OA Alliance at Climate Week 2021
As part of Climate Week 2021 in concert with the UN General Assembly, the OA Alliance hosted a side event, “Integrated Policies for Ocean Climate Action: Building Coastal Resiliency in the U.S.” The event was co-hosted by Ocean Conservancy, National Caucus of Environmental Legislators and the Seattle Aquarium.
The event brought together federal partners and U.S. states who demonstrating the kinds of local actions, policy integration and regional cooperation that are needed to: (1) mobilize urgent action for reducing GHG emissions; and (2) help communities build resilience to climate-ocean change.
Speakers included :
U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere
Governor Jay Inslee of Washington State
Dr. Beth Kerttula, National Caucus of Environmental Legislators Board President and former Director of White House National Ocean Council
Janis Searles Jones, CEO of Ocean Conservancy
State Legislators from across the U.S.
Remarks From State Leaders
“Signs of the climate crisis are all around us, and the growing cost on people in our communities can no longer be ignored. Ocean acidification, warming, and deoxygenation spell big trouble for our fisheries, aquaculture and the communities that rely on them.”
-Governor Jay Inslee, Washington
“We are an ocean state. Having dedicated policies that protect the ocean are critical to both our economy and our cultural heritage.”
- Representative David Tarnas, Hawai’i (District 7)
“In Florida, we have lakes, springs, estuaries, rivers, and a whole lot of coastline. There’s very little land that doesn’t have water running through it in some way. That’s why we need a Blue Economy plan that can support needed academic research, economic development, and funding for ocean and water issues.”
- Representative Kelly Skidmore, Florida (District 81)
“We have an entire culture and economy built around our natural environment, including the ocean. People come to Maine for lobster and natural wonder and it's vital that our coastal and ocean habitats are healthy. We are lucky to have an incredible number of scientists doing monitoring in our state, because understanding OA and coastal change is essential and deserves a lot of attention.”
- Representative Lydia Blume, Maine (District 3)