Tuvalu – This low-lying Pacific nation, under threat from rapid sea level rises, wants to ensure its future, even after its land is washed away. It is turning to the metaverse for what it refers to as a digital migration of an entire country as it expects to be under water in a matter of decades.

This year Simon Kofe, the Minister for Justice, Communication and Foreign Affairs of Tuvalu, arrived at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) with a different message: that it is time to look at alternative solutions to save his country, highlighted in the Future Now Project – a proactive stance towards the worst-case scenario.

‘The world’s inaction means that our Pacific region must take greater action and forge our own path as leaders on the international stage, but our action alone cannot stop the current trajectory of climate change,’ said Kofe of the plan to seek digital sovereignty in order to preserve its culture, place, identity and statehood status under international law. The government of Tuvalu intends to build digital replicas of all of Tuvalu’s islands: an accurate, visually immersive virtual model of a real-world environment. The project is also one of the first to explore digital government and sovereignty.