Tuvalu may become the first sovereign country to fully recreate itself in the Metaverse as it faces complete erasure due to climate change.
The island nation of Tuvalu, located in the South Pacific, plans to use Metaverse technologies to preserve its nature, history, culture, and society in the future. Tuvalu’s Foreign Minister Simon Kofe made an announcement during his speech at the COP27 climate summit.
The main problem faced by Tuvalu is the rising sea levels caused by climate change. About 40% of the capital atoll Funafuti is underwater at high tide, and the entire country could be underwater by the end of the century. That’s why the Tuvalu government decided to turn to Web3 technology.
“As our land disappears, we have no choice but to become the world’s first digital nation,” said Kofe during his speech.
According to the politician, the country’s nature and culture are its most precious assets, but they may not survive dramatic temperature increases and climate change. Therefore, the entire territory of Tuvalu will be kept in the cloud and recreated virtually, making it no longer critically dependent on what’s happening in the physical world.
Digitizing real space and recreating it in virtual space is already a relatively common practice. For example, large technologically advanced cities, such as Seoul and Santa Monica, have already launched digital copies of their districts in Metaverse spaces. The UAE went further and launched a project to digitize the whole emirate, and the Central Asian authorities worked to create a special economic zone in the Metaverse.
