[House Hearing, 117 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]




 
                       TURNING THE TIDE FOR OCEAN
                     CLIMATE ACTION: UNLEASHING THE
                  CLIMATE BENEFITS OF OUR BLUE PLANET

=======================================================================

                                HEARING

                               BEFORE THE

                        SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE 
                             CLIMATE CRISIS
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                    ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

                             SECOND SESSION

                               __________

                              HEARING HELD
                              JUNE 9, 2022

                               __________

                           Serial No. 117-18
                           
                           
                           
  [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]                         
                           


                            www.govinfo.gov
   Printed for the use of the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis
   
   
   
   
                            ______

             U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 
48-321             WASHINGTON : 2022 
   
   
   
                 SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE CLIMATE CRISIS
                    One Hundred Seventeenth Congress

                      KATHY CASTOR, Florida, Chair
SUZANNE BONAMICI, Oregon             GARRET GRAVES, Louisiana,
JULIA BROWNLEY, California             Ranking Member
JARED HUFFMAN, California            GARY PALMER, Alabama
A. DONALD McEACHIN, Virginia         BUDDY CARTER, Georgia
MIKE LEVIN, California               CAROL MILLER, West Virginia
SEAN CASTEN, Illinois                KELLY ARMSTRONG, North Dakota
JOE NEGUSE, Colorado                 DAN CRENSHAW, Texas
VERONICA ESCOBAR, Texas              ANTHONY GONZALEZ, Ohio
                                 ------                                
                Ana Unruh Cohen, Majority Staff Director
                Sarah Jorgenson, Minority Staff Director
                        climatecrisis.house.gov
                        
                            C O N T E N T S

                              ----------                              

                   STATEMENTS OF MEMBERS OF CONGRESS

                                                                   Page
Hon. Kathy Castor, a Representative in Congress from the State of 
  Florida, and Chair, Select Committee on the Climate Crisis:
    Opening Statement............................................     1
    Prepared Statement...........................................     3
Hon. Garret Graves, a Representative in Congress from the State 
  of Louisiana, and Ranking Member, Select Committee on the 
  Climate Crisis:
    Opening Statement............................................     4

                               WITNESSES

The Honorable Dr. Richard W. Spinrad, Under Secretary of Commerce 
  for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator, National 
  Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
    Oral Statement...............................................     6
    Prepared Statement...........................................     8
The Honorable Monica Medina, Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau 
  of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific 
  Affairs, U.S. Department of State
    Oral Statement...............................................    15
    Prepared Statement...........................................    17

                       SUBMISSIONS FOR THE RECORD

Report from the National Energy Technology Laboratory, ``Life 
  Cycle Greenhouse Gas Perspective on Exporting Liquefied Natural 
  Gas from the United States: 2019 Update,'' submitted for the 
  record by Mr. Graves...........................................    39
Table from the U.S. Energy Information Association's 
  International Energy Outlook 2021, ``Table A6. World natural 
  gas consumption by region, Reference case,'' submitted for the 
  record by Mr. Graves...........................................    40
Table from the U.S. Energy Information Association's 
  International Energy Outlook 2021, ``Table A6. World natural 
  gas consumption by region, High Economic Growth case,'' 
  submitted for the record by Mr. Graves.........................    40
A letter to President Biden from 118 organizations and businesses 
  supporting the development of an U.S. Ocean-Climate Action 
  Plan, dated October 15, 2021, submitted for the record by Ms. 
  Castor.........................................................    46

                                APPENDIX

Questions for the Record from Hon. Kathy Castor to Hon. Dr. 
  Richard Spinrad................................................    47
Questions for the Record from Hon. Kathy Castor to Hon. Monica 
  Medina.........................................................    48


                       TURNING THE TIDE FOR OCEAN

                     CLIMATE ACTION: UNLEASHING THE

                  CLIMATE BENEFITS OF OUR BLUE PLANET

                              ----------                              


                         THURSDAY, JUNE 9, 2022

                          House of Representatives,
                    Select Committee on the Climate Crisis,
                                                    Washington, DC.
    The committee met, pursuant to call, at 9:04 a.m., in Room 
210, Cannon House Office Building, Hon. Kathy Castor 
[chairwoman of the committee] presiding.
    Present: Representatives Castor, Bonamici, Brownley, 
Huffman, Levin, Casten, Graves, Palmer, Carter, Miller, 
Crenshaw, and Gonzalez.
    Ms. Castor. And the committee will come to order.
    Good morning, everyone.
    Without objection, the Chair is authorized to declare a 
recess of the committee at any time.
    As a reminder, members participating in a hearing remotely 
should be visible on camera throughout the hearing. For members 
participating in person, masks are optional, as per the Office 
of the Attending Physician.
    As with in-person meetings, members are responsible for 
controlling their own microphones. Members can be muted by 
staff only to avoid inadvertent background noise.
    As a reminder, statements, documents, 
or motions must be submit- ted to the electronic repository, to 
[email protected].
    Finally, members or witnesses experiencing technical 
problems should inform committee staff immediately.
    Okay. Now that that is out of the way, good morning. 
Welcome to the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis hearing, 
Turning the Tide for Ocean Climate Action: Unleashing the 
Climate Benefits of Our Blue Planet.
    And before we get going, I want to acknowledge that there 
are students in the room, the SCUBAnauts--the SCUBAnauts 
International. As we'll hear about during the hearing, marine 
science and observations are the cornerstone of ensuring a 
safe, healthy, and sustainable planet and the ocean. These 
SCUBAnauts are ready--are already getting a start in becoming 
the next generation of scientists and policymakers and maybe 
even a future NOAA Administrator. So welcome to our SCUBAnauts 
today.
    And I will recognize myself for a 5-minute opening 
statement.
    Happy Ocean Month and Capitol Hill Ocean Week. As we 
celebrate the progress that we have made to sustainably manage 
our ocean, our coasts, our marine ecosystems. We must also look 
at additional policies and investments needed to conserve and 
restore them. And I am worried. We know climate change is 
impacting our ocean, leading to increases in water temperature, 
rising sea levels, acidification, deoxygenation, and changes in 
circulation. And the climate crisis is an ocean crisis, which 
means the oceans must be part of our national climate strategy, 
and we must invest in the ocean-based climate solutions.
    The ocean plays a critical role in our global climate. It 
helps regulate temperatures, it absorbs excess heat, it 
supports countless ecosystems. It also supports millions of 
jobs. We know this in Florida, in the Tampa Bay area, including 
over 500,000 jobs in Florida alone. But the ocean is stressed 
out. It has absorbed between 20 and 30 percent of all human-
caused carbon pollution since the 1980s. And it has absorbed 
more than 90 percent of excess heat since 1970.
    That is why it is crucial that we conserve seagrasses, 
mangroves, and other coastal habitats, which sequester more 
carbon per area than any terrestrial habitat. It is crucial 
that we protect our coral reefs, which can mitigate the impacts 
of intense hurricanes, rising sea levels, and storm surge in 
places like Florida. And it is crucial that we conserve open 
ocean and deep-sea ecosystems, which may also be able to 
sequester carbon according to emerging research.
    But we cannot stop there. Ocean climate action is also 
about harnessing offshore wind energy and emerging 
technologies, like wave and tidal power. These clean energy 
sources can help secure America's energy independence, while 
reducing our dependence on costly fossil fuels, and it can help 
us meet our climate targets.
    According to research by the High Level Panel for a 
Sustainable Ocean Economy, ocean-based climate solutions can 
help reduce heat-trapping pollution by nearly 4 billion tons 
per year by 2030, and 11 billion tons per year by 2050. That is 
more than the equivalent of shutting down every coal-fire power 
plant around the world.
    So as we unleash this potential, we must also be proactive 
about restoring and conserving our ocean areas. That means 
investing in low-cost, big-impact solutions, like safeguarding 
marine and coastal habitats through well-implemented marine 
protected areas.
    According to a recent study in Science, climate-fueled 
ocean warming could kill off one-third of all marine animals 
over the next 300 years. And according to a separate study, 
climate change could lead to 10 percent of fish species 
becoming extinct this century. These serious losses would harm 
coastal economies, and we are already seeing some of these 
impacts in Florida. Just last year, a record number of manatees 
died, many from starvation, as man-made pollution killed off 
much of the seagrass that manatees feed on. And in Tampa Bay, 
red tide killed more than 600 tons of marine life and fish last 
summer, leaving a rotten smell that took over parts of our 
coast.
    But the good news is that we can mitigate these harms. And 
when it comes to ocean climate action, the Biden-Harris 
administration has hit the ground running. President Biden made 
the ocean a central part of his early Executive Order on 
Climate, increasing American coordination with international 
partners, and pledging to protect at least 30 percent of our 
waters by 2030. He also tasked the Ocean Policy Committee with 
drafting a National Ocean Climate Action Plan. And he is 
committed to produce 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 
2030.
    We have also done our part in Congress. Through President 
Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we invested over $490 
million to restore ecosystems and prevent flood damage in 
coastal communities; another $150 million to better gather data 
along our coast, the Great Lakes, and the ocean; and $490 
million to improve NOAA's flood mapping, forecasting, and water 
modeling. Through our government funding legislation that we do 
every year, we also invested $33 million for NOAA's Coral Reef 
Program, and $16 million for its Ocean Acidification Program, 
as well as $21.5 million to address harmful algal blooms. 
Finally, the House did pass $6 billion in reconciliation 
investments for coastal and marine habitat restoration, and we 
urge our Senate colleagues to include those investments as they 
finalize the reconciliation legislation.
    So it is time to turn the tide for ocean climate action, 
and I look forward to today's discussion.
    I know my partner here, the Ranking Member, Representative 
Graves, agrees about the importance of our ocean resources, and 
I am happy to recognize him for 5 minutes.
    [The statement of Ms. Castor follows:]

                Opening Statement of Chair Kathy Castor

        Hearing on ``Turning the Tide for Ocean Climate Action: 
          Unleashing the Climate Benefits of Our Blue Planet''

                              June 9, 2022

                        As prepared for delivery

    Happy National Ocean Month and Capitol Hill Ocean Week. As we 
celebrate the progress we've made to sustainably manage our ocean, our 
coasts, and our marine ecosystems, we must also look at additional 
policies and investments needed to conserve and restore them. I'm 
worried. We know climate change is impacting our ocean, leading to 
increases in water temperature, rising sea levels, acidification, 
deoxygenation, and changes in circulation. The climate crisis is an 
ocean crisis. Which means the ocean must be part of our national 
climate strategy--and we must invest in ocean-based climate solutions.
    The ocean plays a crucial role in our global climate. It helps 
regulate temperatures, absorbs excess heat, and supports countless 
ecosystems. It also supports millions of jobs, including over 500,000 
jobs in Florida alone. But the ocean is stressed out. It has absorbed 
between 20 and 30% of all human-caused carbon pollution since the 
1980s. And it has absorbed more than 90% of excess heat since 1970. 
That's why it's crucial that we conserve sea grasses, mangroves, and 
other coastal habitats, which sequester more carbon per area than any 
terrestrial habitat. It's crucial that we protect our coral reefs, 
which can mitigate the impacts of intense hurricanes, rising sea 
levels, and storm surge in places like Florida. And it's crucial we 
conserve open ocean and deep-sea ecosystems, which may also be able to 
sequester carbon, according to emerging research.
    We cannot stop there. Ocean climate action is also about harnessing 
offshore wind energy and emerging technologies, like wave and tidal 
power. These clean energy sources can help secure America's energy 
independence, while reducing our dependence on costly fossil fuels. And 
they can help us meet our climate targets. According to research by the 
High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy, ocean-based climate 
solutions can help reduce heat-trapping pollution by nearly 4 billion 
tonnes per year by 2030--and 11 billion tonnes per year by 2050. That's 
more than the equivalent of shutting down every coal-fired power plant 
around the world.
    As we unleash this potential, we must be proactive about restoring 
and conserving our ocean areas. That means investing in low-cost, big-
impact solutions, like safeguarding marine and coastal habitats through 
well-implemented Marine Protected Areas. According to a recent study in 
Science, climate-fueled ocean warming could kill off one-third of all 
marine animals over the next 300 years. And according to a separate 
study, climate change could lead to 10% of fish species becoming 
extinct this century. These serious losses would harm coastal 
economies. And we're already seeing some of these impacts in Florida. 
Just last year, a record number of manatees died--many from 
starvation--as man-made pollution killed off much of the seagrass that 
manatees feed on. And in Tampa Bay, red tide killed more than 600 tons 
of marine life and fish last summer, leaving a rotten smell that took 
over parts of our coast.
    The good news is we can mitigate these harms. And when it comes to 
ocean climate action, the Biden-Harris Administration has hit the 
ground running. President Biden made the ocean a central part of his 
early executive order on climate, increasing American coordination with 
international partners and pledging to protect at least 30% of our 
waters by 2030. He also tasked the Ocean Policy Committee with drafting 
a national Ocean Climate Action Plan, and he's committed to produce 30 
Gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030.
    We've also done our part in Congress. Through President Biden's 
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we invested over $490 million to restore 
ecosystems and prevent flood damage in coastal communities; $150 
million to better gather data along our coasts, Great Lakes, and ocean; 
and $490 million to improve NOAA's flood mapping, forecasting, and 
water modeling. Through our government funding legislation, we also 
invested $33 million for NOAA's Coral Reef Program and $16 million for 
its Ocean Acidification Program, as well as $21.5 million to address 
harmful algal blooms. Finally, the House passed $6 billion in 
reconciliation investments for coastal and marine habitat restoration, 
and we urge our Senate colleagues to include those investments as they 
finalize their reconciliation legislation.
    It's time to turn the tide for ocean climate action. I look forward 
to today's discussion.

    Mr. Graves. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thanks for being here 
today and hosting the hearing.
    And I want to thank y'all for being here. And let me 
explain why. This issue on climate has been this issue that has 
just been really political and really volatile now for a number 
of years. And the thing is, is that if we don't get it right, 
you are going to be the ones that inherit the problems, right? 
You are. You are going to be the ones that deal with our 
irresponsible actions, our politicizing something that should 
just be fact and science-based. And so we have got to get it 
right.
    And what is especially concerning is the area that I 
represent, South Louisiana. We have one of the--some of the 
fastest subsidence rates in the world--or sinking rates in the 
world. We have some of the most gradual slopes. And so every 
inch of relative sea rise causes a pretty extraordinary impact. 
And just to put things in perspective--and I know Secretary 
Medina knows this well--we have lost about 2,000 square miles 
of our coast. That is like taking the State of Rhode Island and 
just wiping it off the map entirely.
    But what has happened with this issue is it has just become 
this big political thing. We have people out there saying all 
these things that are completely untrue, that are causing 
people to create false narratives and then act on them. And so 
let me give you a few examples.
    So, number one, you have people out there that are touting 
things like Paris Climate Accords and saying that these things 
are going to end up being the saving grace. Well, I will give 
you a little factoid. Under Paris Climate Accords, emissions 
for the globe are actually going to go up, not down. They are 
going to go up.
    And, specifically, I want to call out one country, and I 
know Secretary Medina is going to talk about this, but China. 
The country of China right now, if I remember this right, they 
are emitting more than the United States, European Union, South 
Korea, and Japan, I think, combined. And under their commitment 
to the Paris Accords, they get to increase another 50 percent 
between now and 2030. Fifty percent.
    So think for just a minute, in the United States, we can be 
leading the world. We can be leading the world in reducing 
emissions, in reducing emissions, but the reality is the 
environment is agnostic as to which country--which country 
reduces emissions the most. It happens--what matters is whether 
we have a net downward trajectory. And the reality is that for 
every 1 ton of emissions the U.S. has reduced, China has 
actually gone up by 4. For every 1 ton we have reduced, China 
has increased by 4.
    If we are going to extract any lessons learned from what 
has happened with Russia's aggression in the Ukraine, it needs 
to be the fact that you have leaders like Vladimir Putin, and 
Xi in China, and Kim in North Korea, and Iran, and leaders 
around the world, they don't care about international norms. 
They don't care about standards or rules. They don't care. They 
are going to do whatever they want. And they are never going to 
do things that undermine their economic best interest. They are 
not.
    And so for us to go out and pursue it--as the Chair 
mentioned--costly fossil fuels. Well, you know, I remind you, 
gasoline prices have gone up over a hundred percent over the 
past year and a half. Natural gas prices have gone up over 300 
percent over the last year and a half. The Biden administration 
has made it very clear that we are going to have an increased 
demand for fossil fuels. We are going to have an increased 
demand for natural gas. We are going to have an increased 
demand for gasoline, for oil.
    The Chair is exactly right, we are going to need absolutely 
every energy source, the ones that she has mentioned. We are 
going to need solar and wind, we are going to need wave and 
geothermal, we are going to hydro, we are going to need 
nuclear. We are going to need all of it. Because according to 
the Biden administration, there is going to be a 50 percent 
increase in global energy demand. Fifty percent. And so we are 
going to need every energy source we can.
    The Biden administration has also said that developing 
countries are going to need up to an 80 percent increase in 
natural gas. So if we are going--the globe is, the globe, 
developing countries. So if we need an 80 percent increase in 
natural gas, why in the world would we not get it from the 
place that has it the cleanest, the cleanest in the world? You 
know what that is? That is the United States. In fact, it is in 
our offshore.
    So we can continue going down these pathways that make no 
sense, that aren't based in science, that aren't based in data, 
that continue the trajectory of this administration, that is 
actually seeing emissions go up, not down. I will tell you a 
secret. Under the previous administration, emissions went down 
2.5 percent a year. Under this administration, they have gone 
up 6.3 percent in 1 year. Okay? So we can deal with facts or we 
can create false narratives and then pursue solutions based on 
things that are completely untrue. And if we continue doing 
that, guess whose problem it becomes? Yours.
    So I am looking forward to this panel today. My daughter 
and I went fishing in the Gulf of Mexico this weekend. She 
nailed an 18-pound red snapper, a 30--well, almost 30-pound gag 
grouper, a good lane snapper. I mean, she was nailing them. We 
love fishing. We love the Gulf of Mexico and those resources. 
We must protect them, but we have got to make sure that we are 
using rational science.
    And I want to thank this committee's first government 
witnesses ever for coming since our existence. We appreciate 
you being here.
    Ms. Castor. Okay. Now, I want to welcome our witnesses. 
Today we will hear from two Biden administration officials on 
the importance of ocean-based solutions in addressing the 
climate crisis. And they are not the first government witnesses 
to appear here, just to make sure the record is clear on that.
    Dr. Richard Spinrad is the Under Secretary of Commerce for 
Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator. Dr. Spinrad is 
responsible for the strategic direction and oversight of NOAA, 
including its mission to understand and predict changes in 
climate, weather, ocean, and coast, as well as helping conserve 
and manage coastal and marine ecosystems and resources. He 
previously served as NOAA's Chief Scientist under President 
Obama, and led NOAA's Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Research and the National Ocean Service. Welcome.
    And Ms. Monica Medina is the Assistant Secretary of State 
for Oceans and International Environment and Scientific 
Affairs. Assistant Secretary Medina and her team provide 
leadership to conserve and protect the global environment and 
the ocean. Prior to this role, Assistant Secretary Medina was 
an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University's School of 
Foreign Service, a former Principal Deputy Under Secretary of 
Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and General Counsel of NOAA, 
and a Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense. Welcome.
    We are so excited to have you both here. And, without 
objection, the witnesses' opening statements will be made part 
of the record.
    With that, Dr. Spinrad, you are recognized for 5 minutes to 
provide your testimony.

