Simon Kofe, the foreign minister of Tuvalu, told the COP27 climate summit yesterday that the island-nation is looking to the metaverse to preserve its history and culture.
The tiny nation in the Pacific is especially vulnerable to rising sea levels caused from climate change, and the metaverse could be an alternative solution to ensure the country’s survival in some form.
Last year, Kofe gained attention when he addressed the conference while standing knee-deep in seawater, highlighting the dire threat climate change is having on his Tuvalu. Gloomily, many climate scientists predict the entire country could be underwater by the end of the 21st century.
This year, Kofe told the conference that the changing climate and the country’s disappearing land has made it necessary for it to become the “world’s first digital nation.” No matter what happens to its physical territory, Tuvalu will attempt to preserve its culture and customs in the cloud.
Tuvalu is a group of nine islands located between Australia and Hawaii with a population of around 12,000. Currently, up to 40% of the capital district is under water during high tide. Kofe hopes that by creating a digital nation in the metaverse, Tuvalu can continue to function and preserve its knowledge even if the country becomes completely submerged.
To reach the 1.5C target proposed by the Paris Agreement, the world must reduce annual global emissions by 45% over the next eight years.
Countries Are Entering the Metaverse
The move from Tuvalu to become the “first digital nation” as a means of fighting back against climate change is big news for the world. But Tuvalu isn’t the only nation that’s bullish on the metaverse. At Rarity Sniper, we’ve reported on several countries investing time and money in Web3 technologies. Here are some of our top stories.
First, in October 2022, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) launched a new metaverse called the “Sharjaverse.” The Sharjaverse is a “physics-accurate” digital city that encompasses the emirate’s 1,000 square mile area. The UAE hopes the metaverse will create new Web3 jobs for residents and boost tourism.
Next, on October 3rd, the Prime Minister of Japan told the country that the government is investing in a myriad of Web3 technologies, including NFTs and the metaverse. He mentioned that Japan is already using NFT technology to help local authorities solve problems in their jurisdictions.
Lastly, Norway officially entered the Decentraland metaverse. The Scandinavian country has two goals in Web3: to offer tax services to tech-native youth and to provide tax-related information about NFTs and DeFi.
The news from Tuvala to embrace the metaverse as means of preserving itself is both exciting and sad. One hopes that the country, and world, will find a way to preserve its physical land in the upcoming years. If not, the metaverse and Web3 technology could be the best solution to a grave problem.