The Maldives, a well-known bucket list getaway, is the lowest-lying nation in the world. Located in the central Indian Ocean, the country consist of roughly 1200 individual islands grouped into 20 atolls.

Many geological and economic factors make the Maldives at grave risk to climate-change, so much that 85% of its geographic area could be underwater by the year 2100 if sea levels rise under more extreme projections. Therefore, sea-level rise caused by global climate change is an existential threat to the island nation.

In a symbolic cry for help over rising sea levels, the Maldivian president and ministers held a underwater cabinet meeting on the 17th of October in 2009. The then President Mohammed Nasheed and 13 other government leaders submerged 20 feet below the surface of a lagoon near Girifushi. Donning scubagear and using hand signals to communicate.

During the 30-minute meeting, Nasheed and the ministers utilized a white plastic slate and waterproof pencils to sign a "SOS" letter from the Maldives. The letter icluded a stark message “We must unite in a world war effort to halt further temperature rises, climate change is happening and it threatens the rights and security of everyone on Earth.”

Tuvalu, and small island in the Pacific Ocean, consists of eight inhabited islands and one uninhabited island. The area of the archipelago is about 26 square kilometers and it has a population of about 10,000. The majority of the islands are about three meters above sea level, while Fongafale, the most populus inhabited island is only 20 meters across at its narrowest point. Concerns about climate change and sea level rise have been under discussion in the country for over twenty years.

In another symbolic call for help, Simon Kofe, Tuvalu's foreign minister gave a speech to the United Nations standing in seawater by the islands coastline. As the water flowed around his knees, he talked about how his low-lying Pacific island nation is on the front line of climate change.

In the speech, he emphasized the effects of climate change and how the archipelagos of Tuvalu could disappear completely if sea levels continue to rise like they have for decades. The government has disclosed that evacuating the island is a last resort, but that begs the question, If entire populations are forced to relocate by rising seas as a result of climate change, does an island lose its status if it sinks?

Iceland, an island in the North Atlantic Ocean and home to about 370,000 people, has also seen it’s share of natural destruction. Iceland has in recent years become a popular tourist destination, in large part because of its plethora of natural wonders like glaciers, active volcanoes, and geysers.

The melting of glaciers is one of the main causes of rising sea levels. As sea levels rise, floods intensify, groundwater becomes polluted and the lowlands are submerged in many parts of the world. Iceland has a total ice volume of 3400 cubic kilometers. An amount that is sufficient to raise global sea levels by 9 mm if completely melted. Since the 19th century, Icelandic glaciers have been on a steady decline, shrinking by almost 2000 km2.

Okjökull (Ok glacier), a small glacier in the highlands of Iceland, was about 15 square kilometers at the turn of the 20th century but had shrunk to about 4 square kilometers a century later. In 2014 it was deregistered as a glacier as there were only thin, disjointed ice floes left where the glacier once stood. In recent years, many smaller Icelandic glaciers have been deregistered, or even disappeared. Atop the mountain where Okjökull once stood, mourners gathered to commemorate the loss of the glacier, which died at the age of about 7000. "Today we formally say goodbye to the Ok glacier, which is the first Icelandic glacier to disappear in times of climate change." The Icelandic Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir said at the funeral. In the next 200 years all glaciers can be expected to follow the same path as Okjökull. His disappearance can be the beginning of something else and more.

Sustainable development is the central challenge of our times. Our world is under strain. Poverty continues to plague communities and families. Climate change threatens livelihoods. Conflicts are raging. Inequalities are deepening. These crises will only worsen unless we change course. Ban Ki-moon, former Secretary-General of the United Nations

A global development model that is sustainable for current and future generations is the greatest way forward for ensuring the health of the planet, decreasing poverty, and enhancing people's lives across the world. While climate change is having a tremendous influence on humanity's future. With the polar ice caps melting, global sea levels rising, and the severity of cataclysmic weather events growing, no country on the planet is immune to the consequences of climate change. Building a more sustainable global economy will aid in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. Sustainable development and climate action are inextricably intertwined, and both are critical to humanity's current and future well-being.

The term "sustainable development" first appeared around 1980, but became better defined following the release of the Brundtland Report, a landmark publication that described how a more sustainable world could be achieved. In short, sustainable development is an effort to meet the needs of the present without diminishing the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Sustainable development is therefore a key concept in all contemporary discussions on development and environmental issues. It encompasses 4 key elements that are inseparable and interdependent, human sustainability, social sustainability, economic sustainability, and environmental sustainability.