   STATEMENTS OF THE HONORABLE DR. RICHARD W. SPINRAD, UNDER 
   SECRETARY OF COMMERCE FOR OCEANS AND ATMOSPHERE AND NOAA 
ADMINISTRATOR, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION; 
AND THE HONORABLE MONICA MEDINA, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE, 
BUREAU OF OCEANS AND INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL AND SCIENTIFIC 
               AFFAIRS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

       STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE DR. RICHARD W. SPINRAD

    Dr. Spinrad. Thank you, Chair Castor, Ranking Member 
Graves, members of the Select Committee. I really appreciate 
the opportunity to testify on NOAA's work to turn the tide for 
ocean climate action. And I am pleased to join you during 
National Ocean Month and Capitol Hill Ocean Week, a time when 
we all join together to focus on the importance of our oceans 
and Great Lakes, and the communities that rely on them, 
something that we at NOAA do every day.
    I am also excited to be teaming up again with my former 
NOAA colleague, Assistant Secretary of State, Monica Medina, on 
these critical issues. Now more than ever, it is crucial that 
we are united in confronting these challenges on both the 
domestic and the global fronts.
    The oceans play a fundamental role in supporting life on 
our planet, effecting everything from the air we breathe and 
the food we eat, to weather and climate patterns. Our well-
being is intrinsically linked to the health of the oceans. 
NOAA's mission to support healthy oceans requires observations, 
research, modeling, prediction, and science-based stewardship 
of ocean resources.
    As the Federal authoritative source on climate information, 
NOAA is working to build a climate-ready nation by 2030. This 
means a nation that loses fewer lives and incurs less damage 
when extreme weather strikes. Using NOAA's data, products, and 
services, our nation will improve its collective understanding 
of climate change, both to mitigate its impacts and help ensure 
we are resilient in the face of the climate threats we cannot 
avoid. With our stakeholders, other Federal agencies, the 
private sector, philanthropy, academia, and the international 
community, we are focusing on actions on addressing the climate 
risks of extreme heat, drought, fire, flooding, sea level rise, 
and other extreme events, all serious realities that you and 
your constituents experience every day.
    NOAA is here to help. Through the Department of Commerce's 
Climate Action Plan, the departmental order on addressing the 
climate crisis, and NOAA's own Climate Council, we are working 
diligently to address these concerns and integrate them into 
planning and policies to instill meaningful change.
    But we are not just providing data to scientists and 
industry. To truly prepare our nation to be climate ready, we 
know that it is critical to engage early, often, and 
meaningfully with the rural, Tribal, marginalized, and 
historically underserved and vulnerable communities that need 
the most help to build resilience against climate change.
    To expand our reach, NOAA is forging partnerships with 
entities like the American Medical Association, the American 
Bar Association, the National Association of Realtors. We are 
engaging through our Climate and Equity Roundtables, as well as 
our private sector climate listening sessions, to make sure we 
are meeting the needs and the codeveloping smart, sustainable 
principals for the public-private partnerships necessary to 
deliver climate services.
    We are working in all of the United States, including with 
Native communities, to provide them with the products and 
services that they need. We want to ensure all decision makers 
are empowered to take action and make science-based decisions 
in the face of climate change. NOAA is actively working to 
remove barriers and expand equitable access to our tools, 
resources, and services to those on the front lines. We are 
funding climate and equity pilot projects, codeveloped with 
communities based on feedback received during these 
roundtables.
    The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law--thank you--provides NOAA 
with nearly $3 billion, two-thirds of which is focused on 
coastal resilience and habitat restoration. And NOAA's Fiscal 
Year 2023 President's budget request includes nearly $200 
million in new climate research, tools, and services.
    There is a significant increase in demand for climate 
services across all regions and sectors, and these investments 
will not only help expand and improve NOAA's service delivery 
to build a climate-ready nation, but also prove and provide new 
and long-lasting economic opportunities to all communities.
    As NOAA works to address the impacts of climate change, we 
are also leading the administration priorities to map 30 
percent of our coasts and oceans, protect 30 percent of our 
land and water, and deploy 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by 
2030.
    NOAA has a memorandum of understanding with the Bureau of 
Ocean Energy Management, which will prepare us to reach our 
offshore wind goals and minimize the impacts on ecosystems. We 
are also expanding our network of marine and estuarine 
protected areas, enhancing our resilience, sequestering carbon, 
and protecting biodiversity.
    In May, NOAA's Mauna Loa Atmospheric Baseline Observatory 
recorded carbon dioxide levels not seen on this planet for over 
4 million years. The last time CO2 levels were this 
high, sea levels were high enough to drown most of the world's 
modern, major cities.
    The time to act on climate change is now, and NOAA will 
continue to lead the way in understanding and taking action to 
address the climate crisis and build a climate-ready nation. We 
look forward to continuing to work alongside our Federal 
partners, including the Department of State, to do so.
    Thank you for the opportunity to testify today, and I do 
look forward to your questions. Thank you.
    [The statement of Dr. Spinrad follows:]

                Written Testimony of Dr. Richard Spinrad

       Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and 
     National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Administrator

        Hearing on ``Turning the Tide for Ocean Climate Action: 
          Unleashing the Climate Benefits of Our Blue Planet''

        Before the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis

                              June 9, 2022

INTRODUCTION

    Chairwoman Castor, Ranking Member Graves, and Members of the Select 
Committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today regarding the 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) work on our 
ocean and climate. I am pleased to join you during National Ocean Month 
and Capitol Hill Ocean Week; a time when Congress focuses on the 
importance of our ocean and Great Lakes 
and discusses how we can protect them and the communities that rely on 
them--something we at NOAA do every day.
    The Department of Commerce's Climate Action Plan \1\ and Department 
Administrative Order 216-22 \2\ aim to incorporate climate 
considerations into Department policies and planning and to foster and 
enhance the resilience of vulnerable communities against the key 
climate risks of extreme heat, drought, wildfires, flooding, coastal 
inundation and impacts to fisheries. At NOAA, we seek to build a 
climate ready nation, with the goal of a thriving nation whose 
prosperity, health, safety, and continued growth benefit from and 
depend upon a shared understanding of, and collective action to reduce, 
the impacts of climate change. NOAA received almost $3 billion in 
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funding that will support the 
ocean, climate, and communities. This funding will restore coastal 
habitats and ecological features that protect coastal communities from 
flooding and coastal storms and work towards infrastructure that is 
climate smart, climate ready, and climate resilient.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ https://www.sustainability.gov/pdfs/doc-2021-cap.pdf
    \2\ https://www.commerce.gov/news/press-releases/2022/04/secretary-
raimondo-establishes-commerce-climate-council-directs

