Rising sea levels threaten to wash away entire country | 60 Minutes Australia

If you were to imagine the perfect tropical paradise, sunny skies, warm crystal clear waters and pristine beaches, Talu is as close to it as any other place on Earth. The

country

is a narrow strip of small islands halfway between Australia and Hawaii, making it even more special for its isolation. However, despite their amazement, the people of Talu face a devastating threat. Rising sea

levels

mean your home is disappearing and what's really scary is how fast it's happening, but all is not lost, but a group of ingenious Australians are working to raise the height of the island in an extraordinary feat of engineering that also has important political implications, it is the least visited

country

on Earth, but looking around you wonder why wherever you turn in Valu looks like a postcard, there are no mountains, no hills, no rivers, and all we.

What we have is the surrounding waters, the ocean. 11,000 people call this place home. It is a tropical paradise where life is full of simple joys, but behind their smiles there is great sadness and fear because almost the

entire

country will be underwater. In 50 years for MP SE pinu Seeing his country disappear is heartbreaking, it's quite sad really and it's something that, uh, I'm deeply concerned about your land consumed by the ocean that you love. Yes, that is the end of Talu civilization, the end of Talu culture, that is something we cannot understand. Is something. James Lewis also can't understand we're going to lose a nation, you know if Talu goes, who's next and how we can consciously let this happen.

The coastal engineer is from the Gold Coast, but Talu has become a second home for him. He spent most of it. 4 years here hired by the United Nations to try to protect the country from

rising

sea

levels

Why is Taru so vulnerable? It is because of its low nature. Just half a meter, a meter above the sea, you are basically floating on a raft. but it's made of sand, so when the tide comes in it goes right over the island just because it's so low and as close to the edge of the ocean as everyone else who lives here.

James knows that proximity to the ocean is what makes this place beautiful. but it's also the reason why the country doesn't stand a chance during king tides. Every time the tide rises above a meter and 1/2, you better put on your rubber boots because this corner of paradise becomes a flood zone, the crazy thing is that this is not because of the rain or because of the waves coming, this is water coming up through the island, the poorest island, so because the tide is so high, it comes up through the water table bubbling up across the road, bubbling up through the island and through people's houses, we are seeing isolated houses and families, that's right, this is the main access road between the North and the South to the island.

My house is over there. I can't get through right now until the tide goes out. It's crazy, but how often. Is this happening near this tide? We will probably have a monthly tide from now on when it rains on top of this it all adds up so you know this is a bluebird day and we need Deep in water VI meco's house is located right in the middle of the main island, as far from the ocean as possible, but still this is your front yard during a TI king. Living like this is very difficult, it damages the house sometimes, it damages us, especially our bicycles and cars, because it is corrosive. your sea water, are you worried that you are going to lose your house?

I'm worried. I know these houses have septic tanks underneath and every time the water comes out, if you think it's in water that you know is contaminated, it's generally not a very, very good way to live, especially with my baby, which he loves the most. What worries V is the terrifying future that awaits his little one; He fears that when Theo grows up there will be almost nothing left of his homeland. James Lewis knows him well. It's a valid concern how much worse this will look, we're in 2060, just below normal. Tides without waves, without storms. 50% of the island we are on will be underwater during the monthly daily high tides.

It won't be long, no. We extend that to 2100 and we're seeing that 95% of this island is underwater just from daily tides, no storms or anything else. It's an unfathomable prognosis for the people of Talu, but surp

rising

ly they still have hope even though their country is one. of those most affected by sea level rise, is also becoming the best example of how the problem can be solved. James came here as an engineer, but he will leave more as a savior, he helped build the first stage of an incredible project to literally keep the main island afloat we keep our country going, you know, this is the first stage of the great plan. 7 and 2 hectares of new land built from the ocean up not only as a barrier to stop waves but also as a platform high enough above the sea to prevent water from rising through the ground causing a flood, basically raising the coastline 800M of vulnerable coastline, um 2m above the highest tide at the moment, which will keep them flood free until 9pm, so it looks like a strip of white sand.

