Government of Tuvalu 8°31′S 179°12′E · Funafuti
Tuvalu Office of the Ambassador to UNESCO
and Special Envoy to the Commonwealth

News & Statements

Dispatches

News from the Ambassador’s work, milestones for Tuvalu, and where Tuvalu stands on the questions that will shape its future.

Tuvaluan dancers in pink and green performing outdoors in front of a decorated pavilionTuvaluan dancers in performance — Adana Dobranis · CC BY 4.0
Excavator working on newly reclaimed land behind a sandbag wall on Funafuti

Latest · October 2026 · Adaptation

New land on Funafuti draws regional attention ahead of UN climate talks

Pacific leaders are watching Tuvalu’s land reclamation work on Funafuti as the next UN climate summit approaches.

Reuters reported on 6 October 2026 that the reclamation programme on Fongafale, Funafuti’s main islet, is building new land high enough to stay above projected sea levels. According to the project manager quoted by Reuters, the series of projects will soon have added about 21 hectares to the island. The work is part of Tuvalu’s Long-Term Adaptation Plan, which envisages reclaiming about 3.6 square kilometres from the lagoon.

Source: Reuters, via The Star

Funafuti International Airport terminal, a single-storey building with a blue roof

June 2026 · Climate mobility

Tuvalu leads delegation to the Berlin Climate Mobility Forum

The Ambassador headed Tuvalu’s delegation to the second Berlin Climate Mobility Forum, where the Global Principles for Addressing Climate Mobility were adopted. The Ambassador reports that 57 member states have endorsed them.

The Forum, held on 18 and 19 June 2026, was co-hosted by the Global Centre for Climate Mobility and the Robert Bosch Stiftung. Speakers included H.E. Mokgweetsi Eric Masisi, Chair of the Climate Mobility Elders Group, and H.E. Carlos Alvarado Quesada, Chair of the GCCM Foundation Advisory Board. The principles are voluntary and place human dignity, rights and positive adaptation at their core. The Ambassador intends to return to Berlin in June 2027 to build on the outcomes.

Source: Robert Bosch Stiftung

Clear turquoise lagoon water with small boats moored near a wharf on Funafuti

May 2026 · Falepili Union

Second Falepili Mobility Pathway ballot opens

Registration for the 2026–27 ballot under the Tuvalu–Australia Falepili Union opened on 1 May 2026, offering up to 280 places.

The ballot gives Tuvaluan citizens the chance to apply for permanent residency in Australia, with the right to travel back to Tuvalu at any time. According to the Australian High Commission in Funafuti, more than 100 people have already moved under the pathway since the first ballot in 2025. Read our explainer on the Falepili Union.

Source: Australian High Commission, Tuvalu

A grey reef shark swimming over coral in Tuvalu

2026 · Oceans

Call for a dedicated COP for the Oceans

The Ambassador has called for the ocean to be given its own Conference of the Parties, reflecting its central role in the climate system.

For atoll nations, the ocean is both the source of life and the source of the gravest threat. A dedicated process would give ocean warming, acidification and sea-level rise the sustained attention they need, alongside the existing UN climate negotiations.

Source: The Ambassador on LinkedIn

Aerial view of Funafuti atoll: a thin curve of land between deep blue ocean and a turquoise lagoon

October 2025 · Adaptation

Coastal adaptation project completes 8 hectares of new land

The second phase of the Tuvalu Coastal Adaptation Project finished 8 hectares of raised land on Funafuti, designed to stay above projected sea levels beyond 2100.

Phase two was funded by Australia, New Zealand and the United States and delivered with UNDP. It builds on a first phase, funded by the Green Climate Fund and the Government of Tuvalu, which created about 7 hectares of raised land and formally closed on 7 December 2025.

Source: UNDP Pacific

Sandbag sea wall along the shore of Funafuti, with palms and a calm turquoise lagoon

23 July 2025 · International law

International Court of Justice delivers climate advisory opinion

In a unanimous opinion, the ICJ set out the obligations of States in respect of climate change, an important result for small island developing States.

