1. The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI)’s vulnerability to climate change is compounded by its geographical isolation and adverse demographic trends. Climate change is already resulting in rising sea levels, coastal erosion and a higher frequency of extreme weather events. These will endanger copra production and fisheries, the major economic activities in the RMI. Its isolation and sparse transport links raise shipping and business costs. Real GDP growth lags regional peers (Figure 1), while provisions of the Compact of Free Association allow Marshallese citizens by birth to move to and work in the United States without visas.1 As a result, the population shrank by more than 22 percent between 2000-21 even as Pacific Island Countries (PICs) as a group experienced a nearly 28 percent increase over the same period. Parliamentary elections are scheduled to take place in November 2023.
REPUBLIC OF THE MARSHALL ISLANDS