Here, but what's underneath? Yes, we have huge mega containers underneath. You know, more than 100 tons in weight look like big sausages. At the edge of the reef and then in the front we have some smaller geotextiles to protect them. Just in case, um from Nicks or boats or do you know any fleet in the area at first no one was sure if it would actually work, but so far it has a remarkable engineering feat that makes another queenslander Cameron Hall and his team proud, not the worst place in the world to install a blacksmith job. Yes, Adam, it certainly is paradise here.

It's a little different to Port Headland in Western Australia or Darwin. For 6 months this dredge sucked up sand from the bottom of the lagoon and we pumped it across the ocean in pipes to the job site, we had about 40 people there, bulldozers, excavators, people building the sea wall, the bags, they feel like they are accomplishing something, they really feel like they are leaving behind a real legacy. make a difference to people's lives there's not much work back home where you're saving a country that's right it's interesting to build a road in south east queensland but for them it's more interesting to create land for people than otherwise they would.

I have no hope, the proof that it works is undeniable, while the old land floods during high tide, the new land looks like a desert, this is your work doing its job right now, yes, right now, there is a tide higher, we still have it. minus 2m to the highest point, the land here is very valuable and we have just created another 7 hectares that are dry flood free, but this is just the beginning, the long term plan is to build enough new land for everyone in Val , so the

entire

population can move to Higher Ground, so it looks like it's almost doubling the existing island, yes, more than doubling the existing island, but raising it, it will incorporate huge new Greenport facilities, commercial areas, obviously, a huge residential area, you know.

We're not going to be left undated every day, you know, under the water floorboards, solving the Tal climate crisis is something that the Australian government is equally aware of. Prime Minister Anthony Albanesi has signed a groundbreaking deal offering the Tans a ticket to Australia to escape their sinking. country, but then what else did he put in the fine print? Nowhere else in the world can you join a football match on an international court, everyone is with you, but in Talu this is a daily tradition, one of many that locals are desperate to preserve as they fight to stop their country disappearing. in the ocean due to sea level rise, you know, I've become very close to this community and I would hate to not see any future for them or have to move.

You probably already felt the warmth of the people here and the unique traditions. Seeing that would be a shame. Coastal engineer James Lewis is working hard to save talu. He has designed a new land that sits much higher above the sea so that the entire population can eventually move to a safer location. terrain, but it is not the only option on the table, Tuvaluans could move to Australia under a historic treaty our government signed last year. This is a groundbreaking deal, it's no surprise that Australia wanted to be the one to help given taro's location in the hotly contested Pacific region. where China is spending billions in other countries to try to take advantage, it is the most comprehensive agreement any Australian government has ever entered into with a Pacific country on our side.

We are very pleased to have you here as Minister and welcome to Foreign Affairs. Minister Penny Wong went crazy over the deal with members of the Tavo government, including HE Panu, who was then Climate Minister. We depend so much on our waters, but it is also our enemy, which represents a great danger and risk to the coherence of the treaty's progress. offers a way out by allowing up to 280 Talons a year to move to Australia. It doesn't seem like many, but it is said that it doesn't matter because fleeing abroad is the last resort. I don't think there are many who want to do it.

Wow, our culture is too Valu and therefore we would like to keep our culture in Valu instead of taking it

away

and leaving it somewhere else. The most interesting thing about the Treaty has nothing to do with climate change and everything to do with China when the The agreement was signed last year and prevented Talu from entering into security and defense agreements with other countries without Australia's permission, which gave it our government the extraordinary power to block any future alliance between Tal and Bying Two Val. The view is to remove that but Australia put it in we were really running out of time and didn't give us a proper opportunity to look at the whole document, you rushed it, there was limited time available to us, we wouldn't want Australia or any other country will determine it. our own feet uh and especially in terms of security purposes, we as a country just tried to slide that in no way was anything, no, not at all.

