UN General Assembly supports Equal Earth projection
The UN General Assembly supported a transition from the 16th-century world map based on the Mercator projection to the Equal Earth projection, which more accurately represents the relative areas of countries and continents. A total of 164 states voted for the resolution, the United States voted against it, and six other countries abstained, Asharq Al-Awsat reports.
Initiative of African states
The initiative was led by Togo, which is promoting an African Union campaign to limit the use of the Mercator projection. It distorts the relative sizes of land areas by enlarging territories located closer to the poles. In particular, Greenland appears to be approximately the same size as Africa on such a map, although Africa is about 14 times larger.
Before the vote, Togo's Foreign Minister Robert Dussey told Reuters that a fair world begins with a fair map. According to him, Togo plans to change school geography materials by the end of the year and become the first country to revise its own textbooks.
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Status of the resolution and next steps
The resolution is not legally binding. A statement by the Togolese ministry stressed that it does not call into question the use of the Mercator projection for maritime and air navigation, for which the system remains suitable, in the ministry's assessment.
Dussey said that Togo would urge governments, schools, international organizations, and technology companies to switch to Equal Earth. Over the next six months, the country plans to meet with African Union states and supporters of the initiative from other regions to coordinate the further promotion of the projection. Companies working with cartography, GPS, and other location technologies are also expected to join the discussion.
The United States, which was the only country to vote against the resolution, said it promotes an “ideological agenda” and distracts from issues of international peace, prosperity, and good relations.