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OCEAN AND CLIMATE

    The ocean plays a critical role in supporting life on our planet, 
affecting everything from the air we breathe and the food we eat, to 
weather and climate patterns. Our well-being is tied to the health of 
the ocean, and supporting a healthy ocean is a key part of NOAA's 
mission that requires observations, data processing, research, advanced 
modeling, analysis, prediction, assessments, and science-based 
stewardship of ocean resources. Ocean health is essential for the 
safety and economic well-being of our Nation. NOAA works closely with 
other federal agencies in exploring, mapping, and understanding our 
ocean and its relationship to the atmosphere and climate as well as 
managing its living marine resources that help sustain the many people, 
businesses, and communities that depend on them.
    The Earth is an ocean planet, and every sector of society is 
affected by the ocean, either directly or indirectly. Coastal and 
global ocean observations and associated research are foundational to 
characterizing ocean and environmental changes over time. These efforts 
are key to improvements in weather, climate, marine, and ocean 
forecasts, especially for high impact events such as hurricanes, 
floods, terrestrial and marine heat waves, drought, and El Nino, as 
well as sea level rise, ocean acidification, and ocean oxygen loss.
    Climate change is impacting our ocean in myriad ways. The complex 
interactions between greenhouse gas emissions and changes in ocean 
storage of heat and carbon dictate climate impacts, such as melting of 
sea ice, ocean deoxygenation, ocean acidification, sea level rise, 
coastal flooding, and changes in the distribution and abundance of 
marine organisms. We are already seeing these impacts: fifteen of the 
lowest minimum extents of sea ice in the Arctic have occurred in the 
last 15 years \3\ and we are losing approximately 350,000 km\2\ of sea 
ice per decade.\4\
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    \3\ Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and 
Abroad https://
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www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/27/
executive-order-on-tackling-the-climate-crisis-at-home-and-abroad/
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    \4\ https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/snow-and-ice/extent/
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    These climate impacts threaten the numerous valuable ecosystem 
services provided by the ocean, such as absorbing carbon and heat from 
the atmosphere and mitigating some of the damaging effects of climate 
change. In total, more than 90% \5\ of the excess heat in the Earth's 
system caused by human-induced accumulation of greenhouse gasses in our 
atmosphere is stored in the ocean. If that heat was converted into 
energy, it would be equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane occurring 
every second for 30 years. Even one of the least understood 
environments on the planet, the layer of cold ocean water where 
sunlight doesn't reach, known as the twilight zone, provides critical 
ecosystem services, by supporting ocean food webs and commercial 
fisheries. The deep ocean zone also plays an important role in storing 
carbon in its sediments.
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    \5\ https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/
climate-change-ocean-heat-content
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Ocean Observations Inform Decision Making
    The ocean and coasts compose 80 percent of the Earth's surface, and 
NOAA's geostationary and polar-orbiting satellites are constantly 
observing and taking measurements in this vast area, providing daily 
global measurements of ocean color and sea surface temperature. In 
addition, NOAA uses data from NASA, USGS, and international partners to 
support many of our ocean and coastal applications. These data are 
available in near real-time to users through the National Centers on 
Environmental Information (NCEI), NOAA CoastWatch, and the U.S. 
Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS).
    NOAA's ocean observation enterprise collects data on past and 
present conditions of ocean ecosystems, from ocean temperature and 
other physical parameters to biological conditions like the 
distribution and abundance of living marine resources. This information 
provides the foundation for understanding and predicting future 
changes. The United States, guided by NOAA, leads the world in 
observing our ocean, accounting for over half of the observations of 
the global ocean that exists today.
    These ocean observations contribute to a number of the goals laid 
out in the Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and 
Abroad.\6\ Our global and coastal weather and climate prediction, 
combined with measurements of the marine environment from NOAA's fleet 
of ships and aircraft, ground observations, and satellites, enables 
informed decision making across a wide range of stakeholders, including 
resource managers and policy makers. As our ocean observations improve 
and expand, so do the opportunities to ensure safety, enhance commerce, 
sustain fisheries, generate renewable energy such as efficiently 
harnessing offshore wind, wave and tide and current energy, and 
understand our changing climate.
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    \6\ https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/34474
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    NOAA is working to collect and provide partners with finer-scale 
data on ocean and coastal regions that is critical to predicting the 
frequency, severity, and location of environmental changes, such as 
marine heat waves and sea level rise. We are also improving simulations 
of ocean interactions with the atmosphere, land, and ice to advance 
short term forecasts and subseasonal, seasonal, and decadal predictions 
and assessments. By advancing both short and longer term projections of 
ocean conditions, we will be able to provide living marine resource 
managers and stakeholders with early warnings and the best management 
strategies for resilience and adaptation to changing ocean conditions. 
Additionally, as we obtain improved representation of ocean topography 
and the ocean's interactions with the earth system, we can improve 
simulation of ocean circulation and thus anticipate future rates of 
heat and carbon uptake. Finally, we are advancing our ecological 
forecasts in order to provide earlier warnings of events such as coral 
bleaching and harmful algal blooms, which can wreak havoc on coastal 
systems, human health, and regional economies.
Changing Ocean
    Ocean warming is causing ocean deoxygenation and leading to changes 
in the distributions of marine organisms. In addition to altering 
organisms' distribution, low oxygen events can disrupt habitat support 
functions, impair living shoreline protections such as oyster reefs, 
and undermine nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration, recreational 
fishing activities and more.\7\ NOAA's National Centers for Coastal 
Ocean Science (NCCOS) has funded the research and development of 
hypoxia (low oxygen area) forecasts in the Gulf of Mexico since 1990 
and in the Chesapeake Bay since 2005. This information provides 
important information to interagency management bodies like the 
Chesapeake Bay Program and the Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico 
Watershed Nutrient Task Force.
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    \7\ https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2595
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    As carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere increase, so too does 
the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by the ocean. The ocean absorbs 
about 25% of global carbon dioxide emissions. This absorption leads to 
significant changes in seawater chemistry, leading to ocean 
acidification. This is a threat to food security, economies, and 
culture because of its effects on a broad range of marine life 
including protected species of corals, harvestable species like crabs 
and sea scallop, and mussels, and oysters that are cultivated in 
aquaculture systems. The NOAA-supported Regional Coastal Acidification 
Networks provide an open forum for the review of the latest science on 
ocean acidification and its biological, economic, and cultural effects 
with a focus on identifying knowledge gaps. These networks are building 
stronger connections between scientists, decision makers, fishermen, 
Tribes, and other stakeholders to identify regional priorities and 
information needs for ocean acidification.
    Ocean acidification may also promote growth of toxic phytoplankton 
species that form harmful algal blooms (HABs) and increase the amount 
of toxins in surface waters. HABs can produce toxins or cause other 
harmful effects that damage ecosystems, disrupt our seafood supply, 
impact economies, and threaten human health. Marine and fresh waters of 
the United States are increasingly impacted by HABs with blooms 
reported in every state, leading to annual economic losses of millions 
of dollars.\8\ NOAA is researching HABs and the impact of ocean 
acidification along our coasts, including in the Great Lakes and 
Alaska, and is now providing short (once or twice weekly) and longer-
term, seasonal forecasts for these events so health officials, 
environmental managers, water treatment facility operators, and seafood 
and tourism industries can proactively prepare.
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    \8\ Sanseverino, Isabella, et al. ``Algal bloom and its economic 
impact.'' European Commission, Joint Research Centre Institute for 
Environment and Sustainability (2016).
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    Three of NOAA's programs--Sea Grant, NCCOS, and the National 
Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) through 
the NOAA Coast Watch Program--have partnered to create a HAB Liaison 
position to work with federal partners and communities to better serve 
decision-makers through the development of new data-driven 
communication tools. The NCCOS and IOOS also support the HAB Observing 
Network. Finally, we are one of three co-chairs of the Interagency 
Working Group on Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research Control Act, 
in which we work across 17 Federal agencies and with stakeholders to 
develop action plans and assess HAB events. Investments in HABs 
research represents a coordinated effort across NOAA and the federal 
government to advance our nation's ability to observe, monitor, 
forecast, and manage blooms that are being exacerbated by climate 
change.
Ocean and the Economy
    Changing ocean conditions are affecting Americans whose livelihoods 
depend on the sea, such as fishermen. Marine fisheries and seafood 
industries supported more than $255 billion in economic activity and 
1.8 million jobs in 2019.\9\ Environmental changes are creating 
significant challenges for fishing industries and coastal businesses by 
influencing the location of fish stocks, the productivity of fish 
stocks, and the fishing industry's interactions with bycatch, protected 
species, and other ocean users. To reduce impacts, increase resilience, 
and take advantage of new opportunities, NOAA Fisheries is improving 
science, and implementing adaptable management approaches. For example, 
scientists from across NOAA are working together to improve ocean 
forecasts and projections relevant to marine fisheries management. 
NOAA's Climate Ecosystems and Fisheries Initiative (CEFI) is a cross-
NOAA effort to build the end-to-end operational modeling and decision 
support system needed to help living marine resource managers, 
stakeholders, and resource-dependent communities identify best 
strategies for resilience and adaptation to changing marine ecosystems. 
NOAA's FY 23 budget request includes $20 million to begin building the 
CEFI system. In partnership with the Regional Fishery Management 
Councils, Fishery Commissions, states, Tribes, academia and others, we 
are taking steps to help fisheries prepare for and respond to changing 
climate and ocean conditions.
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    \9\ National Marine Fisheries Service. 2022. Fisheries Economics of 
the United States, 2019. U.S. Dept. of Commerce, NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-
F/SPO-229, 236 p.
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https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/resource/document/fisheries-economics-
united-states-report-2019
    Ocean-related segments of the U.S. economy--the blue economy--were 
worth nearly $373 billion GDP in 2018.\10\ Our ocean is now 
experiencing a rise in economic importance, which has strategic 
implications. A strong blue economy depends on healthy ocean, coastal, 
and Great Lakes resources. The science and management to conserve and 
sustainably use these resources is at the heart of NOAA's mission.
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    \10\ https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/annualreport/2020/ocm.html#gdp,
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https://coast.noaa.gov/data/digitalcoast/pdf/econ-report.pdf
    As Administrator, supporting sustainable economic development by 
advancing the New Blue Economy is one of my main priorities. The New 
Blue Economy leverages data, information, and knowledge about our ocean 
to address societal needs and create economic innovation and 
opportunities. The New Blue Economy is an economy founded on emerging 
capabilities for acquiring data and developing information and 
knowledge that supports economic growth. NOAA is helping our Nation 
respond to changing conditions with a New Blue Economy fueled by ocean 
information and American ingenuity, while protecting ocean and human 
health and ensuring social equity. This economy has the potential to 
create new jobs, foster innovation, and help to fight the climate 
crisis by spurring sustainable economic growth that is informed by the 
best-available climate and ocean data.
    To help build out the New Blue Economy, we aim to increase funding 
for coastal mapping and improve our understanding of the impacts a 
changing climate has on our ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources. 
Today, there is a need and desire to observe and understand our ocean 
for near-term benefit, but we must also take actions that will preserve 
this resource for future generations.
OCEAN AND CLIMATE SOLUTIONS
    Though we have been researching the ocean for hundreds of years, we 
have only recently come to understand its role in maintaining planetary 
stability. As the climate changes, the ocean is also changing and 
warming. According to a recent study by NOAA researchers, the 
likelihood of a hurricane developing into a Category 3 hurricane or 
stronger, with sustained winds greater than 110 miles an hour, is 
increasing by about 8 percent per decade.\11\ At NOAA, we are working 
to provide the information needed to prepare for, respond to, and 
recover from extreme events and generate lasting solutions to society's 
needs, while sustaining and promoting the services the ocean provides.
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    \11\ https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1920849117
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    The ocean connects us, feeds us, sustains us, and offers solutions 
to climate change. These solutions include renewable ocean energy, 
carbon-neutral shipping, and blue carbon ecosystems like mangroves, 
salt marshes, and seagrass beds. There is a growing interest in 
understanding how ocean solutions can help facilitate the removal and 
sequestration of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and there's 
increasing demand for NOAA and its federal partners to verify the 
approaches being proposed by private industry.\12\ Tackling the climate 
crisis is one of my three main priorities as Administrator, and we must 
take action now to accomplish it. NOAA, with its observations, 
products, services, Tribal consultation, stakeholder engagement, and 
stewardship responsibilities, is working to help decision makers at 
every level build resilience to climate change.
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    \12\ https://nap.nationalacademies.org/read/26278/chapter/1
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Offshore Wind
    NOAA is working closely with other Federal agencies including the 
Department of Energy to mitigate climate change and achieve the 
Administration's goal to deploy 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 
2030, while protecting biodiversity and promoting co-ocean use. NOAA 
advances the Administration's wind energy priorities through science, 
modeling, and products that inform decisions for offshore wind energy 
planning and development. NOAA Fisheries also works with the Bureau of 
Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and offshore wind developers to minimize 
the negative impacts of offshore wind projects on endangered or 
threatened species, marine mammals, fisheries, marine habitats, fishing 
communities, and NOAA's scientific enterprise.
    As the demand for offshore wind grows, so does NOAA Fisheries' 
associated regulatory workload, demand for data and marine planning, 
and the need for scientific surveys and monitoring to understand 
impacts to trust resources and U.S. fisheries. We are looking to 
increase capacity and continue to build expertise to keep pace with the 
growth of offshore wind development off our coasts. The NOAA 2023 
Budget includes an increase of $45 million to support our increasing 
work in this area.
Enhancing Ocean Science for Solutions
    At NOAA, we are collecting data 24/7 from a robust network of 
weather radars, satellites, fixed and drifting buoys, aircraft, ships, 
and uncrewed systems. Our National Centers for Environmental 
Information hosts the authoritative archives of climate and historical 
weather data and information. NOAA also makes ocean and coastal 
specific space-based data available through the NOAA CoastWatch and the 
nation-wide IOOS system. We conduct research, create products, tools, 
and educational resources, and we disseminate forecasts, warnings, 
climate predictions and projections, and maps. We know that all of this 
must be continuously informed, updated, and improved upon to understand 
and predict our ocean and climate, forecast the weather, and inform the 
public.
    We are investing in our observations and modeling capabilities, in 
the translation of data and knowledge into actionable information for 
decision-makers, and in the New Blue Economy. Our FY 2023 budget 
request includes investments to improve climate-related ocean and 
coastal observations and to deliver user-informed data, tools, and 
services to local communities--including Tribes and underserved 
communities in line with the Administration's Justice 40 initiative--to 
help them better prepare for and respond to the impacts of climate 
change. Additionally, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act 
(IIJA), signed by President Biden on November 15, 2021, provides a 
$2.96 billion dollar investment for NOAA over the next 5 years. NOAA 
will use these new resources to work towards infrastructure that is 
climate smart, climate ready, and climate resilient to prepare 
communities for the on the ground impacts of increasingly intense 
precipitation, hurricanes, flooding, drought, extreme heat, and fire 
weather events. IIJA funds will be used to recapitalize and modernize 
the global ocean and Great Lakes observing system assets and improve 
quality products, services, and capabilities at NOAA, Department of 
Defense, and forecast centers around the world.
    We are advancing our regional ocean and Earth System models to 
deliver robust forecasts and projections of acute and chronic ocean 
conditions over varied spatial and temporal scales to ensure climate-
ready management of living resources, and enhance both climate and 
weather predictions. NOAA's FY 2023 budget request includes $20 million 
for the CEFI program, which will build the end-to-end operational 
modeling and decision support system needed to help decision-makers 
identify best strategies for resilience and adaptation to changing 
marine ecosystems. A great example of our work in this sphere can be 
seen in the NOAA co-led production of an interagency Sea Level Rise 
Technical Report with projections through 2150 for all U.S. coastal 
waters. The findings were unequivocal: sea level along the U.S. 
coastline is projected to rise, on average, 10-12 inches in the next 30 
years (2020-2050). Sea level rise will create a profound shift in 
coastal flooding over the next 30 years by causing tide and storm surge 
heights to increase and reach further inland. There will be more 
damaging coastal flooding that will reach further inland. Whether or 
not we curb emissions now and into the future will have a major impact 
on the rate of sea level rise that occurs.
    Over 127 million people in the United States live in coastal 
counties,\13\ which face a number of threats spanning from increasing 
storm intensity to coastal inundation and sea level rise. These growing 
coastal risks threaten aging infrastructure, disrupt food and water 
supplies, and make it difficult to plan for natural disaster response 
and recovery. There is an increasing need for accessible and 
geographically comprehensive ocean data and information for decision-
making in these rapidly changing communities. We are investing in 
environmental literacy programs and working with communities on 
resilience. We have supported the creation of tools such as the Office 
of Coastal Management's Sea Level Rise Viewer, the Homeowner's 
Handbooks and the Resilience Indices promulgated by several Sea Grant 
programs, and the National Integrated Drought Information System's 
Drought Early Warning System products.
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    \13\ Economics and Demographics https://coast.noaa.gov/states/fast-
facts/economics-and-
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demographics.html#::text=Coastal%20counties%20of%20the%20U.S.,land%20ma
ss%20
(excluding%20Alaska).
    Not all communities are experiencing these hazards in the same way. 
Communities of color, already under strain due to legacy and current 
environmental injustices as well as impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, 
are disproportionately impacted by climate change.\14\ As 
Administrator, one of my main priorities is improving equity and 
environmental justice in our service delivery, and to that end, we are 
improving and creating new tools that address the need to mitigate the 
compounded threats presented by climate change and injustice. During 
the first year of this Administration, we held a series of Climate and 
Equity Roundtables across the country with the goal of understanding 
what communities need from NOAA to build resilience to climate hazards 
they face. For example, NOAA's Climate Program Office and the National 
Integrated Heat Health Information System (NIHHIS) are working together 
with CAPA Strategies LLC to provide science support for citizen 
science, community based campaigns to map the hottest parts of 
communities through the NIHHIS-CAPA Urban Heat Island Mapping Campaign 
program. The 2022 campaign will map heat inequities of 14 communities 
across the country this summer, and two international cities. We are 
now funding Climate and Equity pilot projects, co-developed with these 
communities, in response to the feedback received during the 
Roundtables. This is one example of NOAA's work on the Justice 40 
initiative, increasing equity in our services and working directly with 
the most underserved communities to understand and co-create responses 
to needs that they identify.
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    \14\ United Nations COVID-19 Response https://www.un.org/en/un-
coronavirus-communications-team/un-working-ensure-vulnerable-groups-
not-left-behind-covid-19
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    In January 2022, NOAA also participated in interagency Tribal 
consultations on subsistence fishing in Alaska. Subsistence fishing is 
an important way of life in Alaska and we look forward to continuing 
our conversation with Alaska Native leaders and finding new ways to 
partner with and address climate change impacts on the Alaska Yukon-
Kuskokwim region.
Blue Carbon and Nature-Based Solutions
    To counter the threat of climate change, we are also investing in 
understanding, protecting, and restoring coastal blue carbon ecosystems 
such as seagrasses, mangroves, and salt marshes. These ecosystems offer 
multiple co-benefits for adaptation, mitigation, and ecosystem services 
such as providing fish habitat and supporting recreational and 
commercial fisheries. Coastal blue carbon habitats have been shown to 
sequester up to ten times as much carbon per equivalent area as 
tropical forests,\15\ making them some of the most efficient natural 
carbon sinks in the world. However, they cover a relatively small 
portion (<1%) of the Earth's surface. In the United States, it is 
estimated that coastal blue carbon habitats sequester a net quantity of 
4.8 million metric tons (MMT) of carbon dioxide annually, which 
represents less than 0.1% of the total annual U.S. carbon dioxide 
emissions of 5,000 MMT/year.\16\ Some countries already include blue 
carbon ecosystems in their Nationally Determined Contributions as 
mitigation and/or adaptation measures, offering the potential for a 
common language and a suite of approaches to international monitoring 
and evaluation of methods. For countries with large areas of blue 
carbon habitat, such as the U.S., conservation and restoration can 
offer an efficient means to offset greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and 
provide a pathway for climate finance.
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    \15\ Mcleod, Elizabeth, et al. ``A Blueprint for Blue Carbon: 
Toward an Improved Understanding of the Role of Vegetated Coastal 
Habitats in Sequestering CO2.'' Frontiers in Ecology and the 
Environment, vol. 9, no. 10, 2011, pp. 552-560., https://doi.org/
10.1890/110004.
    \16\ U.S. EPA's Inventory of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 
1990-2019 (Chapter 6 Land Use, Land-Use Change, and Forestry).
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    The Biden-Harris Administration's Conserving and Restoring America 
the Beautiful report outlines specific goals and principles to address 
climate change, the disappearance of nature (both natural areas and 
biodiversity), and inequitable access to the outdoors. One specific 
recommendation in the report is to expand the National Marine Sanctuary 
System and the National Estuarine Research Reserve System as a valuable 
existing tool to meet those goals. These protected areas provide a 
long-term legal and management framework for conservation and 
restoration of blue carbon habitats, as well as serve as focal points 
for research, education, and community engagement. In addition to 
expanding the systems and their funding, we are working with our 
partners to pioneer methods for quantifying coastal blue carbon within 
the network of coastal sites. Our actions aim to ensure that carbon 
will continue to be sequestered and stored carbon will not be released 
by trawling, mining, or oil and gas extraction.
    We also support the integration of coastal wetlands data in our 
national Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks, produced 
by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and provide technical 
support for individual states that are actively working to include blue 
carbon ecosystems within their own greenhouse gas inventories. This 
experience has positioned NOAA to share this foundational information 
nationally and internationally through capacity building activities, 
including a recently established partnership between NOAA and the U.S. 
Department of State. Through this new Blue Carbon Inventory (BCI) 
Project, NOAA is working with partners to provide technical guidance to 
countries as they strive to include coastal wetlands in their own 
greenhouse gas inventories and reflect the value of these ecosystems in 
their coastal planning and management. Through these partnerships, NOAA 
is helping to enhance the sustainable management of coastal habits, and 
the realization of their multiple benefits for adaptation, mitigation, 
and ecosystem services. We are also investigating the efficacy and 
tradeoffs of carbon dioxide removal technologies and how NOAA's 
mission, products, and services can help catalyze the work of our 
federal, nonprofit, and private partners already underway.
    We are funding nature-based and climate adaptive infrastructure 
projects, such as our floating pier in Alaska, that provide resilience 
for communities, as well as numerous ancillary co-benefits. In 2022, 
IIJA provides $200 million for NOAA coastal grant programs, including 
to restore coastal habitats and ecological features that protect 
coastal communities from flooding and coastal storms as well as assess 
and remove marine debris.
    NOAA is playing a critical role in the development of a report to 
the National Climate Task Force identifying key opportunities for 
greater deployment of nature-based solutions across the federal 
government, including through potential policy, guidance, and program 
changes as outlined in President Biden's Executive Order on 
Strengthening the Nation's Forests, Communities, and Local Economies. 
We know that there are proven ways that nature can help. Protecting 
coastal communities from storms, waves, flooding, and erosion can also 
protect biodiversity and provide ecosystem services that support 
livelihoods, culture, food security, water quality, recreation, and 
tourism. Through this report, NOAA will identify ways that more support 
can be given to these effective solutions.
    The many observations, products, and services that NOAA continues 
to expand and improve upon are complemented by our invaluable work on 
place-based engagement, service delivery, and the co-creation of 
knowledge. Not only does NOAA continue to expand its ocean and climate 
information, we also strive to empower communities to make informed 
decisions using the best available science, including Traditional 
Ecological Knowledge and Indigenous Knowledge (TEK/IK), and support 
tools. Ensuring that NOAA's products and services continue to address 
the needs of our nation, and are iteratively refined in collaboration 
with our diverse stakeholders and our government-to-government 
relationship with Tribes, is key to sustaining our mission and building 
our New Blue Economy from the ground up.
International Engagement
    In addition to NOAA's domestic climate science, service and 
stewardship mandate, our mission and climate engagement extends beyond 
the political boundaries of the United States to many of the countries 
and communities that depend on the ocean. For decades, NOAA has 
provided a broad range of tools and information to our international 
partners to reduce disaster risk; build resilience to/in a changing 
climate; support decision-making to better prepare for and adapt to 
weather, water and climate extreme events; and understand the ecosystem 
impacts of climate change such as coral bleaching, ocean acidification, 
and shifting resource populations such as fish stocks.
    NOAA's interest in international climate information systems 
extends from providing accessible and timely climate data to its 
application for management, decision-making and adaptation purposes. 
NOAA collects and makes available an extensive array of space-based and 
in situ Earth observation data and information that are essential for 
climate scientists and decision makers around the world. Additionally, 
NOAA participates in, and often leads, international data sharing 
arrangements that ensure these streams of information are global in 
scope and availability. NOAA provides expertise and leadership to 
climate assessments such as the annual State of the Climate report and 
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as well leadership at 
multilateral organizations related to weather, water and climate, such 
as the World Meteorological Organization.
    NOAA's applied climate information systems efforts includes work 
with the Local 2030 Islands Network, a global network of islands 
focused on climate resilience and sustainability. NOAA provides climate 
data and additional support to islands for building Communities of 
Practice and Data Dashboards related to resilience. NOAA also supports 
the Weather Ready Nations Program, which enhances the linkages between 
the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHS) and 
disaster managers and planners. This work highlights NOAA's vested 
interest in providing accurate and useful climate data and products 
while also supporting the development of in-country climate information 
systems capabilities. These and other efforts underpin NOAA's 
engagement as one of the five core implementing agencies for the 
President's Emergency Plan for Adaptation and Resilience, or PREPARE. 
Through this plan, NOAA will enhance its support for developing 
countries and communities in vulnerable situations around the world as 
they adapt to and manage the impacts of climate change.
CONCLUSION
    NOAA's work to assess, understand, and predict the ocean and its 
role in climate and share this knowledge, as well as its efforts to 
build resilience and mitigate climate change, is critical to the people 
in the United States and around the world. NOAA, as an authoritative 
source of climate information, is working with other federal agencies, 
state and local government leaders, Indigenous communities, private 
businesses, international partners, and the public, so that together we 
can bolster adaptation and boost resilience to the impacts of climate 
change and build a climate ready nation.

    Ms. Castor. Thank you very much.
    Next, Assistant Secretary Medina, welcome. You are 
recognized for 5 minutes to provide your testimony.

            STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE MONICA MEDINA

    Ms. Medina. Thank you, Chairwoman Castor, Ranking Member 
Graves, and members of the committee. Thank you for the 
opportunity to testify on this important issue of protecting 
the ocean and on its significance in the climate crisis.
    Thank you especially for the timing of this hearing. 
Yesterday was World Ocean Day, a day that is celebrated around 
the world. And here in the U.S., it is Capitol Hill Ocean Week. 
It is a perfect time to have this conversation.
    My name is Monica Medina, and I am the Assistant Secretary 
for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific 
Affairs at the State Department. Our Bureau leads U.S. efforts 
to conserve and protect the global environment, including the 
ocean, for the prosperity, peace, health, and security of this 
and future generations, like the ones who are sitting over 
there.
    I too am worried about the ocean and the climate impacts on 
it. The statistics you shared are daunting and deserve our 
attention in government, even as we deal with all the other 
crises in front of us. The ocean bares the brunt of climate 
change with tremendous implications for the U.S.' economic 
interests and global security. Communities are already being 
strained by the effects of climate change on our ocean, 
including food shortages, severe storms, coastal inundation, 
growing dead zones, and escalating conflicts around shifting or 
dwindling ocean resources. Climate change is happening today 
and exacerbating every other challenge we face.
    Leaders I have talked to around the world want to work with 
the U.S. to address climate challenges. These are existential 
threats. And though they seem localized, the ripple effects are 
felt worldwide, from food shortages to mass migrations. And 
these countries are being aggressively wooed by our 
competitors. But our competitors do not offer these countries 
the sustainable solutions they need.
    By contrast, the United States is deploying our expertise 
from across the government to build the capacity of our 
international partners to deal with the climate challenges they 
face. And I want to thank Congress for the funding that you 
have provided for the work that we are doing. We must work with 
our allies to build a more secure, climate-resilient world. We 
are the partner of choice for the impacted nations, and the 
more we help them, the stronger we will be as a nation.
    In my testimony today, I would like to highlight three ways 
in which the United States is working globally to combat the 
ocean climate crisis and the implications of that work for our 
security.
    First, we can help other countries see what is coming. The 
United States is a global leader in climate forecasting and 
observing, as Dr. Spinrad has so well explained. We support 
capacity-building efforts around the world to help other 
countries improve their ocean observing systems and to support 
scientists in the collection of globally shared data that is 
critical for our weather forecasts and models.
    This data--this vast data collection effort, undertaken 
largely through the work of my colleague at NOAA, has informed 
the development of climate and ocean models that are helping to 
better predict and prepare for how we deal with the changing 
climate and how that impacts communities both here, at home, 
and around the globe.
    Second, we can help those countries prepare based on that 
information. The United States has enormous technical capacity 
and expertise to apply those forecasts to assist other 
countries. Sharing this expertise can strengthen our alliances 
and help build a better world.
    Supporting international partners as they adapt and build 
resilience will be critical for promoting security and 
stability at home and abroad. The President's Emergency Plan 
for Adaptation and Resilience, or PREPARE, seeks to help more 
than 500 million people in developing countries adapt to and 
manage the impacts of severe storms, droughts, and sea level 
rise.
    We are also working to protect the health and productivity 
of marine ecosystems by taking action to promote maritime 
security and stop illegal fishing. And we plan to increase our 
collaboration with our Atlantic and Pacific neighbors to solve 
common challenges and seize opportunities to develop 
sustainable blue economies.
    The third we can do is help with the solutions that prevent 
the climate crisis' worst impacts from happening. The United 
States is taking an active role in galvanizing these ocean-
based climate solutions. These include protecting and restoring 
coastal ecosystems, expanding offshore and renewable energy, 
and decarbonizing the shipping sector, to name a few.
    In sum, the steps we take today to address and adapt to 
climate change are critical to American security and global 
stability for generations to come. This is the year to turn the 
tide on oceans, to tackle these challenges, and make 
investments needed to ensure that our oceans are central to 
solving the climate crisis.
    From the Our Ocean Conference that we co-hosted with Palau 
in April, the upcoming U.N. Ocean Conference, to the Convention 
on Biological Diversity Meeting, to COP27 in Egypt, this year, 
the United States has many opportunities to position ourselves 
as a global leader on ocean climate issues to support our 
partners as they seek sustainable solutions to ocean 
challenges, and to pursue the bold steps we need to stop the 
decline of our oceans.
    This is our chance to work together with our partners 
around the world to build a future for our children and 
grandchildren that is in harmony with the ocean and free from 
conflict. And if we act now, we can achieve a healthy ocean 
that will continue to meet their needs for the foreseeable 
future, which is surely the future we would like to see.
    Thank you very much, and I look forward to your questions.
    [The statement of Ms. Medina follows:]

                   Written Testimony of Monica Medina

                        Assistant Secretary for

        The Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and

              Scientific Affairs, U.S. Department of State

        Before the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis

                              June 9, 2022

    Chairwoman Castor, Ranking Member Graves, and members of the 
Committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today, during 
National Ocean Month and the day after World Ocean Day, on the 
importance of protecting our ocean and its significance in the climate 
crisis. My name is Monica Medina, and I am the Assistant Secretary of 
State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs 
at the Department of State. Our Bureau leads U.S. efforts to conserve 
and protect the global environment, including the ocean, for the 
prosperity, peace, health, and security of this and future generations. 
This mandate has never been more vital, and our work has never been 
more urgent, as the effects of climate change cause significant harm to 
communities around the world.
    The ocean, in particular, bears the brunt of climate change, with 
tremendous implications for U.S. economic interests and global 
security. It absorbs approximately 25% of global carbon dioxide 
emissions and more than 90% of the excess heat trapped in the Earth 
system. This influences the most basic natural functions, like our 
weather and the changing seasons. Sea level rise, ocean warming, and 
ocean acidification already are destabilizing economies, ecosystems, 
communities, and cultures.
    We need only to look at the world today to see that communities are 
already being strained by the effects of climate change on our ocean--
including food shortages, drought, severe storms, coastal inundation, 
growing ocean dead zones, and escalating conflicts around shifting or 
dwindling ocean resources. At the State Department, we often hear from 
colleagues in the developing world about the impact that climate change 
is having on their economies and communities. I want to make clear that 
they do not see climate change as some future horror story. Climate 
change is happening today and exacerbating every other challenge we 
face--from overcoming COVID-19 to food and energy shortages.
    Leaders I have talked to around the world want to work with the 
U.S. to address their current climate challenges. They worry about 
fresh water sources disappearing or becoming undrinkable, damages they 
cannot afford caused by more powerful storms, and where their food is 
going to come from. Some even worry whether the land on which they have 
lived for generations will remain above water as sea level rises. These 
are existential threats, and though they seem localized, the ripple 
effects are felt worldwide, from food shortages to mass migrations. 
These are not theoretical future problems--this is now. And we will see 
even more terrible disruptions from climate change in the future.
    I also want to stress that these countries--many of which are 
struggling to recover from both climate and COVID shocks--are being 
aggressively wooed by our competitors. The People's Republic of China 
(PRC) is seeking to enlist developing countries in its Belt and Road 
Initiative, offering to build power plants, aquaculture facilities, 
transit systems, and ports. They are offering to help these countries 
build climate resilience. But our competitors do not offer these 
countries the sustainable solutions they need to thrive in a warming 
world. It is not offering them the technical know-how to achieve a 
climate resilient, sustainable ocean-based economy, or ``blue 
economy,'' or the capacity to understand the impacts that a changing 
ocean may have on their food systems, water, and health. By contrast, 
the United States is deploying our expertise to build the capacity of 
our international partners and allies to do all these things. And we 
can--and must--do more to help our friends and allies prosper amid a 
changing ocean and to build a more secure, climate-resilient world. We 
are the partner of choice for these nations--and the more we can work 
with them, the stronger we will be as a nation both at home and abroad.
    The ocean also offers sustainable solutions to the climate crisis, 
many of which the United States is pioneering and wants to share. For 
example, we are advancing renewable offshore wind energy and 
decarbonization of the shipping sector. We are rallying countries, 
ports, and other actors in the shipping value chain behind our vision 
to create green shipping corridors: maritime routes that showcase low- 
and zero-emission lifecycle fuels and technologies with the ambition to 
achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions across all aspects of the 
corridor.
    And through the Infrastructure and Jobs Investment Act, passed by 
Congress and signed by President Biden last fall, we are allocating 
billions of dollars to support coastal restoration and resilience in 
the face of climate change. In places like the Gulf Coast, where 
communities are already seeing the devastating effects of climate 
change, these funds are implementing proven nature-based solutions, 
restoring eroded wetlands that are critical protectors in the face of 
storms as well as key carbon sinks. In tackling these ocean issues, our 
national strengths in environmental science, maritime domain awareness, 
and technology are a tremendous strategic advantage. They give our 
nation an edge in an increasingly competitive world.
    In my testimony today, I would like to highlight three ways in 
which the United States has the capacity to combat the ocean-climate 
crisis and the implications of how we deploy that capacity for our 
security. First, the United States is a global leader in climate 
forecasting and observing. Second, we possess unparalleled technical 
expertise in climate resilience strategies. And third, we are--and can 
continue to be--a global leader in understanding and implementing 
ocean-based climate solutions.
    The United States enjoys unmatched climate forecasting and ocean 
observing capabilities. The data provided by our wide network of ocean 
sensors, including buoys, satellites, and ship-based observing systems 
help us understand and prepare for the impacts of climate change on our 
ocean and coasts. These capabilities will be critical to achieving the 
goals of the UN Decade of Ocean Science, which seeks to deliver the 
science we need for the ocean we want and is an opportunity to 
demonstrate our commitment to fulfilling the UN Sustainable Development 
Goals. The Ocean Decade is a critical framework for identifying and 
aligning resources toward ocean science that can address the pressing 
challenges of our time.
    And those challenges are indeed pressing. We know that increasing 
volatility in the Earth's climate system, coupled with ocean warming, 
is leading to more frequent and more extreme storms. In 2021, weather 
and climate disasters cost the United States $148 billion, according to 
NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information. Globally, losses 
were over $300 billion, according to the 2021 Weather, Climate and 
Catastrophe Insight report by Aon, a professional services firm. And 
2021 was the seventh consecutive year in which ten or more billion-
dollar disaster events occurred in the United States.
    These storms have far-reaching consequences for safety and 
security. In addition to being an acute threat to the safety of coastal 
communities, hurricanes result in the decimation of coastal 
infrastructure, military installations, and key institutions like 
hospitals, schools, and roadways. The response to hurricanes also 
requires a massive effort across agencies, shifting focus from other 
security concerns.
    Sea level rise, due to melting ice sheets and glaciers and the 
expansion of seawater as it warms, is another key stressor that 
ultimately increases international instability. Rising seas are an 
existential threat for low-lying island countries and coastal 
communities. About forty percent of the global population lives in 
coastal areas threatened by rising sea level and storm surges. Around 
the world, sea level rise is likely to result in population 
displacement, shrinking maritime zones, and threats to human health, as 
it increases the incidence of waterborne diseases and threatens access 
to water for drinking, sanitation, and hygiene.
    One way we are helping to combat these threats is by expanding 
international ocean observing systems that collect key ocean-climate 
data. The United States partners with other countries in using Earth 
observing technology to understand and respond to climate change 
impacts on the ocean. For example, Sentinel-6-Michael Freilich is a 
U.S.-Europe joint satellite mission launched in November 2020 to 
measure sea levels at a global scale with millimeter-level accuracy. 
This U.S.- European partnership of developing satellite radar 
altimeters to measure global sea levels goes back to 1992.
    We also support capacity building efforts around the world to help 
other countries improve their ocean observing systems, and support 
scientists in the collection of globally shared data. Each year, the 
Department of State facilitates international marine scientific 
research, processing 20 to 30 applications for foreign scientists 
conducting marine scientific research in waters under U.S. jurisdiction 
and supporting U.S. scientists in conducting 300 to 400 cruises in 
waters under foreign jurisdiction. The data collected during these 
cruises include measures of key ocean metrics like temperature, 
salinity, oxygen, and pH, as well as studies of biodiversity, marine 
geology, fisheries, corals, and so much more. Supporting the collection 
and sharing of such data across academic and government institutions is 
crucial to building a global understanding of our changing ocean. These 
exchanges also help ensure that data are transparent and accessible, in 
line with our democratic values.
    This vast data collection effort--undertaken largely through the 
work of our colleagues at NOAA--has informed the development of climate 
and ocean models that are helping the United States and our allies 
better predict and prepare for how a changing climate will impact 
coastal communities.
    We are also using ocean observing data--from satellites, buoys, and 
more--to anticipate health threats like cholera outbreaks, harmful 
algal blooms, and mosquito-borne diseases, which are increasing in 
incidence as the ocean warms. Our Bureau is working to link these 
datasets with those from health and demographic sources to protect 
public health, including through our cooperative agreement with the 
Pacific Islands Health Officers Association to develop a climate-based 
dengue fever early warning system. And we are taking similar steps to 
address climate-sensitive health risks in coastal communities with 
partners from the Arctic, Africa, and Southeast Asia.
    Next, I'd like to highlight that the United States has enormous 
technical expertise in climate and ocean resilience. Sharing our 
expertise with our partners and allies can strengthen our alliances and 
help build a better world.
    As the impacts from the climate crisis worsen, supporting 
international partners as they adapt and build resilience will be 
critical for promoting security and stability at home and abroad. 
According to the UN Environment Program, adaptation costs for 
developing countries are projected to be between $140-300 billion 
annually by 2030. The need is great, and how the United States responds 
will have lasting implications on our diplomatic posture and the 
world's geopolitical landscape in general.
    The President's Emergency Plan for Adaptation and Resilience, 
PREPARE, is a whole-of-government effort that seeks to help more than 
500 million people in developing countries adapt to and manage the 
impacts of severe storms, droughts and sea level rise. PREPARE, jointly 
coordinated by the State Department and USAID, will help get early 
warning and climate information into the hands of those who need it; 
integrate and support adaptation in key sectors such as water, 
infrastructure, health and food security; and improve access to and 
mobilize finance, including from the private sector, for adaptation. 
PREPARE will also support locally-led adaptation that enables 
Indigenous peoples, vulnerable communities, and marginalized 
populations to meaningfully participate in and lead adaptation-related 
efforts.
    President Biden announced his intention to work with Congress to 
provide $3 billion in U.S.-supported funding included in the FY 2023 
Request. We hope you will approve this funding. This committee and your 
congressional colleagues have a key role to play in ensuring that we 
fund PREPARE in the coming budget cycles so that our U.S. resources can 
be used effectively and efficiently to strengthen U.S. leadership 
abroad.
    What happens an ocean away has economic and security implications 
for our country. While it may seem abstract or distant from this 
hearing room today, ocean challenges across the globe will affect our 
economy, threaten our security, and impact our future. We must address 
these challenges, and I'd like to share with you now a few ways in 
which the State Department is already doing so.
    First, I am proud to report that, working with Congress and subject 
to completion of domestic procedures, the United States intends to 
provide $1 million to support the Ocean Risk and Resilience Action 
Alliance, and looks forward to participating in its work. The 
Alliance's mission is to drive at least $500 million of investment in 
ocean nature-based solutions.
    We are also working to protect the health and productivity of 
marine ecosystems. Seafood, among the most traded of all commodities, 
offers a lifeline out of poverty and a source of healthy protein for 
billions in developing economies. But many fish stocks around the world 
are under threat from climate change and other stressors on the marine 
environment. Warming ocean temperatures and related changes to 
ecosystems are affecting the distribution and abundance of living 
marine resources, with the potential to undermine the food security of 
vulnerable communities and exacerbate social and political conflict.
    As the ocean changes and fish stocks with it, sustainable fisheries 
management--including the data and tools to anticipate and adapt to the 
impacts of climate change on fish stocks--will be key to ensuring 
future resilience and food security. The threat is especially acute in 
the developing world and in the tropics, where people consume two to 
four times more fish than in other regions.
    Overfishing, illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, 
and other harmful fishing practices are compounding stressors on 
dwindling fish stocks that are already under pressure due to climate 
change. IUU fishing creates market distortions that put law-abiding 
fishers at a disadvantage. And, it is often connected to a web of other 
security challenges and criminal activity, from forced labor to trade 
in illicit goods.
    But critically, this is a challenge we have the tools and expertise 
to combat right now. By halting bad actors and destructive practices 
today, we are reducing the stress on fisheries in the future.
    At the Our Ocean Conference in April 2022, the U.S. announced plans 
totaling nearly $250 million to combat IUU fishing via policy 
initiatives, strengthened governance, on-the-water assets, technical 
assistance, and innovative forms of monitoring and traceability. We are 
helping partners and allies implement the Port State Measures 
Agreement, the first binding international agreement to specifically 
target IUU fishing. And with the Food and Agriculture Organization, we 
launched the Global Record of Fishing Vessels, Refrigerated Transport 
Vessels, and Supply Vessels, which, as the first (and only) global, 
publicly accessible database of fishing vessels, is an essential tool 
for increasing transparency and enabling States to verify the identity 
and history of fishing vessels seeking access to their waters and their 
ports. And we are seeking enforceable counter-IUU fishing provisions in 
our Free Trade Agreements.
    Of course, securing the productivity of marine resources is about 
more than IUU fishing. It is also about creating transparent ocean 
governance and encouraging sustainable economic development 
opportunities for communities. During the World Leaders Summit at COP26 
in Glasgow, the United States announced that we would join the High-
Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy, known as the ``Ocean 
Panel.'' This group of sixteen countries accounts for about 45% of the 
world's coastlines, 35% of the world's exclusive economic zones, 25% of 
the world's fisheries, and 20% of the world's shipping fleet. Ocean 
Panel members have committed to develop and be guided by Sustainable 
Ocean Plans within five years, with the aim of sustainably managing 100 
percent of our ocean area under national jurisdiction. This group 
provides the United States with a new forum to promote marine 
conservation in areas of the world that are strategically important to 
the United States, in collaboration with likeminded allies and 
partners.
    And, there is still more we can do.
    The United States is both an Atlantic and a Pacific nation. We plan 
to increase our collaborations with our Atlantic and Pacific neighbors 
to help solve common challenges and seize opportunities to develop 
sustainable blue economies.
    Atlantic nations face shared ocean challenges, including IUU 
fishing, lawlessness at sea, and climate change threats to coastal 
communities. Lives and livelihoods are at risk and overall economic 
development will lag if we fail to address these challenges. We will be 
better able to solve problems that affect us all by working together, 
based on shared principles, to preserve the Atlantic as a stable, 
sustainable resource for Atlantic nations.
    We also see opportunity with our Atlantic neighbors. The blue 
economy is estimated to double from $1.5 trillion in 2010 to $3 
trillion in 2030. Stronger partnerships across Atlantic countries can 
be a mechanism to share knowledge, spread best practices, and identify 
activities that will provide sustainable economic returns from the 
ocean now and preserve it as a resource for future generations.
    We are also a Pacific nation, with strong cultural and historical 
ties to our neighbors throughout the Pacific region. We have a strong 
interest in a prosperous, secure, and free and open Pacific community. 
The Pacific Islands countries are amongst those most at risk from 
climate change, and some of the strongest global voices on the need to 
work collectively to combat the climate crisis. They are looking to the 
United States to lead the world on this issue.
    Our neighbors in the Pacific depend heavily on healthy ocean 
ecosystems to support fisheries and tourism industries that drive their 
economies, which face continuing economic impacts from the pandemic. 
The United States seeks to partner with the Pacific Islands to help 
them strengthen their economies, increase their resilience to climate 
change and environmental threats, improve their security, and overcome 
barriers to accessing adequate financing for these solutions.
    Similarly, countries in Central and South America are seeking our 
help in protecting their waters. Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, and 
Panama are working together to strengthen the Eastern Tropical Marine 
Corridor (CMAR). This corridor supports critical fisheries for tuna and 
other valuable species and is an important swimway for blue whales, 
hammerhead sharks, leatherback sea turtles, and giant manta rays. 
Countering IUU fishing in the region could also help the U.S. combat 
narcotrafficking, with which it has become deeply intertwined.
    We are also working globally to protect and enhance the resilience 
of valued marine ecosystems. Coral reefs annually provide over $3.4 
billion of economic benefits, including by supporting tourism and 
supporting fisheries, and close to $94 million in avoided flood damage. 
NOAA Fisheries estimates that the coral reefs of the United States 
alone have a commercial value of over $100 million. However, these 
critical elements of many healthy coastal ecosystems are existentially 
threatened by ocean acidification and increasing sea surface 
temperature. It is estimated that over the last 40 years, half of the 
world's coral reefs have disappeared, and the majority of those 
remaining could be gone by 2050. This year alone, warming waters 
resulted in coral bleaching in 91% of reefs surveyed along the Great 
Barrier Reef, marking the fourth large-scale coral bleaching event in 
the last seven years.
    The United States remains at the forefront of coral reef 
conservation and is committed to advancing efforts to protect and 
restore coral reefs. To that end, the United States is a strong 
supporter of the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI). We 
currently serve as chair of ICRI and were among its founding partners. 
Established in 1995, ICRI is a unique public-private partnership of 
governments, international organizations, scientific entities, and non-
governmental organizations committed to reversing the global 
degradation of coral reefs. The United States and ICRI have 
demonstrated a clear commitment to prioritizing coral reef conservation 
and restoration and to reversing the twin crises of climate change and 
biodiversity loss, with all the tools and assets we can assemble.
    Finally, the United States is taking an active role in galvanizing 
ocean-based climate solutions globally.
    Ocean-based climate solutions have the potential to provide up to 
20% of the emissions reductions needed to keep the 1.5-degree goal 
within reach. These solutions include protecting and restoring coastal 
ecosystems, expanding offshore renewable energy, and decarbonizing the 
shipping sector. Scaling up these efforts at home takes effective steps 
to combat the climate crisis, and supporting other countries in doing 
the same helps them build critical technical capacity.
    As the co-hosts of the Our Ocean Conference in Palau in April 2022, 
the United States showcased our leadership in advancing ocean-based 
climate solutions. For example, the United States collaborated with 
Denmark and the Marshall Islands to more than double the number of 
countries participating in the Declaration on Zero Emission Shipping by 
2050, which we worked together to launch at COP26. These new 
participants include shipping powerhouse Cyprus as well as several 
small island states: Palau, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. This initiative and 
others represent key steps towards decarbonizing the global shipping 
sector, which currently has an emissions trajectory that is 
incompatible with the goals of the Paris Agreement.
    We are also growing capacity at home and abroad for offshore 
renewable energy. At the Our Ocean Conference, we highlighted our goal 
to deploy 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030 and announced technical 
assistance, subject to domestic procedures, and other required 
resources to advance climate goals and create good jobs. We also 
spurred countries including the UK, Norway, Belgium, and Sri Lanka to 
make their own offshore renewable energy announcements at the 
conference, which will add approximately 30 gigawatts of capacity.
    Lastly, the United States is committed to conserving at least 30% 
of our land and waters by 2030, because we know that conservation of 
natural spaces is key to both adapting to and mitigating climate change 
and its effect on the ocean. Just this year, we have established a new 
national marine sanctuary in Lake Michigan, Wisconsin and a new 
national estuarine research reserve in Connecticut.
    And we are supporting other countries as they take steps to 
conserve their own ocean resources. At the Our Ocean Conference, we 
announced a new global Ocean Conservation Pledge, encouraging countries 
to commit to conserve, protect, or restore at least 30 percent of 
waters under their national jurisdictions by 2030. We are also working 
with partners globally to finalize an ambitious and effective agreement 
for the conservation and sustainable use of high seas biodiversity that 
would create, for the first time, a coordinated and cross-sectoral 
approach to establishing high seas marine protected areas and help us 
achieve our goal of conserving 30 percent of the global ocean by 2030.
    Taking these steps to advance ocean-based climate solutions in the 
United States and support other nations with the resources to do the 
same is key to security worldwide. These mitigation and adaptation 
initiatives reduce the risk of future global instability as a result of 
the climate crisis and help us protect marine resources for generations 
to come.
    In sum, the threats we face at the ocean-climate nexus are 
daunting, and the scale of our response must be equal to the size of 
our challenges. The ocean is a global system, essential to the well-
being of all life on our planet. The steps we take today to address and 
adapt to climate change and its impacts such as sea level rise, extreme 
weather, and food insecurity are critical to American security and 
stability for generations to come. This is the year to turn the tide on 
oceans--to tackle the challenges and make the investments needed to 
ensure that oceans are central to solving the climate crisis.
    From the Our Ocean Conference, which generated over $16 billion in 
ocean commitments, to the upcoming UN Ocean Conference, G7 Ministerial, 
Convention on Biological Diversity meeting, and COP27, the United 
States has many opportunities this year to position ourselves as a 
global leader on ocean-climate issues, support our partners abroad as 
they seek sustainable solutions to ocean challenges, and pursue bold 
steps needed to reverse the decline of our ocean. We must continue this 
pace of urgent action and maintain this momentum. This is our chance to 
work together with our partners around the world to build a future for 
our children and grandchildren that is in harmony with the ocean and 
free from climate conflict. If we act now, we can achieve a healthy 
ocean that will continue to meet their needs--surely a future we all 
wish to see.

