New Ocean Climate Action Plan outlines three goals that mobilize the Federal Government and civil society to take effective and innovative ocean climate action
President Biden has released a first-of-its-kind U.S. Ocean Climate Action Plan (OCAP) outlining three goals that mobilize the Federal Government and civil society to take effective and innovative ocean climate action: (1) create a carbon-neutral future, without emissions that cause climate change and harm human health, (2) accelerate solutions that tap the power of natural coastal and ocean systems to absorb and store greenhouse gases, reduce the climate threat, and protect communities and ecosystems against unavoidable changes, and (3) enhance community resilience to ocean change by developing ocean-based solutions that help communities adapt and thrive in our changing climate.
Ocean Visions CEO Brad Ack has issued the following statement in response:
“We applaud the release of this Ocean Climate Action Plan and strongly support bold action by the US Government to bring the needed ingenuity, focus, and funding necessary to combat the climate crisis. As part of its action agenda to meet the Paris climate agreements, the United States should support a comprehensive ocean-based climate solutions agenda that will maximize the ocean’s contributions to a low-carbon economy, enhance ocean-based processes to clean up carbon pollution from the air and ocean, and bolster marine ecosystems already severely impacted by climate change to avoid catastrophic loss.”
The ocean and climate are inextricably interconnected; the state of one drives the state of the other. Making up 71 percent of Earth’s surface, the ocean plays multiple roles in global weather, water, heat, and nutrient cycling, as well as providing food for billions of people. The effects of the last 170 years of accumulated greenhouse gas emissions now threaten the stability of the entire system. These excess greenhouse gases are the biggest threat to the ocean, as they drive dangerous ocean heating and acidification. These thermal and chemical stresses outweigh in impact and risk all other threats to the ocean. Efforts to restore the health of the ocean cannot ultimately succeed without resolving the overlying driver of harm; far too much carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas pollution in our air and water.
ABOUT OCEAN VISIONS
Ocean Visions is a non-profit organization that catalyzes innovation at the intersection of the ocean and climate crises. We facilitate multisector collaborations from within our Network and beyond, working with leading research institutions, the private sector, and public-interest organizations to fully explore and advance responsible and effective ocean-based climate solutions. In short, we work to stabilize the climate and restore ocean health. To learn more, visit www.oceanvisions.org or follow @Ocean_Visions on Twitter.