media following his re-election.

China denies that it interferes in the internal affairs of Pacific nations.

Following a failed attempt to establish a Pacific-wide trade and security pact in 2022, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China had “never established a so-called sphere of influence” and has “no intention of competing with anyone”.

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Either way, Rimon believes Lambourne faces an “uphill battle” in this election. “She is on the top of the government’s list to try to eliminate, because if she doesn’t get re-elected in Abemama, that’s the end of [her presidential challenge],” he said.

From Beijing’s perspective, Collins of the Lowy Institute points to Lambourne’s “Australian connection” and her “deployment to Taiwan”, where she was Kiribati’s ambassador in 2018-19, as reasons for their possible concern.

“It’s possible for a Pacific nation to re-establish diplomatic relations with Taipei – a move that would grate against China given its reward-like investments in Kiribati when it switched allegiance to Beijing,” Collins said.

Berina, for his part, said he will support any opposition candidate, including Tessie Lambourne, given his “grave concerns” over Maamau’s closeness with China.

“The danger lies in the fact that we are being made to walk in the dark,” he said. “And in the dark, you can never know the kind of danger lurking therein.”

Back in August 2024, a tiny island nation and a continent-sized one entered into the Australia-Tuvalu Falepili Union. This treaty included agreements that Australia would help its Pacific island neighbor with climate and sea level rise resilience “to ensure Tuvaluans can stay and thrive in their homeland, protecting Tuvaluan culture, heritage and traditions for generations to come.”

But also: Australia would help a few of those Tuvaluans to leave a place where the literal highest point is 15 feet above sea level in the face of rapidly rising seas. In the first year of a new program, the larger country would provide up to 280 visas, allowing them to “migrate to Australia – temporarily or permanently – to live, work, and study as permanent residents.” The opening round of that program has arrived, and well, the numbers appear a bit off: more than 3,000 Tuvaluans have entered a ballot to snag one of those 280 visas. Tuvalu’s population at the last census in 2022: 10,643.

Their desire to escape is both devastating and easily understandable. According to NASA, Tuvalu can expect more than half a foot of sea level rise in the coming few decades, an enormous amount for a place with so little high ground. Even if the world somehow stops warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius (virtually impossible, at this point), the country would see upwards of 150 days of flooding every year by 2100. If we let it get to 3.0 degrees (exceedingly possible, at this point), make it 250 days per year. At that point, the country is more flood than land.

There are ways to protect parts of Tuvalu, but they cost money — plenty more than the $25 million or so Australia committed to the Tuvalu Coastal Adaptation Project, and definitely more than the $65 million that represents the country’s annual GDP. That’s the lowest GDP in the world, less than half that of similarly tiny and threatened Nauru. Other countries in similar situations have considered other escape plans, like in 2014 when Kiribati purchased $9 million-worth of land on Fiji, which features a bunch of much higher terrain. But turning land into a home is another story, and will require help from countries like Australia, as well as the rest of the rich and climate change-causing world.

The 3,125 Tuvaluans who entered the ballot so far did so within four days of it opening last week. It doesn’t close until July 18.

Almost a third of citizens in the Pacific nation of Tuvalu are seeking a landmark visa in the context of climate change to live in Australia as rising seas threaten their palm-fringed shores, official figures show.

Australia is offering visas to 280 Tuvalu citizens each year under a climate migration deal Canberra has billed as “the first agreement of its kind anywhere in the world”.

More than 3,000 Tuvaluans have already entered a ballot for the first batch of visas, according to official figures on the Australian program – almost a third of the nation’s population.

One of the most climate-threatened corners of the planet, Tuvalu will be uninhabitable within the next 80 years, scientists fear. Two of the archipelago’s nine coral atolls have already largely disappeared under the waves.

“Australia recognises the devastating impact climate change is having on the livelihoods, security and wellbeing of climate vulnerable countries and people, particularly in the Pacific region,” Australia’s foreign affairs department said.

Australia and Tuvalu signed the groundbreaking Falepili Union in 2024, part of Canberra’s efforts to blunt China’s expanding reach in the region. Under that pact, Australia opened a new visa category specially set aside for adult citizens of Tuvalu.

Already, there are signs the program will be hugely oversubscribed.

Official data on the program shows 3,125 Tuvaluans entered the random ballot within four days of it opening last week.

“This is the first agreement of its kind anywhere in the world, providing a pathway for mobility with dignity as climate impacts worsen,” a spokesperson for Australia’s foreign affairs department said.

Tuvalu is home to 10,643 people, according to census figures collected in 2022.

Registration costs A$25 ($16), with the ballot closing on 18 July.

The visa program has been hailed as a landmark response to the looming challenge of climate-forced migration.

“At the same time, it will provide Tuvaluans the choice to live, study and work in Australia,” Australia’s foreign affairs department said.

But it has also fanned fears that nations like Tuvalu could be rapidly drained of skilled professionals and young talent.

University of Sydney geographer John Connell warned that a long-term exodus of workers could imperil Tuvalu’s future.

“Small states do not have many jobs and some activities don’t need that many people,” he said. “Atolls don’t offer much of a future: agriculture is hard, fisheries offer wonderful potential but it doesn’t generate employment.”

The Falepili pact commits Australia to defending Tuvalu in the face of natural disasters, health pandemics and “military aggression”.

“For the first time, there is a country that has committed legally to come to the aid of Tuvalu, upon request, when Tuvalu encounters a major natural disaster, a health pandemic or military aggression,” Tuvalu’s prime minister, Feleti Teo, said at the time.

“Again, for the first time, there is a country that has committed legally to recognise the future statehood and sovereignty of Tuvalu despite the detrimental impact of climate changed-induced sea level rise.”

The agreement also offers Australia a say in any other defence pacts Tuvalu signs with other countries, raising concerns at the time that the Pacific nation was handing over its sovereignty.

Tuvalu is one of just 12 states that still have formal diplomatic relations with Taipei rather than Beijing.

Australia’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said last year that his country shared a vision for a “peaceful, stable, prosperous and unified region”.

“It shows our Pacific partners that they can rely on Australia as a trusted and genuine partner.”