On October 20, 2020, the United States House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee introduced the Ocean-Based Climate Solutions Act. Janis Searles Jones, CEO at Ocean Conservancy, released the following statement in reaction to the bill’s introduction:

“By introducing the Ocean-Based Climate Solutions Act, our elected officials are recognizing the crucial role that the ocean and our ocean communities can play in addressing the climate crisis. The ocean provides millions of jobs, provides food for almost half of the world’s population and is the reason our planet is even habitable. By committing to ocean-based climate action, not only can we harness the potential of the ocean—from offshore wind energy to blue carbon storage—but we can also protect the ocean, its resources we all rely on, and the iconic and essential ocean ecosystems we all love.

I hope that we as a country can follow the House Natural Resources Committee’s lead and commit to a climate strategy that will spur drastic and immediate climate action that incorporates all solutions. Our communities are already suffering from climate change’s devastating impacts to our planet, ocean and coasts—particularly Black, Indigenous and other communities of color that have long suffered from environmental racism. Neither they nor our ocean can wait any longer for our elected representatives to take action.”

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About Ocean Conservancy

Ocean Conservancy is working to protect the ocean from today’s greatest global challenges. Together with our partners, we create science-based solutions for a healthy ocean and the wildlife and communities that depend on it. For more information, visit oceanconservancy.org, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.