    Ms. Castor. Thank you very much.
    I will recognize myself first for 5 minutes to start the 
questioning.
    You know, we are very fortunate to have an administration 
like the Biden-Harris Administration that is bringing every 
tool to the table to help protect our oceans. So let's talk 
about some of the tools that you have.
    You talked a little bit about the Bipartisan Infrastructure 
Law that will provide significant resources to help keep our 
oceans resilient. There are different resources all across 
America. So would you go into a little more depth on the tools, 
your priorities out of those new Bipartisan Infrastructure Law 
investments, and then, just yesterday, you announced an Ocean 
Climate Action Plan. How do those interact together, to the 
Administrator, to help protect our oceans and allow us to 
become more resilient?
    Dr. Spinrad. Thank you, Chair Castor. There is a lot going 
on. I appreciate your comment about the role of the Biden-
Harris Administration. On a little bit of a sidebar, I came out 
of retirement to take this job because I was so compelled by 
some of what I was hearing about what this administration 
wanted do in moving forward. And I was also very much 
encouraged when I saw action up here on the Hill, especially as 
it manifested in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, focused on 
these specific issues.
    So what kinds of tools? Well, obviously, in the Bipartisan 
Infrastructure Law, we see, in NOAA's case, close to $1.4 
billion dedicated to coastal resilience, which is a direct 
application of resources to adaptation, to what we know is 
already happening. So while we can mitigate and we can start 
addressing decarbonizing and renewables, we know sea level 
rise, ocean acidification are happening right now. What do we 
do about that?
    So we will be issuing funding opportunity announcements for 
competitive bids around the country for local communities, 
jurisdictions, Tribes, to invest those resources, to harden 
their coasts, to make their coasts more resilient through any 
number of actions. It is something we have done before, but we 
have never had these kinds of resources to build that sort of 
resilient coastal activity.
    That is not enough. We also need to make sure that those 
scientific capabilities and the products of our science that 
come out of our labs and our work with academic researchers are 
made available to decision makers and local emergency managers, 
local community planners, Tribes. And so we were building 
mechanisms for dissemination of the data, whether it be through 
web portals or using our boots on the ground through Sea Grant, 
for example, to make sure information about what climate 
impacts will be can be shared with those communities.
    And the last part is, part of the investment that we are 
seeing is going to go to the nuts and bolts, if you will, of 
being able to build better forecasts and better models. So 
high-performance computing, which allows us to actually zero in 
and provide improved seasonal outlooks. And that is not, 
obviously, limited to coastal applications. I had a discussion 
with a Member of Congress who is a fifth-generation farmer who 
wanted a better seasonal outlook of precipitation. So our 
ability to build better models with more high-performance 
computing is another aspect of that.
    And with respect to the Action Plan that you alluded to, 
the Climate Action Plan, now, this is a team sport. NOAA has a 
leading role, as I indicated, but we work very closely with our 
colleagues in Department of Interior, Energy, NASA, National 
Science Foundation, State Department, obviously. And so through 
the auspices of climate policy, our office, as well as the 
Office of Science and Technology and Policy, we are making sure 
we all understand the coordination of our efforts and the plan, 
and also the leveraging and the complementary nature of what we 
do.
    Ms. Castor. That is terrific. The resilience and 
adaptation, we have to do it. We have waited too long to 
decarbonize. But I am so worried about the oceans. And our--you 
know, my local economy in the Tampa Bay area in the State of 
Florida is directly tied to clean water. But with the highest 
concentrations of carbon pollution in the atmosphere, the 
stresses on marine life, the impact to corals, we have got to 
move to clean energy. I mean, it is more plain than ever. We 
cannot throw up our hands and say, oh, it is too hard, or other 
countries aren't doing their job. We are the world leader.
    So can you talk about, maybe Assistant Secretary, what we 
are doing to help rally the global community to reduce carbon 
pollution so we don't have to focus totally on pouring billions 
and billions and billions of dollars into resilience and 
adaptation, that we are really moving to the clean energy 
economy over time?
    Ms. Medina. Of course, Chairwoman. The administration's 
policy on this is set by special envoy--Special Presidential 
Envoy Kerry, the global policy. And I work very closely with 
his office. We share a lot of staff members who actually work 
for both of us. They are working very hard on clean energy and 
on dealing with the major emitting countries and helping them 
to see the need to make this kind of transition that Ranking 
Member Graves talked about, the need for those countries to 
turn their energy systems around and to be more innovative, to 
rely more and more and more on renewable energy.
    But in my work, I focus tremendously on nature-based 
solutions, and that is where the ocean comes in and where I 
think we can work much more closely with scientists and other 
nations to find those ocean solutions, whether it is wind 
energy--and we know the value of wind energy is only going up 
here in the U.S. We have seen how those wind energy leases are 
really taking off, and we know that there is tremendous 
potential. We could basically, you know----
    Ms. Castor. I think we are going to talk more about it. I 
am over time with my question. So thank you. To be continued.
    Ranking Member Graves, you are recognized for 5 minutes.
    Oh, Mr. Gonzalez, good morning. You are recognized for 5 
minutes.
    Mr. Gonzalez. Good morning. Thank you, Chairwoman Castor 
and Ranking Member Graves, for holding this hearing today, and 
to our witnesses for joining us and sharing your testimonies.
    Secretary Medina, I am going to start with you. While 
marine litter and climate change have commonly been treated as 
two separate issues, there is a growing recognition of their 
interconnectedness. As I am sure you know, when plastics end up 
in the ocean and start breaking down, they release greenhouse 
gases, as well as affect the ability of organisms to grow, 
reproduce, and capture carbon.
    Latest set of data from the World Bank indicates that 8 
million tons of plastic are leaked into the ocean each year, 
which is the equivalent of dumping the contents of a garbage 
truck in the ocean, roughly, every minute. It seems obvious to 
all of us here that we need to take steps to incorporate more 
circular economy principles and take action to reduce waste we 
have currently built up in the ocean.
    That being said, what efforts can lawmakers take to 
accelerate innovation in the recycling space and reduce plastic 
leaks into the ocean?
    Ms. Medina. Thank you so much for this question. It is one 
I spend an awful lot of my time on. Plastic pollution is one of 
my priorities, not only because it ends up in the ocean, which 
is a terrible problem. In my data, I have a different fact, and 
it is even more alarming, 14 million tons ends up in the ocean. 
We could quibble. It is way too much.
    Mr. Gonzalez. Yeah. More than a million.
    Ms. Medina. Yes. Way too much. We are drowning in plastic. 
We know we need to do something differently, which is why I am 
so pleased to say that the United States is playing a leading 
role in creating the new global agreement we need. And industry 
is actually right with us, along with the environmental 
community, to try to change the way the world deals with 
plastic pollution. This agreement that we have just decided to 
launch the negotiation of, hopefully, will be concluded in the 
next 2 years.
    And we will, under this agreement, allow nations to create 
ambitious action plans of their own. No one-size-fits-all 
solutions. An island nation might need something different than 
a big country, big land-based country like ourselves. But if we 
work hard together to spur innovation from industry to drive 
that change, I am convinced that we can find the solutions that 
we need to actually stem this terrible scourge of plastic 
pollution, and we have to do it now.
    We could always use more resources to do that, to try and 
help spur that innovation, to help smaller countries that don't 
have the capacity to do that work, but I think industry will 
have to play a huge role. And we are counting on them to do it, 
and I think they are ready to step up and help us.
    Mr. Gonzalez. Thank you. Switching gears a bit. In recent 
years, there has been a resurgence in interest in offshore 
wind, but despite the low carbon and economic benefits that 
offshore wind can bring, there are real concerns on long-term 
turbine performance, specifically the high operating costs and 
reduced economic lifetimes.
    As Europe's experience with offshore wind has demonstrated, 
large turbine technologies suffer from reliability and 
maintenance issues, causing the amount of electricity generated 
to decline by almost half over 10 years. Unsurprisingly, the 
revenues and profitability of these facilities diminishes 
rapidly, leaving developers to abandon the projects before the 
term of their power purchase agreement.
    Moreover, offshore wind means more demand for rare earth 
elements, which historically come from China. With increased 
demand likely triggering higher production costs, it is 
difficult to imagine a world in which ratepayers are left 
unharmed.
    With the administration setting a goal of 30 gigawatts of 
offshore wind by 2030, can you provide some insight into how 
these concerns will be addressed and ratepayers will be 
protected?
    Ms. Medina. This one is to me?
    Mr. Gonzalez. Yes.
    Ms. Medina. So, Congressman, I am not the domestic energy 
expert. I am at the State Department, and energy isn't squarely 
in my remit. But I take the point that we need to continue to 
improve technologies, and wind is a big part of the solution. 
And we need offshore wind. We also need solar. We need all the 
renewable energies we can muster, and that is what will help 
ratepayers.
    Mr. Gonzalez. Well, let me ask you from an international 
perspective then. So put your international hat on. How do we 
protect ratepayers globally if we are going to move into an 
offshore wind world with these cost concerns?
    Ms. Medina. I think we continue to improve the technology 
so that we can have renewable energy for ourselves, and we 
don't have to worry about price spikes and perturbations caused 
by other countries.
    Mr. Gonzalez. Is it your belief that we can do this and, 
from a cost standpoint to consumers, there will be no harm?
    Ms. Medina. I believe, just like President Biden, that when 
we the American people put our minds to something, we can get 
it done. If we can put a man--or a rover on Mars, I believe we 
can solve these challenges as well.
    Mr. Gonzalez. Thank you, and I yield back.
    Ms. Castor. Next up, Representative Huffman, you are 
recognized for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Huffman. Thank you, Chair Castor.
    And just a few words about my friend from Louisiana's 
opening remarks. I actually got my hopes up when I heard him 
describe these terrible impacts of the climate crisis that are 
coming. We know they are coming. We know what they are going to 
do to places like South Louisiana. And he then described the 
duty to future generations, which I found very heartening and 
encouraging, saying that we need to overcome politics and 
confront this crisis for the sake of preserving a livable 
planet for these guys.
    Unfortunately, it went downhill pretty quickly from there. 
We started hearing the same old excuses, that China is a bigger 
emitter than us and, therefore, we can't focus on emissions 
until we get China in line. And that somehow our fossil fuels 
are cleaner than the Russians and the Saudis and, therefore, we 
ought to just crank it up and go out there and meet all of this 
global energy demand with our fossil fuels which are cleaner, 
which are really less bad than the really bad.
    And, unfortunately, that is like saying never mind. To all 
of that good stuff about the climate crisis, to all of these 
nice words about your generation, folks, it is like saying 
never mind. We have got money to make. We have got oil to sell. 
And that is politics.
    So if we are serious about overcoming politics and doing 
the right thing to preserve the planet for the younger 
generation, leading a global fossil fuel race to the bottom 
cannot be the answer.
    Now, on this subject of our oceans--and, Chair Castor, I am 
so glad that we are focusing on this--I would like to start my 
questions on fisheries, which is something I have been working 
a lot on.
    So, Dr. Spinrad, I will begin with you. I did a national 
listening tour because I have been working on legislation to 
reauthorize the Magnuson Act. Everywhere I went, every region 
of the country, I heard how climate change is already impacting 
fisheries, whether shifting stocks, or habitat changes, or 
acute disruptions like fisheries disasters. It is here and now, 
and yet our institutions were developed at a time when we 
weren't really thinking about any of that.
    And some of the more commercially important fish species, 
in fact, are moving north to find cooler water. This creates 
all kinds of conflicts between regional councils, maybe between 
us and Canada, and Mexico in some cases. So it is a whole new 
world of fishery management that this climate crisis is 
presenting us with.
    And I wondered if you could just speak broadly to what NOAA 
is doing so far to address these changes in fisheries 
management, and what resources do you need to meet the moment?
    Dr. Spinrad. Thank you, Congressman Huffman. This is a very 
serious issue and one where we are applying a lot of resources 
and a lot attention to from a number of different perspectives. 
As a scientific agency, as an environmental intelligence 
agency, what we are trying to do is not dissimilar to the way 
our national security community looks at, is how will things 
change in the future and can we position ourselves to deal with 
that.
    So we have an investment in what we call the Climate 
Ecosystems and Fisheries Initiative, which really asks, how 
are, for example, Alaskan pollock becoming Russian pollock? 
What is happening to the lobstering industry, and where are 
those lobsters going to go? What will change do to our best--in 
the context of our best knowledge. So just as we try to develop 
predictions in forecasts of atmospheric and weather phenomena, 
we are trying to do the same thing with all species in this 
initiative.
    The other part of this, of course, is a redoubled effort to 
take advantage of the extraordinary traditional knowledge that 
we have around the country. Generations of fishers, generations 
of local communities have knowledge about the patterns that 
they have seen over the last few years. We are trying to, if 
you will, quantify that through a QA, QC, and those kind of 
data, to incorporate those in our predictive capabilities and 
codevelop the policies----
    Mr. Huffman. Great.
    Dr. Spinrad [continuing]. Associated with what will our 
fisheries community look like. And we need industry involved in 
this discussion as well. So we have been doing similar 
roundtables to yours.
    I would add there is another angle on this as well, and 
that is, you know, we have established aquaculture opportunity 
areas.
    Mr. Huffman. Yeah.
    Dr. Spinrad. And we are looking at how might that--what is 
the art of the possible associated with really doing this in a 
sustainable, economically viable manner so we are developing 
the initial environmental impact statements associated with 
those, and, hopefully, that that is part of the solution as 
well.
    Mr. Huffman. I don't have much time left, but Assistant 
Secretary Medina, I would love to hear from you how you are 
working with other countries to manage essential fisheries in 
the face of the climate crisis.
    Ms. Medina. Thank you, Congressman. There is a huge problem 
here. Twenty-three percent of fish stocks are predicted to 
shift from their historical migration roots and habitats by 
2030. That is an awful lot of people whose food source is going 
to move somewhere else immediately, and that is a recipe for 
crisis and for conflict. So we are working with the Food and 
Agricultural Organization to increase technical assistance, to 
build climate-ready fisheries management. And, hopefully, with 
better forecasting of these kinds of shifts and migrations from 
agencies like NOAA, and with our partners at USAID, we can take 
those forecasts and aim our assistance right where we need it.
    Mr. Huffman. All right. Thanks. I yield back.
    Ms. Castor. Next up, Rep. Palmer, you are recognized for 5 
minutes.
    Good morning, Representative Miller, you are recognized for 
5 minutes.
    Mrs. Miller. Thank you, Madam Chair and Ranking Member 
Graves. And thank you both for being here today.
    I represent West Virginia, which is a landlocked state. We 
all know that the world's oceans impact all of us, from natural 
challenges, changes in weather patterns, man-made 
circumstances, even our supply chain, and the difficulties we 
are having internationally because we are all affected by the 
oceans. That is why America, acting alone with few close 
allies, cannot tackle this challenge single-handedly.
    Carbon emissions do not recognize borders or stay within 
their country of origin. The developing world has questioned 
why countries like the United States and Europe and China have 
been allowed to develop because of our vast use of natural 
resources and traditional energy, and why they have to remain 
in poverty to serve our interests. The quickest way to bring 
developing countries into modern economy is to allow them to 
utilize their own energy assets and to help scale the 
technologies to tackle the real problem, which is carbon 
emissions.
    Vilifying natural resources or sources of energy like this 
administration has done constantly--excuse me, madam. Madam 
Chair? Excuse me?
    Vilifying our natural sources of energy like this 
administration has done constantly will only breed resentment 
around the world on their stage, raising prices for consumers 
here at home, and leave American security at the whims of 
authoritarian foreign governments. We don't want to repeat the 
mistakes of our European allies who traded cheap energy from 
Putin in exchange for their security.
    If our goal is to tackle the rise in sea levels, the way to 
do that is by lowering carbon emissions. And we should be 
researching and funding transformative technologies that curb 
emissions, while still using the sources of energy that 
provides the vast majority of our power. By scaling down these 
technologies here at home, we can further export it across the 
world, creating goodwill and a prosperous global economy in the 
shortest amount of time possible. Our government should be 
investing to ensure the continued clean use of all types of 
energy, and, yes, that does include coal, oil, and natural gas.
    Madam Chair, I have been reading this book by Professor 
Koonin, who has served as Under Secretary for Science under the 
Obama administration. In it, he provides a robust discussion on 
the climate alarmism that has gripped our politics, our media, 
and our culture. And in the chapter on sea level rise, Mr. 
Koonin says, in summary, we don't know how much of the rise in 
global sea levels is due to human-caused warming and how much 
is a product of long-term natural cycles. So it is time to stop 
the alarmism and name-calling and bickering and come together 
to find a real solution.
    Ms. Medina, as your testimony notes, the challenge of sea 
level rise and the challenges of adaptation in the developing 
world are something that we are all concerned about. Given that 
the U.S. is among the most environmentally efficient producers 
in the world, how important is it that we look to efficient 
producers to power the globe which will then lead to greater 
energy security, lower global emissions, and greater 
environmental outcomes?
    Ms. Medina. Thank you, Congresswoman, for that question. I 
think there is a lot in what you have said that we agree with. 
America cannot tackle this problem alone. We must lower carbon 
emissions, and we have to rapidly scale innovative technology. 
And what I think developing countries, particularly small 
island developing countries need, is the energy supply that 
will work for them. And so we go and we listen to countries, 
and we ask them what they want and what they need. And 
importing expensive oil and gas may not be the right solution 
for them. And so we look at programs that will meet their 
needs, that will address their demands for energy, but also 
their desire to be part of the climate solution.
    What I hear over and over again from those countries is, 
let us help be part of the climate solution. Invest in ocean 
conservation in our big ocean areas, and let us help the rest 
of the world make up for the damage that it is causing.
    Mrs. Miller. Thank you. In your testimony, you also 
mentioned the role of our country is to serve as a partner to 
other nations. Could you expand on that and what you believe 
the administration sees as its role on partnering with other 
countries to ensure stable and consistent energy supply through 
all of the above strategy, especially given the energy crisis 
the whole world is facing today.
    Ms. Medina. Congresswoman, thank you for that question. 
What I said in an earlier answer is that I am not the energy 
expert. There is another bureau within the State Department 
that governs energy policy. But what I can tell you about what 
we are doing to work cooperatively is rebuilding partnerships 
and allies with--alliances with countries all over the world. 
And I will just give one quick example.
    Yesterday, at the Summit of the Americas, we signed an MOU 
with the governments of Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador, and 
Colombia to save--help them conserve some of the most precious 
ocean spaces on the planet, the Galapagos Islands.
    What could be more important? Our work is to help them 
become more able to conserve the resources that they have. And 
we are going to work together across the Federal Government 
with our Federal interagency partners to bring that kind of 
American expertise to help other countries work together to 
solve their ocean issues.
    Mrs. Miller. Thank you. Madam Chair, I yield back.
    Ms. Castor. Representative Casten, you are recognized for 5 
minutes.
    Mr. Casten. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thanks to our speakers 
for coming here. And thanks to all the young folks who are 
here. I really appreciate you coming out here. And I hope you 
will continue to be active in this space.
    You know, a number of years ago--well, 2 years ago, when 
the United States pulled out of the Paris Climate Accord, there 
were about a dozen of us who went over to Madrid to basically 
let the world know that, even though the United States 
Government, which was the only country that pulled out, that we 
were going to go and tell the world we are still in.
    And I remember one of our European colleagues pulled us 
aside and said, we just want you to know that really bad things 
happen when the United States doesn't lead. That carried a lot 
of weight, obviously, with the history of Europe, but I hope 
you will keep that in mind as you think about your own futures. 
Because notwithstanding our Ranking Member's advice that we 
shouldn't act until China acts, it is important that the United 
States leads.
    Dr. Spinrad, I want to chat with you a little bit about 
ocean modeling and methane. I am on the Science Committee. We 
just saw this report about the--how the oil and gas industry is 
not reporting all of the methane emissions that they are 
producing. And, of course, as we all are, I think, petrified 
about, you know, this 84 multiplier on global warming 
relative to CO2, the global methane pledge that came 
out of the Glasgow meetings was a key part to making sure that 
we actually do keep 1.5 alive, as they say.
    And we are focused a lot on the private sources of methane. 
But, you know, as I look at the geological history of the 
world, there is--as you know well, there is this Paleocene-
Eocene border where there is some suggestion that maybe the 
warming of the upper surface of the ocean led to these huge 
burps of methane hydrates underneath. We have seen some 
releases. I believe Alaska, the University of Alaska, 
Fairbanks, saw some significant releases in the East Siberian 
Sea, if I have that right.
    I am wondering if you can share to what degree you believe 
we have got a good model of the oceans to understand, as we are 
injecting this heat into the upper surface of the ocean, should 
we have concerns about intermixing, releasing some of those 
clathrates out? Do we need more research there? Help me 
understand how big a deal that is. Should we be concerned about 
it, and what we can do to mitigate some of the effects, if any.
    Dr. Spinrad. Yeah. Thank you, Congressman. I think that is 
a critical issue. And I was delighted, quite honestly, in 
Glasgow that this was elevated to an issue of global certain.
    At NOAA, we look at it from a few perspectives. You have 
alluded to the modeling piece of it, but there is an equally 
important observational component. So talking about the Alaska 
release is just one piece we have recently conducted through 
our ocean exploration program. A number of studies off the East 
Coast of the United States where we have seen more events, more 
venting of methane than we had expected to see before.
    It is not, right now, an inherently modelable phenomenon. 
We first need to understand, what are the sources? What are the 
sources, the natural sources of methane emitting in these 
undersea events? So our ocean exploration program is a critical 
component of that.
    Once we have an understanding of the sorts of 
concentrations and the distribution of the vent sources, the 
methane sources, then we can build that component as one of the 
