During a short address at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP27), Simon Kofe, the Minister of Justice, Communication & Foreign Affairs of Tuvalu, announced that due to the ongoing effects of climate change, Tuvalu may eventually be forced to move its country entirely online.

Kofe provided an example of what that could look like when, during his speech, it was slowly revealed that he was delivering it from a digital islet in the metaverse.

The address signals the beginning of a continuing project to catalogue, map, record and save as much of Tuvaluan island life as possible — including historical documents, records of cultural practices, family albums and traditional song — in the metaverse.

“It’s an ongoing undertaking, signaling a new and sobering chapter of a world facing the realities of climate change.”

“The tragedy of this outcome cannot be overstated,” said Minister Kofe in his address.

“But because the world has not acted, we must. Tuvalu could be the first country in the world to exist solely in the metaverse – but if global warming continues unchecked, it won’t be the last.”

The Monkeys also helped Tuvalu create a dedicated website where visitors can help show support for the country’s future.

In designing the environment of the island for both the website and speech, every element was carefully considered. The glitching and moving islet, featuring swaying palms and circling birds, was intended to demonstrate the impossibility of replicating the uniqueness of nature in a digital space.

The dark, inky metaversal space surrounding the islet represents the last refuge of a nation with nowhere else to go. On the Tuvalu.tv website, the islet is surrounded by live updates of time, tides, and weather, with the lighting changing to reflect the local time in Tuvalu.

A ticker on the side displays the queue of sights, sounds, and stories that Tuvalu is endeavoring to preserve online. A prompt at the bottom urges visitors to “save the real Tuvalu,” where an online form enables them to appeal to their country’s Environmental Minister and sign up for further updates.

“This is such an important project and collaboration, and one where digital transformation and storytelling sit at the heart,” said Tara Ford, chief creative officer of The Monkeys.

“It’s an ongoing undertaking, signaling a new and sobering chapter of a world facing the realities of climate change.”

“Although Tuvalu stands against relocation as a solution to the climate crisis, in seeking to be proactive and practical, the project responds directly to the question ‘What will Tuvalu do if its land territory is lost to sea level rise?’ Kofe wrote in a blog post for the Australian National University’s Development Policy Centre.