Pacific island nations, led by Vanuatu, were at the forefront of the campaign that brought the question to the Court through the UN General Assembly in 2023. The opinion is not binding, but it carries significant legal and political weight, and it strengthens the case for climate action and for protecting the rights of peoples most exposed to its effects.

Source: RNZ

Young women playing volleyball on the Funafuti runway at dusk

June 2025 · Falepili Union

First Falepili ballot opens, and a third of residents register

The first ballot under the Falepili Mobility Pathway opened on 16 June 2025. Nearly a third of Tuvalu’s residents registered within days.

The strong response showed how many families want the option of a secure future abroad. The treaty itself entered into force on 28 August 2024.

Source: RNZ

The three-storey Tuvalu Government Building in Vaiaku, with the national coat of arms above a peaked entrance roof, palms and flagpoles in front

April 2022 · Commonwealth

Ambassador Nair appointed Tuvalu’s Envoy to CHOGM

Tuvalu appointed Ambassador Shiv Shankar Nair as its Envoy to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

The appointment began the Ambassador’s Commonwealth work on behalf of Tuvalu, which continues today in his role as Special Envoy to the Commonwealth.

Source: shivshankarnair.com

Photographs illustrate the theme of each story. Photo credits.

Where Tuvalu stands

The positions the Ambassador carries

These are the messages behind every statement, whether at a UN climate summit, the Commonwealth or UNESCO.

On emissions

Every major economy must cut emissions fast enough to keep 1.5°C within reach. For an atoll nation, each tenth of a degree is measured in land.

Tuvalu’s climate position

On finance

Adaptation and loss-and-damage finance must be simple for small administrations to reach, predictable from year to year, and large enough to matter.

How partners can help

On statehood

Tuvalu’s statehood and maritime boundaries are permanent, as its Constitution has declared since 2023, whatever the sea does to the land.

Tuvalu’s digital nation

On climate mobility

People who move because of climate change should do so by choice and with their rights intact, as the Falepili Union allows.

The Falepili Union

On the ocean

The ocean deserves its own place in climate negotiations, including a dedicated COP for the Oceans. Tuvalu’s waters must be protected from illegal fishing and ghost ships, and island States should agree a common position on seabed mining.

The call for an Oceans COP

On international law

The 2025 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice confirms that States have legal obligations to protect the climate system.

The ICJ opinion

For journalists

Reporting on Tuvalu

Tuvalu is often in the news, and some phrases keep coming back. Here are the facts to check and the wording we would ask you to use.

“Tuvalu is sinking”

The islands are not subsiding; the sea around them is rising. “Threatened by sea-level rise” is accurate. Is Tuvalu sinking?

“Tuvaluan climate refugees”

People moving under the Falepili Union are not refugees. They move by choice, with permanent residency and the right to return. About the Falepili Union

“Tuvalu is moving into the metaverse”

The digital nation is mainly about government systems, records and culture held online. The metaverse was a demonstration. About the digital nation

“The president of Tuvalu”

Tuvalu has no president. King Charles III is Head of State, and the government is led by a Prime Minister. How Tuvalu is governed

Archive

Speeches and statements

The Ambassador speaks for Tuvalu at UN climate conferences, Commonwealth meetings, UNESCO and international forums such as the Berlin Climate Mobility Forum. Full texts will be collected here.

Full texts of statements to be confirmed

Request a statement

Quick answers

Media questions

How can journalists contact the Ambassador?

Send a request through the contact page and choose “Media” as the topic. Please include your outlet, deadline and the subject you would like to discuss.

Can we use the photographs on this site?

The photographs are published by their authors under open licences on Wikimedia Commons. You can reuse them under the terms of each photo’s licence, with credit to the photographer. Details for each image are on the photo credits page.

Where can I find key facts about Tuvalu?

The About Tuvalu page covers geography, population, government, the flag, language, economy and history, with sources on the explainer pages.

Where are the full texts of the Ambassador’s statements?

Full texts will be published on this page. Until then, the office can provide copies on request.

Silhouettes of people on a sea wall against a golden sunset and dramatic clouds

Stay in touch

Follow the Ambassador’s work

Updates from the Commonwealth, UNESCO and the climate negotiations.

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Sunset over the lagoon — INABA Tomoaki · CC BY-SA 2.0