greenhouse gas elements into the forecasts for changes in 
temperature, the results of having that methane in the 
atmosphere. You are absolutely right, greater than 80 percent 
greenhouse gas impact. If you will, the silver lining, if there 
is one, is that it is a much, much more short-lived component 
in the greenhouse gas constituency.
    So we do have the models. We can take the information. Once 
we have got the data from the observational capabilities, we 
can get a much better handle on what the downstream 
implications are for global warming.
    Mr. Casten. Correct me if I am wrong, but if we release all 
those clathrates, I think we are also short-lived.
    The last time you and I spoke, I think you had just 
released this report saying that the sea level rise on the Gulf 
Coast was going to be 2 feet by 2050, with high degree of 
certainty. Appropriate scientific qualifiers on that. And I sit 
in the Financial Services Committee, and a few weeks later we 
had Chairman Powell before us. And I shared your testimony with 
him. And I said, okay, so if I buy a home on the Gulf Coast of 
Louisiana today, that house is going to be underwater before 
the mortgage is paid off. And are we changing the way that 
Fannie and Freddie allocate risks accordingly? And his comment 
was, no, but we probably should.
    I wonder if you could share to what degree you are working 
on an interagency basis to make sure that across all of our 
other agencies that are directly affected by what you are 
doing, and how can we help elevate that or make sure that we 
don't have to have any more of those conversations saying, yes, 
but we should.
    Dr. Spinrad. Yeah. Thank you, Congressman. That is a 
subject that is near and dear to my heart and one which I have 
undertaken some very specific actions on. At NOAA, I 
established NOAA Climate Council initially to coordinate our 
internal activities between the Fishery Service and the Weather 
Service and the Ocean Service. But we quickly realized there 
was an external facing role we could play. So I have begun 
serious dialogues with the Department of Treasury, Department 
of Transportation, Department of Energy, FAA, any number of 
those components of the Federal Government that have policy and 
operational responsibilities for economic security, for 
example.
    We are also working with industry. The reinsurance and 
insurance industry is closely coupled. I will be talking to the 
reinsurance industry next week about these issues. So we are 
trying to work both the interagency piece by talking to 
Treasury and the other related departments, as well as the 
industry component. And, of course, we work with local 
communities.
    Mr. Casten. Okay. I see I am out of time, and you have been 
gracious. Thank you. I would love to work with you more.
    I yield back.
    Dr. Spinrad. Thank you.
    Ms. Castor. Representative Palmer, you are recognized for 5 
minutes.
    Mr. Palmer. Thank you, Madam Chairman. I thank the 
witnesses.
    I have a question, and I really want the young people here 
to answer this mentally anyway. But has the Sahara always been 
a desert? Dr. Spinrad.
    Dr. Spinrad. Gosh, I was going to ask the younger people. I 
think depending on how you define ``always.'' Obviously, if we 
go back in geological----
    Mr. Palmer. No, no. I am asking you, has it always been a 
desert? It either has or it hasn't.
    Dr. Spinrad. I am sure in geological time there was a 
period when it was not.
    Mr. Palmer. How long ago was that?
    Dr. Spinrad. I don't know the answer to that.
    Mr. Palmer. How about you?
    Ms. Medina. I am not a scientist. I wouldn't hazard to 
guess.
    Mr. Palmer. You are not a scientist?
    Ms. Medina. No.
    Mr. Palmer. Most of the people asking questions here aren't 
either.
    The answer is the Sahara was a lush area, populated by the 
Nubian and Egyptian cultures. There was farming. There were 
lakes and rivers and streams, and it was only about 5,000 years 
ago. I mean, a literal blink in geologic time. It started 
becoming a desert somewhere between 10,000 and 12,000 years 
ago. Again, a literal blink in geologic time.
    This is important for you to understand this, because there 
are decisions being made based on climate science. It is based 
on models that the vast majority of models are totally 
inaccurate. They have to manipulate the models to get to some 
of the conclusions that they draw. And as a result, your 
parents and you are paying $6, $7, $8 a gallon for gas. You are 
going to be paying that for a gallon of milk, for a loaf of 
bread. We are experiencing the highest inflation we have seen 
in 40 years.
    There are consequences for the decisions that are being 
made by my colleagues in Congress and by the Biden 
administration. And I understand that the climate is changing. 
And the reason I bring up the Sahara desert, because that is an 
example of climate change. And I know you won't know the answer 
if I asked you what caused that, but most scientists believe it 
is because the Earth changed its tilt on its axis. And as a 
result, the wind patterns changed, and over time, the Sahara 
became a desert.
    Now, like I said, they are excavating Nubian and Egyptian 
settlements there. You have got the archaeological data to look 
at. And what I like to point out to people is, if the Nubians 
and the Egyptians had had the same desalinization technology 
and irrigation technology that Israel uses today, there would 
still be people living in the Sahara, farming and, you know, 
playing sports, driving cars. I know that drives my friends 
crazy, but--we need to be talking about adaptation and 
mitigation.
    And, Chairman Castor, I am going to admit something. It is 
hard for me to do. But human activity actually has had an 
impact on tropical storms in the Atlantic. And it is a study 
from NOAA that indicates that the reduction of particulate air 
pollution in Europe and North America has contributed to an 
increase in the number of tropical cyclones in the North 
Atlantic. Isn't that interesting that we have cleaned up the 
air and it has resulted in more storms? So human activity does 
impact the climate.
    But I know you brought these young people in here for a 
reason. I want you to understand that there is more to the 
story than you are getting. I highly recommend a book by Dr. 
Kirsten Peters, a Ph.D. from Harvard, a geologist; it is called 
``The Whole Story of Climate.'' And you need to understand 
this. And my colleague from--mentioned sea level rise and the 
potential of him buying a home in Louisiana. Now, my colleague, 
Mr. Graves, would really encourage that.
    But during the Eemian Period, you have got--we are right at 
the end of the Holocene Period or what is known as the 
Subatlantic Period. But during the Eemian Period, it was 
considerably warmer. And you look at the geologic evidence and 
you can see there are higher concentrations of CO2, 
higher concentrations of methane, as you have pointed out. But 
during that period, the shoreline in Georgia and North Carolina 
was about 50 miles further inland and about 120 feet higher. 
Two-thirds of Alabama was underwater. All of Florida was 
underwater. Most of Louisiana was underwater. A huge portion of 
Texas, all the way up into Oklahoma and into the Midwest was 
underwater because the climate changed. It changed again. The 
sea levels receded.
    There is a whole lot more to this than what you are being 
told. I highly encourage you to take the time to study this for 
yourself. Get the whole story.
    I yield back.
    Ms. Castor. Next up, Representative Brownley is here 
virtually. You are recognized for 5 minutes for your questions.
    Ms. Brownley. Thank you, Madam Chair. And thanks to the 
witnesses for being here today.
    Administrator Spinrad, I have been working with 
Representative Carbajal and Senators Feinstein and Padilla to 
support the designation of the Chumash Heritage as a National 
Marine Sanctuary. The proposed sanctuary, which was initiated 
by the Chumash, is the home of really the most biologically 
diverse and ecologically productive regions in the world.
    And so my question to you, if you could speak a little bit 
more to the work that you are doing around this, but even more 
importantly, how quickly are you addressing these expansions, 
and what are your goals around that?
    Dr. Spinrad. Thank you, Congresswoman. And I really 
appreciate your drawing attention to the issue of development 
of marine-protected areas. We were delighted, I was pleased, as 
one of my earliest acts as NOAA Administrator, to initiate the 
designation of the Chumash Sanctuary.
    We have an inventory of these sanctuaries--or proposed 
sanctuaries. We added one yesterday to the inventory from 
Alaska. We also announced the initiation, a designation of 
another sanctuary in the Hudson Canyon yesterday.
    So we are aggressively moving out the definition consistent 
with the America the Beautiful Initiative of the Biden-Harris 
administration to conserve 30 percent of our lands and waters 
by 2030.
    The process is one which involves extensive engagement, as 
you well know, in the case of Chumash, with the local Tribes, 
local communities, local industries, to define what the terms 
are. Not all sanctuaries, not all marine-protected areas have 
the same terms of reference, if you will, or definitions of 
what activities can be conducted in those areas. So we have a 
portfolio, we have an inventory of these.
    Part of the restriction, if you will, or controlling 
factor, or RIA stat, so to speak, is the resources that we 
have, the resources we get from Congress, so we thank Congress 
for your additional investments in sanctuary development, and 
also the people that we have that can process these.
    But another important component is the dynamic of working 
with our agency partners, especially, for example, within the 
Department of Interior, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
    So when you look at all of those factors, over the course 
of several years, we will undergo a thorough analysis, public 
comment, and hopefully end up with the formal designation of 
the sanctuary in just a few years.
    Ms. Brownley. Thank you very much for that.
    And, Secretary Medina, could you speak a little bit about 
what the international efforts are to support indigenous and 
local people who are working to protect their local 
environments?
    Ms. Medina. Yes. Thank you for that question. It is one I 
very much appreciate because it is a big part of what we are 
doing at the State Department. We have been working hard with 
Tribal governments and indigenous peoples around the world to 
help lift up their efforts to adapt to climate change and to 
understand better the nature of the threat that they are up 
against.
    We recognize that these people have often been ignored or 
have been marginalized in the conversation globally, and I am 
very pleased actually to have with me here the lead negotiator 
for the agreement, the Global Climate Agreement on Indigenous 
Peoples. And so we are working very hard to further their 
interests, both in our bilateral foreign policy efforts with 
USAID and also within the confines of the agreement itself.
    Ms. Brownley. Terrific. Thank you very much.
    And, Dr. Spinrad, in terms of partnering with other 
agencies, as you mentioned earlier, I know a few weeks ago, the 
Department of Interior announced next steps and public comment 
on offshore wind lease sales in two regions offshore of 
California. Is NOAA involved in that process at all?
    Dr. Spinrad. Yes. Thank you for that. We work closely with 
our colleagues at the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which 
has the responsibility for those lease sales and those lease 
activities. In fact, I have signed a Memorandum of 
Understanding with BOEM Director Amanda Lefton, which includes 
any number of very specific activities regarding coordination 
of permitting, regarding coordination of release of 
information. And another interesting component is an agreement 
that we both have to exchange personnel so we can accelerate 
and optimize and make even better the processes that those who 
are bidding on the leases have to engage in.
    So I am really excited about the progress we are making and 
what this will mean in terms of interest, certainly from the 
wind energy development, the energy development community in 
general.
    Ms. Brownley. Very good. I represent a port in my district, 
the Port of Hueneme, that is associated with Naval Base Ventura 
County, and I know they are very much interested in possibly 
participating as a hub for servicing wind turbines as this 
moves on.
    So thank you for that, Madam Chair, and I yield back.
    Ms. Castor. Perfect. Next up I will go to Representative 
Carter, who represents a beautiful coastal district in Georgia.
    Rep. Carter, you are recognized for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Carter. Thank you, Madam Chair. And thank both of you 
for being here.
    As Chairperson Castor just mentioned, I have the honor and 
privilege of representing the entire coast of Georgia, over a 
hundred miles of pristine coastline. I am very proud of it. And 
I want to thank you, I want to thank NOAA, because you have 
done some great work in providing data about our coast, and 
that is extremely important.
    You know, I have always said, in order to deal with climate 
change, you got to do three things. You got to have adaptation, 
mitigation, and innovation, and they are very important. 
Particularly on the coast, adaptation and mitigation are 
extremely important.
    Since 1980, the United States has spent $1.75 trillion in 
recovery from 258 billion-dollar events that we have 
experienced. From 2014 to 2018, the United States saw an 
average of 13 billion-dollar disasters every year. Those are 
staggering numbers.
    You know, there are a number, as I mentioned, a number of 
programs that NOAA has been involved with, including the 
Integrated Ocean Observing System, the Digital Coast Sea Level 
Rise Viewer, and reports from Coastal Resilience Grant Programs 
that allow communities to recover and repair from storms. And 
this has allowed Georgia to recover, and it has truly allowed 
us to adapt to the climate. Adaptation, one of the things that 
we need to do.
    According to FEMA, no other coastal state besides Georgia 
has completed disaster recovery and redevelopment plans for 
every coastal county as we have.
    So I would like to ask you, Mr. Spinrad, I would like to 
ask you this: As you can see, these have been truly beneficial 
programs and these efforts. How is NOAA ensuring that local 
communities, especially smaller ones, get this information, and 
what does NOAA do to help them act on this valuable 
information?
    Dr. Spinrad. Thank you, Congressman. I truly appreciate 
your recognition of the hard work that NOAA and our partners 
have undertaken, especially in the state that is home to one of 
our sanctuaries as well, and our attention to the issue of 
coastal resilience.
    So your question really gets down to, no matter how good 
you do in terms of developing products and services, how are 
they being implemented, how are they getting out to the 
communities. We have recognized that that service delivery 
piece, if you will, of our responsibility is one of the most 
important aspects. So we have boots on the ground and 
capabilities like Sea Grant. We also are going to make 
extensive use of our service delivery mechanisms, like the 
weather forecast offices, more than we have in the past.
    Mr. Carter. Okay. All right. Well, thank you for your fine 
work.
    Now, I want to get serious. How many hours in 2 days? You 
know the answer to that. Forty-eight?
    Dr. Spinrad. In 2 days? Forty-eight hours.
    Mr. Carter. Forty-eight hours. You know how many days of 
fishing for red snapper we get on the Atlantic Coast?
    Dr. Spinrad. Yeah. Two.
    Mr. Carter. How many?
    Dr. Spinrad. Less than that, yeah.
    Mr. Carter. Two days. We are going to get 2 days this year 
of fishing for red snapper.
    Now, on the Gulf, I was just told that they went from 
Memorial Day to Labor Day last year, and then they reopened the 
season because they still had plenty of red snapper.
    We get 2 days.
    Let me ask you, do you know who holds the club record at 
The Savannah Yacht Club for the biggest red snapper caught?
    Dr. Spinrad. I do not, sir.
    Mr. Carter. Do you know that I have got plans for these 2 
days elsewhere? Now I am not going to be able to defend my 
record. Two days. How can you justify 2 days for recreational 
fishing for red snapper?
    Right now, the most recent South Atlantic red snapper stock 
assessment indicated that the stock has shown progress toward 
rebuilding. There is an independent, 30-month study that will 
help better understand the true stock of red snapper in the 
South Atlantic. This one is inspired by the Gulf of Mexico, as 
I just mentioned, by their great red snapper count, which 
discovered that there are three times as many red snappers as 
previously estimated in the Gulf.
    What I want to ask you is, can you commit to NOAA using the 
results of this independent study to possibly inform management 
of the South Atlantic red snapper fishery?
    Dr. Spinrad. So, thank you, sir. And I can commit to using 
all the best scientific data that we have got, including the 
results of that assessment, the red snapper count, as we look 
to ensure the highest quality of the assessment of what the 
stocks are of red snapper.
    Mr. Carter. How did you come up with 2 days? I mean, if the 
wind is blowing, if it is raining, then we don't get anything. 
And you tell us the 2 days that we are going to get to fish. 
Two days. Forty-eight hours.
    I hope that we can use this study, I hope that we can make 
an accurate assessment of what exists out there.
    I went fishing in the Gulf of Mexico, and it happened--this 
was off in New Orleans, Port Fourchon, a couple of years ago. I 
had to throw back 44 red snapper. Now, granted, I am a pretty 
good fisherman, but at the same time--but at the same time, I 
had to throw back 44 red snapper. I just--I don't know what you 
all are doing and where you are coming up with this, but I hope 
that you will consider the recreational fisherman.
    Thank you, and I yield back.
    Dr. Spinrad. Thank you, sir.
    Ms. Castor. Next up, we will go to one of the leading 
advocates for ocean policy in the Congress, Representative 
Bonamici.
    Ms. Bonamici. Thank you, Madam Chair and Ranking Member 
Graves. Thank you to our witnesses.
    Dr. Spinrad, it is great to see you, another Oregonian, in 
your position at NOAA, and thank you for being here today, as 
well as Secretary Medina.
    Thank you to the students for being here today as well. I 
hope you are finding this an informative and thought-provoking 
experience to be here.
    So I co-chair the House Oceans Caucus--oh, thank you. Wrong 
button--I co-chair the House Oceans Caucus and the House 
Estuaries Caucus. So I am deeply concerned about the climate 
crisis and how it is affecting our ocean, coastlines, and 
estuaries. Sea level rise, ocean acidification, hypoxic zones, 
harmful algal blooms are on the rise.
    I am glad my colleague, Representative Miller, recognized 
that this affects not only people who represent coastlines like 
I do with the beautiful north coast of Oregon.
    Last year, I reintroduced my bipartisan Blue Carbon for Our 
Planet Act to enhance the research, protection, and restoration 
of blue carbon ecosystems, which has the potential to sequester 
carbon but also to provide coastal resilience benefits.
    So, Dr. Spinrad, in your testimony, you discussed how some 
countries are using blue carbon as a way of meeting their 
nationally determined contributions under the Paris climate 
accord.
    What can NOAA do to help put the U.S. on the same path, and 
how can blue carbon mapping help?
    Dr. Spinrad. Thank you, Congresswoman. Good to see you as 
well.
    Blue carbon is a fascinating subject, and I think to start 
the discussion, we need to point out that it is only recently 
that we have recognized the role that blue carbon can play, the 
role that algae and seaweed and a higher level--higher trophic 
levels can play in this.
    So the first thing we are trying to do is the inventory, if 
you will, the assessment of exactly what does constitute blue 
carbon. And one of the things I am excited about is the 
initiative the White House announced just a couple of months 
ago about the Natural Capital Inventory to understand where is 
the carbon, how much of it is there.
    NOAA will play a critical role. We are the environmental 
intelligence agency, so our efforts to assess and account for 
and also to predict the potential for the growth of blue carbon 
is going to be a major contribution that we make to that 
assessment.
    Ms. Bonamici. Excellent. Well, the idea for the bill came 
from a visit to the Hatfield Marine Science Center, where I 
know you have spent----
    Dr. Spinrad. Very good.
    Ms. Bonamici [continuing]. A significant amount of time. 
Dr. Spinrad, what efforts has NOAA undertaken to incorporate 
equity into decisionmaking? We know the data from NOAA and the 
Census Bureau indicates that vulnerable populations make up 
approximately 40 percent of coastal populations, and more than 
one-third of coastal communities are individuals from 
historically marginalized communities.
    So how are you incorporating that data, making sure that 
marginalized communities share in economic benefit for the blue 
economy?
    Dr. Spinrad. Thank you, Congresswoman. We are doing a 
number of things. I would say in one word what we are doing is 
listening, primarily, engaging with communities that may not 
have had a voice in the dialogue in the past. So we conducted a 
series of eight climate and equity roundtables around the 
country, focused on geography, but also focused on themes--
flooding, drought, extreme heat--and heard what the concerns 
were.
    And I would point out that these were not, if you will, 
your usual roundtables. We involved faith-based communities, we 
involved underrepresented, underserved, vulnerable communities.
    And we are now taking the results of those roundtables and 
building pilots and engaging in delivering products and 
services, and also co-developing what the priorities will be 
for those particular projects.
    Internally at NOAA I have brought on senior advisors in 
those roles, including an Advisor for Tribal Engagement. 
Happens to be another Oregonian, I would point out, a member of 
the Nez Perce Tribe with a Ph.D. in fisheries biology, to help 
us engage with Tribal communities.
    We similarly have elevated a position for equity in 
everything we do. We are building a number of internal 
frameworks for equity and climate that we are using as the 
guide rails on how we prioritize our investments.
    Ms. Bonamici. Don't forget, environmental justice is a 
pillar throughout our Climate Action Plan.
    Assistant Secretary Medina, you mentioned the work at the 
Summit of the Americas. Can you talk about how the U.S. can 
learn from efforts that other nations have taken to research, 
map, and conserve natural solutions like blue carbon?
    Ms. Medina. Absolutely. Thank you, Congresswoman. I think 
it is crucial that we listen and learn from other nations. What 
I hear everywhere I go is gratitude that the U.S. is back, but 
what I convey back to countries when I talk to them is how much 
we have to learn from them.
    And indigenous knowledge is an important way that we can 
learn from other communities, other parts of the conversation 
that haven't always been heard. And we have something called 
the Islands 2030 Network, where we aim to do just that, bring 
together island communities so that they can not only share 
knowledge among themselves but with us.
    I think it is very important that we never go into these 
discussions believing we have all the answers. We have to be 
listening.
    Ms. Bonamici. Thank you. And because it is Ocean Week, 
Capitol Hill Ocean Week, I want to thank you also for your work 
on marine debris and particularly plastics, which we know are 
devastating to marine life and a problem that we absolutely 
need to tackle and can. So thank you for your work on that 
through NOAA.
    And I am over time and yield back. Thank you.
    Ms. Castor. Next, Representative Graves, you are recognized 
for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Graves. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    All right. So I started out by saying that sometimes people 
have trouble with being accurate, so watch this.
    People up here aren't required to tell the truth. That is--
ooh, I am going down.
    People up here aren't required to tell the truth, but they 
can do whatever. They can say whatever. You all are, under the 
law, you all are.
    Did I say at any point that the United States should not do 
anything until China does? Did I say that in my opening 
statement?
    No, I didn't. I didn't. You know that. Yet it was 
interpreted that that is what I said.
    Let's see. What was the other one? Did I--are you familiar 
with emissions related to U.S. energy production, specifically 
National Energy Technology Lab's assessment that was done in 
2019, I think it was October, that found or compared U.S. 
emissions from natural gas delivered to Europe and Asia? Are 
you familiar with that? Ring any bells?
    Dr. Spinrad. I am familiar, but I couldn't cite the data.
    Mr. Graves. Are you aware of just some rough comparison of 
emissions associated with U.S. energy delivered to Europe or 
other countries compared to, for example, Russian energy 
delivered, which one would have a lower emissions profile?
    So National Energy--see, this is what happens. People make 
crap up. They just make it up. Didn't say anything that they 
just said, and then they sit there and legislate it.
    So I am going to ask unanimous consent, Madam Chair, to 
submit for the record a report from the National Energy 
Technology Lab that has found that U.S. gas delivered to 
Russia--excuse me--delivered to Europe, as compared to Russian 
gas, Russian gas has a 41 percent higher emissions profile 
delivered to Europe. It has a 47 percent higher emissions 
profile delivered to Asia.
    So I also, Madam Chair, would like----
    Mr. Huffman. Madam Chair, I don't object to this study that 
shows that we have the prettiest horse at the glue factory.
    Ms. Castor. Without----
    Mr. Huffman. Let's put it in the record. We got the 
prettiest horse at the glue factory.
    Ms. Castor. Without--thank you. Without objection.
    [The information follows:]

