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. Then they stop. 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. The U.N. 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. The world must respond to the impact of sea level rise on coastal communities, heritage, and cultures, and the lands that have nourished our ancestors for generations. We must start by preventing as much sea level rise as we can.