I mean, we had very open frank and respectful conversations with t there was a suggestion that it was quite hasty, no, not at all, actually, I know Minister SE well. I met him when I was in Tuvalu. This was discussed very, very thoroughly between us and the government, and we were very candid about what we were able to do. We were putting it on the table and they were very clear about what they wanted and what Talu wanted was a promise that Australia would help protect them from climate change or any other threat that they might one day face, like a natural disaster or war, that is small.

The price to pay when you consider what we get in return effectively gives you a veto in your back pocket, so if they want to have some kind of agreement with China that you can intervene in, we can intervene and simply say that it is not there. happening well. The guarantee of security is mutual, including the fact that we will provide security for them. Do we need to keep China out of Talo at all costs? Look, China is a great power and it's doing what great powers do, you know? they, uh, you push for their interests, they work hard to increase their influence, we have to work much harder to be a partner of choice and we have to think carefully about how we engage in a way that reflects our motivation and that is not.

Domination is a partnership and reflects respect for Pacific countries. Beijing has its agenda, but its agenda always brings some disasters to the area the way I see it because Australia is not the only country that is worried about China having size over Taiwan. He has always wanted to be an international actor. Taiwan is very worried. His deputy foreign minister, Tien Chunwang, has come here to reaffirm their friendship. I think it's not just Taiwan that should be worried. I think Australia, the United States and New Zealand should pay in that matter. More attention because the balance has changed once China comes in, sometimes they come with warships and warplanes.

How do you combat that potential influence? First of all, we do not compete with China because democracy never competes with totalitarian regimes, which it does not. Apple to Apple number one, but Resar or Taiwan would do whatever they need and whatever Taiwan is capable of offering, but that strategy has failed in other Pacific island nations. Maru, the Solomon Islands and Kirbas have changed their ties from Tai to Beijing in The Last. 5 years leaving talu is one of only three allies in the region why do you think some Pacific islands are moving to Beijing? Well, some politicians probably have their personal agenda.

I can only say this. Some have been heartbroken but you're sure Beijing isn't going to woo Val no maybe they try maybe they try they always try but I don't think they're going to succeed Inu this is the man Beijing will try to impress if wants to gain a foothold in Talu, so Prime Minister, this is the Talu Parliament, uh, yes, uh, this is thecamera. Has Prime Minister Fetti also, who got the job last month, received an offer from China to help? Well, I don't, we haven't even contemplated any Beijing problems in our new administration. and we don't intend to do that so soon after we're in office long-term, can you rule that out completely?

Well, right now, we have no basis to contemplate that scenario. Sorry but uh I have much more immediate development challenges to address and at the top of the Prime Minister's list is CL's climate change Australian designed and built coastal adaptation project has a long way to go , so far it has cost 55 million dollars. Australia contributed $2 million and the rest came from Talu and the pool of Green Climate Fund donations from around the world, but Talu will need much more to carry out the rest of the plan and build enough new land to move the entire population. to Higher Ground.

I don't think you can put a price on saving a country, right? But how much is all that going to cost? It will be in billions, that's a lot of money. It comes in handy. I will continue to plead with the good hearts of our development partners and the international and regional organizations that have the resources to help value building this resilience against the impact of climate change. It is expensive, yes. but I think it's been worth it, you see, and at the end of the day it's a drop B in the ocean of what you're saving, it's definitely as exciting as seeing phase one of your dream design now complete the science.

It's not what motivates James Lewis, he's in it for the giant Smiles on these faces, knowing they'll have an h for generations to come, why should Australians back home care about what's happening here, why shouldn't we knowing that we are going to lose a culture something so precious that are so close to us, as far as you know, our Pacific neighbors, can we just sit by and watch this happen? I know, I can't Hi, I'm Adam. Hello, thanks for watching 60 Minutes Australia, subscribe to Our Channel now for new stories and exclusive clips every week and don't miss our bonus minute segments and full 60 Minutes episodes on .com. and the N Now app