                       Submission for the Record

                      Representative Garret Graves

                 Select Committee on the Climate Crisis

                              June 9, 2022

ATTACHMENT: S. Roman-White, S. Rai, J. Littlefield, G. Cooney, T. J. 
Skone,
        ``Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Perspective on Exporting Liquefied 
        Natural Gas from the United States: 2019 Update,'' National 
        Energy Technology Laboratory, Pittsburgh, September 12, 2019.

The report is retained in committee files and available at:
        https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2019/09/f66/
        2019%20NETL%20LCA-GHG%20Report.pdf

    Mr. Graves. Madam Chair, I would like to submit and include 
in the record an analysis the Energy Outlook by the Department 
of Energy under the Biden administration that projects the 
global demand in natural gas growing between now and 2050. So--
--
    Ms. Castor. Without objection.
    [The information follows:]

                       Submissions for the Record

                      Representative Garret Graves

                 Select Committee on the Climate Crisis

                              June 9, 2022

ATTACHMENT: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), International
        Energy Outlook 2021, October 2021, ``Table A6. World natural 
        gas consumption by region, Reference Case.''

This table is retained in committee files and available at:
        https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/ieo/data/pdf/ref/A06_r.pdf

ATTACHMENT: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), International
        Energy Outlook 2021, October 2021, ``Table A6. World natural 
        gas consumption by region, High Economic Growth Case.''

This table is retained in committee files and available at:
        https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/ieo/data/pdf/hm/A06_hm.pdf

