Tuvalu is an island country of 11,900 people situated in the Pacific Ocean, and rising sea levels could soon submerge the island nation entirely underwater. In a digital address to leaders at COP7, a Tuvalu official said that the country is planning to upload itself to the metaverse as a last resort for preservation.
IFLScience reports that the statement is from Tuvalu's minister for justice, communication, and foreign affairs, Simon Kofe, who explained that the metaverse would replicate the nation's islands and preserve its culture and traditions once Tuvalu is wiped out on the map because of rising sea levels.
"Tuvalu could be the first country in the world to exist solely in cyberspace, but if global warming continues unabated, it won't be the last," the country representative warns world leaders gathered at COP27.
Digital Nationhood?
The address points out that if the "worst case scenario" falls upon the nation-state, preserving the country online could be the only option left to keep Tuvalu's sense of nationhood intact.
What will happen is that the metaverse will be the Tuvaluans' new sovereign state if the situation on the island forces them to evacuate.
This is the sobering reality that leaders are now confronted with. Scientists appear to have been correct in their prediction that worsening climate change could sink cities in the future.
"Our land, our ocean, and our culture are the most precious assets of our people, and to keep them safe from harm, no matter what happens in the physical world, we will move them to the cloud," Simon Kofe said in the COP27 climate summit address while standing knee-deep in the sea.
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According to Reuters, the government has begun efforts to ensure that Tuvalu is still recognized internationally as a state and that its maritime boundaries are preserved even if the islands are submerged.
Climate Change and Vulnerable Populations
As Tuvalu predicts a bleak future, global emissions continue to worsen the signs of global warming. Data from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) tells us that global emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities increased by 43 percent from 1990 to 2015. Furthermore, the warming effect associated with carbon dioxide alone increased by 36 percent.
A report from the International Labour Organization (ILO) states that climate change has significant implications for Pacific Island populations.
The connection between climate change and migration may only be beginning to gain recognition, but global estimates for the number of migrants moving due to climate change range between 25 million and 1 billion people by 2050.
How long do Tuvaluans have left before the Pacific Ocean swallows the entire country? A report from The Guardian tells us that scientists predict that Tuvalu could become uninhabitable in the next 50 to 100 years. People in Tuvalu, who call for climate change awareness, say it could be sooner.
