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.
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.
- Geopolitical win -
The pact will likely be seen as a significant strategic win for Australia, which is competing with China to cement its influence in the Pacific region.
The treaty also commits Australia to defending Tuvalu in the face of natural disasters, health pandemics and "military aggression".
And it offers Australia a say in any defence pacts Tuvalu signs with other countries.
Australia had been shocked when the neighbouring Solomon Islands signed a defence pact with Beijing that would allow the deployment of Chinese forces on the islands.
"Quite clearly this is a groundbreaking agreement," Albanese told reporters on the sidelines of the Pacific Islands Forum in the Cook Islands.
"The Australia-Tuvalu union will be regarded as a significant day in which Australia acknowledged that we are part of the Pacific family."
Australia's economic reliance on coal and gas exports has long been a point of friction with its many Pacific neighbours, who face massive economic and social costs from wilder weather and rising sea levels.
Albanese said developed nations needed to start shouldering more responsibility as developing countries copped the brunt of the climate crisis.
The pact will have to be ratified by each country before coming into effect.
Tuvalu's climate crisis
Sydney (AFP) Nov 10, 2023 -
Citizens of climate-threatened Tuvalu will have the right to live in Australia, under a landmark pact unveiled Friday.
Here are some key facts about the Pacific Island nation and its battle to slow the rising seas:
- What's the issue? -
Tuvalu is a nation of nine coral islands nestled in the South Pacific.
It has been defined by the United Nations as "extremely vulnerable" to the effects of climate change, with most of its landmass less than five metres (16 feet) above sea level.
Most of it is predicted to be underwater -- at least some of the time -- by 2100.
Around 40 percent of the main atoll Funafuti already gets submerged during periodic "king" tides that wash away taro and cassava which were the islands' staple crops.
Two of the atolls represented on its flag of 11 stars have already disappeared.
- What's being done? -
Tuvalu can't stem the tide. But it has tried to mitigate the impact of saltwater contamination, coastal erosion, floods and mega storms.
A coastal adaptation project aims to reclaim around 3.8 kilometres of land from the ocean and raise land levels in the most vulnerable spots.
Tuvalu has also turned the battle against climate change into a campaign of guerilla diplomacy.
Its foreign minister has addressed a UN climate conference standing shin-deep in seawater to raise the profile of the country's plight.
Tuvalu has backed the creation of a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty, among other innovative legal strategies -- like asking for carbon dioxide absorbed by the ocean to be categorised as a pollutant.
Authorities have also suggested creating a digital copy of the country to preserve the nation's culture in case it is lost.
- Is the deal with Australia significant? -
The proposed treaty with Australia could help Tuvalu in several ways.
It provides funding for mitigation efforts and commits Australia to helping in the event of storms or natural disasters.
It also gives Tuvaluans the right to work and seek refuge in Australia should the worst come to the worst -- offsetting some of the cost of climate-induced economic damage and providing much-needed revenue.
Politically, it also nudges Australia to more ambitious climate policies.
Australia has often been a laggard in global climate talks, as one of the world's largest coal and gas producers.
The treaty commits Australia and Tuvalu to "work together in the face of the existential threat posed by climate change."
While that may not be enough to ensure the success of any global emissions reduction targets, it will increase pressure on Canberra to play a more constructive role.
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