It is becoming increasingly evident that climate change is a fundamental economic threat as well as an environmental one. As such, climate change poses an unprecedented systemic risk to our economy and poses a potent risk multiplier of unknown strength. As the Biden Administration contemplates its response to climate change, attention to ocean health is paramount as warming ocean temperatures, acidification, shrinking ice sheets, and rising sea levels all attest. Oceans are a source of vast offshore renewable energy potential while coastal ecosystems are capable of absorbing carbon at rates up to four times those of terrestrial forests. Priorities include:
Establish a pathway to protecting 30 percent of ocean habitats protected inside U.S. waters in four years and participate in the efforts to develop and enact a “Ocean-Based Climate Solutions Act in the 117th Congress.
Work with coastal states to increase the size and distribution of seagrass beds through continued improvement of water quality and proactive plantings.
Direct all appropriate branches of the federal government to undertake immediate action to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing inside and outside the U.S.