Nauru has started selling passports to fund climate action, but is so far struggling to attract new citizens to the low-lying, largely barren island in the Pacific Ocean.
Nauru, one of the world’s smallest nations, has a novel plan to fund its fight against climate change by selling so-called “Golden Passports.”
Selling for US$105,000 each, Nauru plans to drum up more than US$5 million in the first year of the “climate resilience citizenship” program. Almost six months after the scheme opened in February, Nauru has so far approved just six applications — covering two families and four individuals.
Photo: AFP
Despite the slow start — Nauru hopes to sell 66 passports in the scheme’s first year — Nauruan President David Adeang remained upbeat.
“We welcome our new citizens, whose investment will assist Nauru to secure a sustainable and prosperous future for generations to come,” Adeang told reporters yesterday.
Nauru believes the passport program could eventually generate US$43 million — or about 500 successful applicants — which would account for almost 20 percent of total government revenue.
However, there are fears that the scheme could be ripe for exploitation.
Edward Clark, who runs Nauru’s climate passport program, said that one application has already been withdrawn after officials flagged “adverse findings” during background checks.
“The application would have been rejected had it not been withdrawn,” Clark told reporters.
A previous Nauru attempt to sell passports ended in disaster. In 2003, Nauru officials sold citizenship to al-Qaeda members who were later arrested in Asia.
Among the first batch of climate passports approved was an unnamed German family of four living in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, said Clark, touting the “major milestone.”
“They were looking for a second citizenship to provide them with a Plan B given the current global political volatility,” he said.
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