General Assembly affirmed that statehood endures the loss of land. My country, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, will persist despite rising seas. The question is how Marshallese people go on living here safely.
Our nation consists of narrow strips of land on 29 low-lying coral atolls scattered across more than 750,000 square miles of the central Pacific Ocean. For many, adapting to rising seas may mean moving communities to higher ground. In the Marshalls, we have no higher ground to move to.
That fundamental difference shapes what climate adaptation means for us and how we must act. As we prepare for another El Niño, our people know its rhythms well, but the severity with which these forces now arrive is worsening. First, the rains come heavily.
Water tanks empty, wells run dry, crops fail, and ocean conditions shift. We begin shipping water to communities with none. These changes are the reality behind the historic diplomatic achievement taking place this week.
General Assembly will very likely adopt the first Sea-Level Rise Declaration by consensus. In a year of fractured diplomacy, that is worth celebrating. The Republic of the Marshall Islands has never wavered in its position.
Sea level rise will not alter the statehood, sovereignty, or maritime zones of any state. But while the legal status, rights, and maritime zones of my country and its people are now secure, our physical safety is not. That distinction must guide what comes next.
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