Now, all around the world countries look to sustainable development to help guide the future course of economic, environmental and social development on the planet, to varying degrees of success. These sustainable development practices will help countries significantly fight the challenges posed by climate change.

 

As part of the 70th General Assembly of the United Nations, the Sustainable Development Summit was held in New York on the 25th to the 27th of September 2015. Over 150 world leaders convened at the United Nations Headquarters in New York for the three-day summit to draft an ambitious new sustainable development agenda. This agenda, named the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, details a 15-year plan to achieve 17 different goals.

These goals, named the Sustainable Development Goals, have a total of 169 sub-goals and cover both domestic and international efforts. The goals are intended to unite various aspects of sustainable development, including social, environmental, and economic aspects.

The Sustainable Development Report is a global study to see where each nation is in terms of fulfilling their Sustainable Development Goals. Using scientifically sound metrics and accurate data, the researchers created the SDG index, an aggregate measure from 0 (worst) to 100 (best) used to assess a country's performance.

Another measure of sustainability is the Global Sustainable Competitiveness Index (GSCI), a comprehensive rating of countries based on sustainable actions. The GSCI assesses a country's competitiveness using 131 indicators gathered from trustworthy sources such as the World Bank, the IMF, and several UN organizations. The 131 indicators are divided into five sub-indices: Natural Capital, Resource Efficiency & Intensity, Intellectual Capital, Governance Efficiency, and Social Cohesion. These five sub-indices, when combined, indicate a country's long-term competitiveness and create the Global Sustainable Competitiveness Index.

The aggregate scores of the two reports e measures a country's total progress towards achieving a certain sustainable development benchmark. In the case of the SDG index, it is achieving all 17 SDGs, where the score can be interpreted as a percentage of SDG achievement. A score of 100 indicates that all SDGs have been achieved. The GSCI index score can similarilly be interpreted as a percentage. It measures the country's performance based on the "ideal world", where a score of 100 is considered to be perfect outcome.

The SDG index remained virtually unchanged between years and now stands at a global average of 66.8. The reason it is unchanged is largely due to rising poverty as well as unemployment following the Covid-19 pandemic. It can also be concluded that the SDG index score is underestimated for the year 2021 as many of the indicators for 2020 were not public before the report was published, due to significant delays in publishing important statistics. The epidemic has affected all aspects of sustainable development: economic, social, and environmental. According to the study, it is not feasable to promote sustainable development during the pandemic. It is hoped that the construction will continue now, after the epidemic appears to be in the rearview mirror. It is important to build the economy in an environmentally friendly way in order to counteract the continuing fall in scores

The GSCI index paints a darker picture. Despite growing slightly in recent years, the world average stands at only 45.3, almost 55 points from the "perfect world". If you look at the development of the other 5 sub-indexes There is a big difference between the best and worst performances in intellectual capital. The authors of the report then raise the question of whether education is the key to improving sustainable development. Natural Capital shows a negative trend in about 50% of cases.

Iceland ranks number 29 out of the 165 countries given an SDG index score, with a country score of 78.2. It is on pace to achieve 6 of its sustainable development goals and shows moderate results in every other except SDG 15, where major challenges remain.

Iceland ranks 6th in Sustainable Competiveness. Scoring highly in all subcategories except Resource intensity, where it ranks at 120. This is largely due to high co2 emission per capita and waste per capita

The Maldives scores 69.3 on the SDG Index Score, ranking number 79 out of the 165 countries given a score. The country showed promising results in numerous goals with 6 goals projected to be achieved by 2030.

Also according to the ESCI index, The Maldives ranks around the global average. It's score is 45.14, just over the global average. It scored highly in Social Captial, where it ranks number 11 globally. The country however scores poorly in Natural Capital and Intellectual Capital.

Due to due to time lags in international statistics and lack of data. Tuvalu was not given a index score in either of the reports examined here. However, the country was given a score for various Sustainable Development Goals

Tuvalu is on track to achieve Goal 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) and Goal 13 (Climate Actions). On the other hand, Tuvalu is unfortunately not on track to achieve Goals 4 & 5 (Quality of education and gender equality)

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About the project:

This project is part of the graduate thesis for the Masters of Science degree in Data Visualizaiton at Parsons School of Design. The project was made by Gisli Gudjonsson.