Climate Resilience in Action: How Tonga is Building Back Better After the 2022 Volcanic Eruption

When Tonga's Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano erupted on 15 January 2022, it became the largest volcanic eruption since Krakatoa in 1883. The disaster triggered 15-metre tsunami waves and devastated communities across the Pacific island nation. Yet from this catastrophe emerged powerful lessons in climate resilience and circular economy thinking that Australian business leaders should study closely.

During my three-day visit to Tonga in 2023, I witnessed first-hand how this small Pacific nation is rebuilding with sustainability at its core.

The 2022 Tonga Volcanic Eruption: Scale and Impact

The scale of destruction was staggering. Ashfall covered at least five square kilometres. Entire villages and resorts were wiped out by tsunami waves. The ocean spewed vast amounts of plastic waste onto Tongan shores, adding environmental insult to natural disaster.

As we've seen from disasters like Cyclone Gabrielle in New Zealand, clean-ups from this magnitude of catastrophe are no quick fix. Almost a year after the eruption, the evidence of devastation remained stark. Yet so did something else: the remarkable resilience of the Tongan people.

A Personal Connection to Tonga's Climate Journey

When the volcano erupted, my first thought was of my good friend Uili Lousi and his family. Communication was impossible in those first terrifying days. It wasn't until a week later that I was able to get messages through to Tonga, and I was immensely relieved to hear they were safe.

Uili and I first met in 2019 after being introduced by Al Gore. We were both mentors training the next generation of Climate Reality Leaders as part of the Climate Reality Project. I continue to be impressed by Uili's passion and vision for a sustainable Tonga and the role his nation can play on the global stage.

Tonga is a small country with 170 mostly uninhabited islands and a population of just 105,000 people. It's the only remaining kingdom in the Pacific, yet it plays a critical role in Pacific affairs and global climate leadership.

Witnessing Climate Resilience First-Hand

In 2023, Uili reached out with a request that would change my perspective on climate resilience forever.

"Lee, the universe has spoken to me. The timing is good. Please come to Tonga and see for yourself how you can help," he said, preparing for Tonga's participation in COP28.

His words resonated deeply, and I felt Tonga beckoning with the opportunity to make a real difference. I spent three days in Tonga, and words are inadequate to describe what I saw. The devastation was real. Whole villages gone, resorts obliterated, crops decimated. Yet the true Tongan spirit and resilience were in abundant supply everywhere I looked.

Tonga's Circular Economy Response

What struck me most wasn't just the recovery effort. It was how sustainability and circular economy thinking had become central to rebuilding. With limited resources and facing climate reality head-on, Tongans weren't just rebuilding. They were building back better.

Agricultural Recovery Through Volcanic Ash

Farmers discovered an unexpected silver lining: some crops were growing back faster due to the nutrient richness of volcanic ash. Rather than viewing the ash purely as devastation, agricultural communities adapted their planting strategies to leverage this temporary fertility boost. It's a powerful example of turning disaster into opportunity through observation and adaptation.

Rebuilding the Bee Population

Perhaps the most critical recovery effort involved bees. The eruption wiped out 95% of Tonga's bee population, a catastrophic loss for pollination and food security. Beekeepers immediately stepped up efforts to boost hive numbers, understanding that agricultural recovery depended on it. This coordinated, community-driven response demonstrated the kind of systems thinking that many businesses struggle to achieve even without a crisis.

Ocean Cleanup and Waste Management

Staff at the local waste authority shared something unexpected: the silver lining of the tsunami was the opportunity it presented to help clean up the surrounding ocean. The disaster brought waste issues to the surface, forcing conversations about waste management and circular economy solutions that had been easy to postpone.

The Tanoa Hotel exemplifies this shift. Rather than simply rebuilding their resort, they transformed their grounds into productive vegetable gardens, reducing food miles and waste while creating local food security. It's circular economy thinking born from necessity but sustained by vision.

Pacific Climate Leadership on the Global Stage

Tonga's response to the volcanic eruption isn't happening in isolation. The kingdom has long been a powerful voice for climate action on the world stage.

King Tupou VI is a regular speaker at global climate conferences, advocating for urgent climate change action. Uili Lousi is part of the Tongan delegation presenting at COP UN Climate Change Conferences, bringing Pacific perspectives to international climate policy.

This small nation of 105,000 people punches well above its weight in climate leadership. Not because they're the largest emitters (they're among the smallest), but because they're among the most vulnerable and most committed to solutions. Their voice matters. Their experience matters. And their approach to climate resilience offers lessons that transcend geography.

What Australian Business Leaders Can Learn from Tonga

Tonga's climate resilience journey isn't just an inspiring story. It's a masterclass in adaptive strategy under constraint. Australian businesses facing their own sustainability challenges can draw powerful lessons from the Pacific.

• Resource efficiency becomes non-negotiable: When resources are genuinely limited, waste isn't just environmentally problematic. It's economically unsustainable. Tongan communities embraced circular thinking because they had to. Australian businesses can choose to embrace it before crisis forces the issue.
• Community engagement drives resilience: Tonga's recovery succeeded because entire communities mobilised around shared goals. Businesses building climate resilience need the same internal alignment, from board to operations, everyone understanding their role in sustainability strategy.
• Systems thinking replaces siloed responses: The bee population, agricultural recovery, and waste management weren't treated as separate issues. Tongans understood the interconnections. Similarly, business climate strategy can't be siloed in a sustainability team. It must integrate across operations, supply chain, risk, and governance.
• Adaptation creates competitive advantage: Hotels growing vegetables, farmers leveraging volcanic ash, waste authorities turning crisis into cleanup opportunity. These aren't just recovery tactics. They're strategic pivots that create long-term value. Australian businesses preparing for mandatory climate reporting under the Australian Sustainability Reporting Standards (ASRS) can similarly turn compliance pressure into strategic opportunity.
• Leadership visibility matters: King Tupou VI and Tongan delegates don't delegate climate advocacy. They lead it personally. CEOs and boards taking visible ownership of sustainability strategy send the same powerful signal internally and externally.

Supporting Pacific Sustainability Efforts

My visit to Tonga gave me a renewed sense of purpose. Stories of human endeavour in the face of climate catastrophe give me hope for our future and drive me to accelerate how I contribute to our joint future by leveraging my sustainability expertise.

The shift towards circular economy thinking in Tonga, driven by necessity but sustained by vision, is incredibly heartening. It demonstrates that climate resilience isn't just about surviving disasters. It's about fundamentally rethinking how we live, work, and build for the future.

I'm committed to continuing this work alongside our Pacific neighbours, bringing lessons from Tonga's climate resilience journey to Australian businesses preparing for their own sustainability transformation.

Moving Forward: From Inspiration to Action

Tonga's volcanic eruption was a tragedy. The recovery is ongoing. But the climate resilience and circular economy strategies emerging from this small Pacific kingdom offer valuable lessons for organisations everywhere.

As Australian businesses navigate mandatory climate reporting, stakeholder expectations, and operational risks from climate change, the principles Tonga embodies become increasingly relevant: resourcefulness, systems thinking, community engagement, and adaptive strategy.

The question isn't whether climate resilience matters to your business. It's whether you'll build that resilience proactively or reactively.