Climate change conversations about the ocean often involve a list of disasters: sea level rise, storm surges, hurricanes and many more.
But the ocean is also a resource when it comes to combating climate change. It has stored much of the carbon released since the industrial revolution.
With the U.S. controlling more ocean area than land, the Biden Administration just released a plan that seeks to protect ecosystems while doubling down on climate-fighting capability.
HPR spoke to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration oceanographer Richard Spinrad about what the 105-page Ocean Climate Action Plan has in store for Hawaiʻi and beyond.
"The Ocean Climate Action Plan makes very clear that we need to focus on a few specific things. We need solutions that are oriented towards the most vulnerable communities. A lot of times that is coastal communities. But it also emphasizes the use of nature-based solutions," he said.
"Historically, we might engage in what a lot of people call gray infrastructure. If you've got sea level rise, then you're going to build hardscapes. You're going to build sea walls, you're going to build jetties, you're going to physically move sand and marshland around. Natural infrastructure says, 'Well, wait a minute, what about looking at the role of mangroves?'"
Spinrad said Hawaiʻi is seeing the impacts of climate change in the form of sea level rise, ocean acidification, impacts on fisheries, and storm frequency and magnitude.
He's also in Honolulu for a Pacific Risk Management ‘Ohana conference on resiliency strategies.
"One of the important things that we're trying to address in the Biden-Harris Administration right now is developing what we are calling a 'Climate Ready Nation,' which really means understanding how climate change is impacting local communities, impacting whole economic sectors, and providing the information — I call it the environmental intelligence — to make decisions about everything from building codes to agriculture to fisheries, and also what kind of areas are in need of conservation, especially in the marine environment," Spinrad said.
"So part of that requires going around the country around the world, in some cases for conferences, but around the country, to see what are the needs, especially in some of the most vulnerable communities for climate products and services."
This interview aired on The Conversation on April 5, 2023. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.
