Overview
- The UN General Assembly is voting Friday on a Togo-drafted resolution backed by the African Union that urges wider use of equal-area projections such as Equal Earth.
- The text asks governments, educators, international organisations and technology companies to adopt Equal Earth and other equal-area maps where showing true area matters and it does not seek to ban the Mercator projection.
- France announced it will co-sponsor the resolution and said it will stop routine use of the Mercator projection, signalling new political momentum for the campaign.
- If adopted the resolution will be non-binding and rely on voluntary uptake; Togo has proposed Q1 2027 Lomé consultations with UNESCO, the AU and tech firms including Google Maps to discuss practical steps.
- The push targets a technical flaw in the Mercator projection that enlarges high-latitude land and shrinks equatorial regions, a distortion advocates say has shaped perceptions taught in classrooms and used by policy-makers.