Metaverse Nation: This Country Will Become The First To Upload Itself Completely Online

The world may be close to the birth of the first metaverse nation. A small island country in the pacific divulged its plan to create a metaverse nation at the COP27 recently held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

The pragmatic approach of the country named Tuvalu is to combat its existential crisis brought on by climate change. Yes, who would have thought that global warming will force a country to go completely digital? This is the reality the people of Tuvalu must face.

The thought-provoking announcement was made by Tuvalu's minister for justice, communication, and foreign affairs, Simon Kofe via a digital address.

"The tragedy of this outcome cannot be overstated [...] Tuvalu could be the first country in the world to exist solely in cyberspace – but if global warming continues unchecked, it won't be the last," Kofe said, reported ScienceAlert.

Going completely online is in line with Tuvalu's three-part Future Now project that was launched on Oct. 27, 2021.

"The launching of the project has prompted me to further reflect on its three major initiatives – promoting values-based diplomacy, ensuring the permanency of statehood and maritime boundaries despite the effects of sea level rise, and building a digital nation – and what these say about Tuvalu, climate change, and Pacific regionalism," Kofe said in a statement.

Kofe in his speech underlined the three aspects of Tuvalu's nationhood that would be considered while uploading to the cloud. The first is Tuvalu's natural beauty and landscapes, the second is its culture, and the third is its sovereignty.

The first initiative of the Future Now project in Kofe's own words "promotes diplomacy based on Tuvaluan values of olaga fakafenua (communal living systems), kaitasi (shared responsibility), and fale-pili (being a good neighbor), in the hope that these values will motivate other nations to understand their shared responsibility to address climate change and sea level rise to achieve global well-being."

The project's second initiative is focused on the legal aspects to retain Tuvalu's maritime borders in the event of complete submersion of the island.

The third initiative, an extension of the second, "involves creating a digital government administrative system that could, in the very worst-case scenario, allow Tuvalu to shift its government operations to another location and continue to fully function as a sovereign state," the Tuvalu minister said in the statement.

Kofe stressed to the COP27 attendees Tuvalu can be saved from taking the unimaginable step of existing only digitally if countries join hands to slow down climate change.

At the forefront of climate change, the island nation had appealed to the world to take action against global warming in COP26 as well. Kofe addressed the event standing knee-deep in rising water to highlight the imminent threat to Tuvalu due to climate change.

Will countries around the world take a proactive approach to deal with climate change or will Tuvalu be left with no solution, but to upload to the metaverse? That will depend on collective global efforts.