Buy a passport, save a nation? Nauru’s unique plan to fight climate change

The tiny South Pacific nation of Nauru has a novel plan to safeguard itself against rising seas: selling citizenship.

As climate change causes storms to rage, droughts to persist and seas to swell, the world’s third-smallest country – and one of its most climate-vulnerable – faces an existential crisis.

Officials estimate that nearly all of the 21-square-kilometre island’s 12,000 residents will eventually need to move to higher ground. The problem? Nauru lacks inhabitable land, and the first phase of this ambitious relocation project could cost about €60 million.

To fund it, the government has pinned its hopes on a new citizenship by investment programme that seeks to raise millions quickly.

Under the scheme, wealthy individuals can acquire Nauruan citizenship in exchange for an investment of $105,000 (about €100,000) within four months of their application. In return, they gain visa-free access to 89 destinations, including the UK, Ireland, the UAE and Singapore.

Edward Clark, who heads Nauru’s Economic and Climate Resilience Citizenship Programme, said the initiative - launched atCOP29 last year - is already receiving applications.

Nauru’s government aims to receive 66 successful applications this year. The long-term goal is much higher. “We would like to achieve 500 applicants coming through the program,” totalling about €50 million, Clark told AFP.

That total would make up about 20 per cent of all government revenues for Nauru and nearly cover the cost of the country’s ambitious relocation goals.

Residence or citizenship by investment schemes, often called ‘golden passports’, offer people the chance to get a residency permit for a country by purchasing property or making a large investment or donation.

Many developing or