    Mr. Graves. Thank you.
    So once again, people sit up here and they say things that 
are just not true. And so then you wonder why, you wonder why 
we are in a situation where the right thing doesn't get done. 
You wonder why we are in a situation where people are out there 
proposing solutions in search of problems. You wonder why in 
the world our gasoline prices have more than doubled under this 
administration.
    Here is why. Because people make crap up and then they go 
and legislate on it.
    So I appreciate my friends, Mr. Huffman and Mr. Casten, 
being here, and I appreciate you all attempting to interpret my 
comments that are totally wrong.
    I also heard Mr. Casten say that a home bought in South 
Louisiana would not survive a mortgage. I would invite you to 
come down to South Louisiana. I would love to host you if you 
want to come down.
    Mr. Casten. Would the gentleman entertain a question?
    Mr. Graves. Not right now.
    I would love to host you down there.
    Mr. Huffman, I appreciate you coming down.
    That statement is just completely ignorant. It is 
completely ignorant.
    Dr. Spinrad, I appreciate you being here. We sent you a 
letter together with about 70 Members of Congress, related to 
LOAs, related to seismic and offshore energy production.
    NOAA has acknowledged--or NMFS, National Marine Fisheries 
Service, has acknowledged that their modeling was incorrect, it 
was spitting out impacts that were not verified, justified, or 
accurate.
    It is holding up domestic energy production activities in 
the United States that directly is contrary to the statements 
that President Biden has made about the number of 9,000 APDs 
that have been approved in the United States.
    Could you tell me your plan forward on ensuring that that 
is resolved so we can produce energy in the United States which 
results in lower emissions than production in other countries?
    Dr. Spinrad. Yeah. Thank you, sir. The short answer is that 
I am working very closely with Director Lefton over at Bureau 
of Ocean Energy Management to make sure that the interpretation 
of how incidental take, which is where the data--the area of 
the data confusion is addressed, and we make sure that the 
interpretation of the incidental take data is applied 
appropriately in their activities from here forward, so----
    Mr. Graves. Can you give me a timeline?
    Dr. Spinrad. Pardon me?
    Mr. Graves. Can you give me a timeline?
    Dr. Spinrad. Not offhand. We can get back to you with the 
specifics of a timeline.
    Mr. Graves. I would appreciate it if you could.
    Dr. Spinrad. Yes, sir.
    Mr. Graves. Secretary Medina, I am going to ask you to fill 
in the blank. This is a quote by Fatih Birol, and I am sure I 
butchered that, but the Executive Director of the IEA, the 
International Energy Administration. This is a comment that he 
made toward the end of the Trump administration.
    He said, quote, In the last 10 years, the emissions 
reduction in the ``blank'' has been the largest in the history 
of energy.
    Do you know which country he was referring to?
    Ms. Medina. Congressman Graves, you got me. I am not going 
to try and guess. I am not the energy expert within the State 
Department either, so I don't want to----
    Mr. Graves. So I will fill it in. In the last 10 years, the 
emissions reduction in the United States--in the United 
States--has been the largest in the history of energy. United 
States' emissions reduction has actually been lower than the 
next seven emissions-reducing countries combined.
    So, look, we can sit here and we can keep talking about how 
we are going to use pixie dust and all these things to power 
the nation's economy. Clearly, the strategy that has been 
implemented under this administration is impacting those who 
can least afford it the most. It has been a complete disaster. 
We are out there begging Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela to 
address our energy needs. This is a flawed strategy. It just 
doesn't work. It is not working for emissions, it is not 
working for affordability, and it is not working for energy 
security.
    And this shouldn't be a partisan issue. Nothing about it 
should be partisan. Just ask people to be rational and tell the 
truth. That is the only way we are going to solve these 
problems.
    I yield back.
    Ms. Castor. Next we will go to Representative Levin. 
Welcome. You are recognized for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Levin. Thank you, Chair Castor. And thanks to everybody 
for being here.
    You know, I am also honored to represent a beautiful 
coastal district, California's 49th District. It has some of 
the world's leading climate scientists, and as the 
representative for that community, the very least that I can do 
is listen to them.
    And one of the measures that has been really instrumental 
in my understanding of the climate crisis for my whole adult 
life is the Keeling Curve and the measure of CO2 in 
the Earth's atmosphere, which I look at.
    You can follow it on Twitter. That is done at the Scripps 
Institution of Oceanography right there in La Jolla. And just 
as of yesterday, 421 parts per million of CO2. That 
is a data point that is so indisputable.
    The question that we all have is what we are going to do 
about it. And I intend to work with whoever will work with me 
across the aisle to try to get anything done that we can to 
reduce our greenhouse gas footprint, whether it is from the 
cars we drive, the buildings we build, or the type of 
electricity we are generating, the way we are growing food.
    We have to do it all, and we have to do it now. The science 
demands we act and that we take bold measures that are actually 
going to be up to the task.
    So, with that in mind, my district is also home to 
beautiful estuaries, so I want to bring up a piece of 
bipartisan legislation. I introduced something called the 
bipartisan Resilient Coast and Estuaries Act, which would 
reauthorize the Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation 
Program, which was created to provide grants to state and local 
governments to purchase land to protect coastal systems and 
wetlands.
    Congress stopped funding this program in 2013, and other 
Federal funding mechanisms ran out in 2017. So our bill would 
reauthorize this crucial program and add climate change 
mitigation as one of the program's goals.
    Dr. Spinrad, can you talk about the role that protecting 
coastal ecosystems plays in combatting the effects of the 
climate crisis?
    Dr. Spinrad. Thank you, Congressman. And I appreciate you 
bringing to bear some of the information we are getting from 
NOAA's resources, including the Keeling Curve from the Mauna 
Loa Observatory.
    I would just simply add, in my office I have vials from 
each of the observatories around the globe, including Barrow, 
Alaska, and the South Pole, and the trend is not limited to 
Mauna Loa.
    So the role that coastal environments play in this regard 
is one that has, through recent scientific research, been 
demonstrated unequivocally, not just in terms of limiting 
activities, if you will, exploitative activities, extractive 
activities in many cases, but also serving as a key place for 
the development of blue carbon, as we discussed a little bit 
earlier, and, of course, as, if you will, nurseries for 
ensuring the biodiversity and the sustained growth of the 
ecosystem, which also contributes to the blue carbon inventory.
    So these special places, in our case it is the National 
Marine Sanctuaries or the National Estuary and Research 
Reserves, are critical components not just of conserving 30 
percent of our lands and waters, but also ensuring that we 
become more climate resilient.
    Mr. Levin. Thank you for that. So our bipartisan bill would 
also strengthen the National Estuary and Research Reserve 
System by requiring NOAA to establish five new reserves and 
expanding research guidelines to include long-term data 
monitoring and modeling on the impacts of climate change.
    How does the reserve system and the research done there 
help us measure the impacts of climate change on our nation's 
coastal communities?
    Dr. Spinrad. Thank you. One of the things--I used to run 
the NERRS program when I was the head of the National Ocean 
Service, and I was particularly excited with the ``R'' that is 
associated with ``research'' in the National Estuary Research 
Reserve System, because protection of those environments is one 
thing, but using them as natural laboratories is really where 
we get the most bang for the buck.
    So there are a limited set of natural laboratories that we 
can use to assess impacts of climate change. The NERRS system 
is really one of the jewels in the crown for that capability.
    Mr. Levin. I want to turn for a moment to the blue economy. 
If done sustainably, aquaculture can create jobs in coastal 
communities and increase domestic seafood production. However, 
these industries are vulnerable to the effects of climate 
change as well.
    How is NOAA supporting new, sustainable, ocean-based 
industries to spur sustainable economic growth, and how are we 
ensuring that these opportunities, like aquaculture, are being 
deployed in a way that is resilient to the impacts of climate 
change in the future?
    Dr. Spinrad. The buildout of the blue economy, and 
specifically what I call the new blue economy, is one of the 
pillars that I brought to the agency as a focal point for what 
we do.
    I am convinced that the use of knowledge, data, and 
information from the ocean is the gold of the future. That is 
going to drive economic development, by some estimates, to the 
tune of an emerging $100 billion industry in climate services 
to serve the needs of local communities. Building upon the 
fundamental products we will provide but doing something 
similar for climate, as was done with the commercial weather 
industry over the last 40 years, but for the full spectrum of 
ocean acidification, precipitation, sea level rise, all of the 
other phenomena.
    Mr. Levin. Thank you very much. I am out of time, but I 
just want to encourage us all, let's step away from politics, 
let's just look at the science, and let's act in a manner 
commensurate with what the science demands.
    Thank you, and I will yield back.
    Ms. Castor. Thank you.
    Next up, Rep. Crenshaw, you are recognized for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Crenshaw. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you, Dr. 
Spinrad, for being here. Thank you, Assistant Secretary Medina.
    I want to talk about cleanliness in our oceans. None of us 
want trash in our oceans. None of us want plastic in our 
oceans. None of us want these things in our oceans either. And 
these are passed out for the committee hearing. It says, more 
ocean, less plastic.
    Is this better in the ocean than this? Is there any 
compelling reason why that might be the case?
    Dr. Spinrad. Assuming you are addressing the question to 
me?
    Mr. Crenshaw. Yeah. Yeah.
    Dr. Spinrad. I would argue, anything we are putting into 
the ocean that is manufactured is not good for the ocean.
    Mr. Crenshaw. I agree. If I throw this away right now, is 
there a good chance it will end up in the ocean?
    Dr. Spinrad. Yes.
    Mr. Crenshaw. Really? American trash is what is ending up 
in the ocean?
    Dr. Spinrad. Globally.
    Mr. Crenshaw. Really? Okay. So there is pretty good studies 
on this that would say that in the Pacific Ocean, trash, 
plastic specifically, the vast, vast majority of it, over 90 
percent comes from Asia, African countries. Is that not true?
    Dr. Spinrad. I think the numbers do tend to show that sort 
of increase on the part of the Asian countries, but that 
doesn't mean that we are not contributing to part of that as 
well.
    Mr. Crenshaw. How much do we contribute?
    Dr. Spinrad. I don't have the answer off the top of my 
head.
    Mr. Crenshaw. It is like less than a percent, isn't it?
    Dr. Spinrad. I don't know.
    Mr. Crenshaw. It is. I mean, because walk me through that. 
So if I throw this in the trash can right now, how does that 
end up in the ocean and not in the landfill nearby?
    Dr. Spinrad. I can't give you the whole chain of how it 
goes from your----
    Mr. Crenshaw. But you said there is a good chance. You said 
that with some authority, that there is a good chance this ends 
up the ocean. How is that true?
    I spent--I was a Navy SEAL in my prior career. I spent a 
lot of time in America's oceans. So how does this end up in the 
ocean so easily?
    Dr. Spinrad. Well, again, I can't give you the whole chain 
of events associated with how our trash gets in the ocean, but 
I can tell you that the data is there. You can look at what is 
in the ocean.
    Mr. Crenshaw. The data is there, that America is 
responsible for an incredibly small percent of any plastic in 
the ocean. Doesn't mean that is okay either. Look, we all want 
to diminish any kind of plastic waste in the ocean.
    So maybe let's talk about advanced recycling. You know, in 
my district, actually, there is a company called Huntsman that 
does amazing advanced recycling, if they are allowed to. There 
is also legislation in the CLEAN Future Act that would 
practically prohibit any new recycling facilities that deal 
with plastics, any new production of plastic.
    You know, and I wonder, is that really a--is that a good 
thing to do?
    Dr. Spinrad. To reduce the source of plastic----
    Mr. Crenshaw. From our trash.
    Dr. Spinrad [continuing]. Tthat would end up in the ocean?
    Mr. Crenshaw. Does it end up--no, we already covered 
whether it ends up in the ocean or not. It clearly doesn't.
    Dr. Spinrad. No, but I am trying to understand the 
question.
    Mr. Crenshaw. No. Advanced recycling. Because you might do 
one thing, right, and maybe it has good intentions. You want to 
have less plastic production in the United States. But it also 
has the second and third order consequence of reducing or 
making it impossible to engage in advanced recycling 
techniques.
    You know, what is the state of recycling in our country 
right now, considering we don't really export it to China the 
way we used to?
    Dr. Spinrad. I can't answer that. I am not an expert on 
recycling technologies.
    Mr. Crenshaw. Ms. Medina maybe--she looked like she wanted 
to answer.
    Ms. Medina. I can add just a little bit of light to this. 
The first thing is that we do still export a tremendous amount 
of our refuse, our waste. And it is true that only 5 or 6 
percent of U.S. plastic is recycled today, and that has gone 
down in the last year. It is going in the wrong direction, 
which is why we are working so hard on a global agreement to 
combat plastic pollution everywhere, all over the world. And we 
need a global solution to this because it is not really 
different from climate.
    Plastic is everywhere. And if we can't stop having as much 
plastic in the system, we will never get it out of the system. 
We need different materials, we need better recycling, and the 
agreement will take on the full lifecycle of plastic.
    And we are standing shoulder to shoulder with the industry 
on this, not just the retailers, but also the makers of the 
very products that we are trying to figure out how to curb the 
pollution of.
    So I am pretty optimistic. It is going to take a lot. We 
are going to need a lot of innovation, we are going to need 
more plants that do that recycling. We are going to need to 
create an economy where that recycled bottle has value. This 
one too. This one has more value, which is why it is a little 
less likely----
    Mr. Crenshaw. I want to ask one more question. Your answer 
makes a lot of sense, and I appreciate you acknowledging that 
it is clearly a global problem that you have to deal with other 
countries on, especially the countries that are putting the 
vast, vast majority of waste into the ocean.
    The next question was--it was mentioned earlier that you 
think sea levels will rise in the Gulf by 2 feet by 2050.
    The obvious next question is, is there anything we can 
actually do to stop that? Because that question indicates what 
the solutions might be. If we stopped all carbon emissions 
globally right now, would that change that rise in sea level?
    Dr. Spinrad. The answer to your last question is that if we 
went to net zero tomorrow, we would still have to deal with sea 
level rise, ocean acidification, all those factors, that is the 
flywheel effect, as we call it, and that we are seeing in 
climate change. It is going to happen.
    Mr. Crenshaw. Right. It is going to happen, and it makes 
preparing for it and the infrastructure necessary to deal with 
it all the more important. And if I had more time I could go on 
a long tirade about cost and benefit and how we should spent 
that money, but I don't and I am out of time. Thank you so 
much.
    Thank you, Madam Chair.
    Mr. Huffman. Madam Chair, could I ask a very quick point of 
inquiry? Because I am genuinely curious, and if I understood 
the gentleman correctly, I think he was suggesting that this 
may be a form of plastic bottle. I think----
    Ms. Castor. You want to ask--I will let you ask.
    Mr. Huffman. I want to ask if you could clarify. I believe 
this is aluminum, and I believe it is truly recyclable, unlike 
the so-called recyclable plastic which we know is a joke. Can 
you just clarify what the heck this is, so that we all have a 
common set of facts?
    Mr. Crenshaw. In typical disingenuous form, I will answer 
your disingenuous question.
    Mr. Huffman. Well, no, I am asking----
    Mr. Crenshaw. Of course, I realize it is different, which 
is why I made the comparison.
    Mr. Huffman. Okay. Well, I think I misunderstood you then.
    Mr. Crenshaw. What I was asking was, is this--we pass these 
out, almost making the implication that these are better for 
the environment than this, but--and it says ``ocean'' on it, 
right?
    So there is an implication here that this is better for the 
ocean than this one, which is why I asked that question, 
because, clearly, any trash in the ocean is the opposite of 
what we want, right?
    Ms. Castor. Well, I look forward to the next hearing maybe 
when we can dive into this a little bit more.
    But thank you so much for joining us on Capitol Hill Ocean 
Week, Dr. Spinrad and Secretary Medina. Thank you for your 
service to America. Thank you for all that you do to protect 
our ocean resources that are key to the economic vitality of 
communities across the country.
    So, without objection, I would like to enter into the 
record an October 15, 2021, letter from 118 organizations and 
businesses supporting the development of the U.S. Ocean Climate 
Action Plan.
    [The information follows:]

                       Submission for the Record

                      Representative Kathy Castor

                 Select Committee on the Climate Crisis

                              June 9, 2022

ATTACHMENT: Letter to President Biden from 118 organizations and 
businesses
        supporting the development of an U.S. Ocean-Climate Action 
        Plan, October 15, 2021.

This letter is retained in committee files and available at:
        https://oceanconservancy.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Final-
        Ocean-Climate-Action-Sign-On-Letter-to-Administration.pdf

    Ms. Castor. Without objection, members will have 10 
business days within which to submit additional written 
questions for the witnesses. And I ask you to please respond as 
quickly as you are able.
    And thank you to the SCUBAnauts for being in attendance 
today.
    The hearing is adjourned.
    [Whereupon, at 10:39 a.m., the committee was adjourned.]

                 United States House of Representatives

                 Select Committee on the Climate Crisis

                        Hearing on June 9, 2022

             ``Turning the Tide for Ocean Climate Action: 
          Unleashing the Climate Benefits of Our Blue Planet''

                        Questions for the Record

                  The Honorable Dr. Richard W. Spinrad

       Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and

                           NOAA Administrator

            National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

                       the honorable kathy castor
    1. Many of the critical ocean observations and science that the 
United States invests in are utilized to inform climate modelling. 
These models are vital tools to help scientists and policymakers 
understand complex systems and test potential solutions. Can you 
explain how climate models are developed and tested and evaluate the 
accuracy of U.S. climate models that are utilized to guide climate 
policy?

    The span of NOAA's modeling portfolio reflects the span of its 
unique world-class mission from the surface of the sun to the depths of 
the ocean. Climate models are based on well-documented physical 
processes to simulate the transfer of energy and materials through the 
climate system. Building and running a climate model is a complex 
process of using satellite and on the ground (in-situ) observations and 
scientific studies to identify and quantify Earth system processes, 
representing them with mathematical equations, setting variables to 
represent initial conditions and subsequent changes in climate forcing, 
and repeatedly solving the equations using supercomputers.
    To develop the models, NOAA scientists use objective tools to 
determine which measurements are to be used in analyses. They apply 
rigorous quality control and quality assurance measures, which are 
subject to peer review in producing analyses and model-observations 
comparisons. Temperature and salinity measurements are used to 
calculate Ocean Heat Content (OHC), one of the most important climate 
variables.
    Climate models can be tested using a process known as hindcasting. 
This process runs the model for a period of time in the past. The model 
results are then compared with observed climate and weather conditions 
to see how well they match. This testing allows scientists to check the 
accuracy of the models and, if needed, revise their equations. Science 
teams test and compare their model internal process calculations and 
overall outputs to observations and results from other models to 
improve the representation of the processes and interactions leading to 
climate states including variability and changes.
    Climate models are further evaluated against other international 
models in the peer-reviewed literature and as part of the 
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Sixth Assessment 
Report (AR6) \1\ evaluation of climate models compared to observations. 
Independent assessments of NOAA's climate models routinely report that 
they are among the best performing in the world.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ https://www.ipcc.ch/assessment-report/ar6/
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    NOAA remains committed to continuously improving models for future 
use. For example, with enhanced ocean model resolution, climate models 
can achieve excellent simulations of global weather and climate 
extremes. Increased observations and evaluation of surface climate and 
ocean heat content can improve key aspects of the overall model 
development. Each of these efforts to improve models includes dozens of 
comparisons with global satellite and in-situ observations. Further, 
historical model-predicted trends in high-impact events, such as 
droughts, floods, and wildfires, are compared against long-term trends 
observed in climate data records to provide confidence in future 
predictions.
    To make the findings of climate models accessible to the public and 
decision-makers, we published the Sea Level Rise Technical Report 
earlier this year. The findings included in this multi-agency report 
were used to develop new information and tools such as the interactive 
Sea Level Rise Viewer \2\ and NOAA Sea Level Rise Portal,\3\ which 
offers tools, services, and educational materials.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\ https://coast.noaa.gov/slr/
    \3\ https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/hazards/sealevelrise/
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    One of the best examples of facilitating climate information is the 
U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit \4\ (CRT), which was designed and 
developed to help decision-makers at all levels of government, 
businesses, community leaders, and managers of natural and built 
environments understand their climate-related risks; and to help them 
produce and implement a climate resilience plan. The site offers 
regional \5\ and topical \6\ information excerpted from the U.S. 
National Climate Assessment (and other authoritative sources), a 
compendium of free tools \7\ from across the Federal government, a 
library of real-world case studies,\8\ a mapping and graphing tool for 
exploring county-scale climate projections \9\ (the Climate Explorer), 
and a ``Steps to Resilience'' \10\ framework to help guide people 
through the process of producing and implementing a resilience plan.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \4\ https://toolkit.climate.gov/
    \5\ https://toolkit.climate.gov/#regions
    \6\ https://toolkit.climate.gov/#topics
    \7\ https://toolkit.climate.gov/tools
    \8\ https://toolkit.climate.gov/case-studies
    \9\ https://crt-climate-explorer.nemac.org/
    \10\ https://toolkit.climate.gov/#steps
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    NOAA's climate models can help us understand how the climate could 
change in the future. NOAA produces actionable climate projections and 
helps inform societal decisions for today and tomorrow. There is a 
critical need for improved projections of how climate will change on 
regional scales through the next several decades. This period of time 
covers a rich decision space for city planning, urban and rural 
infrastructure, natural resource and energy management, emergency 
management, national security, finance and insurance, and numerous 
other policy areas for understanding carbon neutrality. These models 
and the information they provide for decision makers are key to helping 
meet the Administration's climate goals.

                        Questions for the Record

                      The Honorable Monica Medina

                      Assistant Secretary of State

Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs

                        U.S. Department of State

                       the honorable kathy castor
    1. As we know, the ocean is a global system, making international 
cooperation toward addressing the ocean-climate nexus even more 
critical. Can you tell us about why it is important that the ocean is 
increasingly being included in international negotiations like the 
Paris Climate Agreement or the upcoming Convention on Biological 
Diversity meeting?

    The ocean and climate crises are having a wide range of 
environmental, economic, and social impacts. These are global problems 
that require international cooperation and coordination to tackle their 
root causes. To address the threats facing the ocean, I believe we must 
engage the international community to identify concrete solutions and 
generate a combination of top-down and bottom-up approaches to 
implementation. Because the ocean is connected to climate change, 
biodiversity loss, and pollution, I believe it is also critical to work 
with the international community to break down silos. By collaborating 
across fora, we can achieve better integration and efficiency in the 
implementation of ocean and climate solutions.

    2. How do ocean nature-based solutions support mitigation and 
adaptation to climate change, and what is the U.S. doing to advance 
these efforts globally? How do these compare to other mitigation and 
adaptation solutions?

    Nature-based solutions, such as the conservation and restoration of 
``blue carbon'' ecosystems, contribute to mitigation by sequestering 
excess carbon from the atmosphere. Ocean nature-based solutions also 
provide adaptation co-benefits to coastal communities by reducing storm 
impacts, preventing erosion, and providing habitat for valuable marine 
species. In April, the United States launched the Ocean Conservation 
Pledge to encourage countries to join us in a commitment to conserve, 
protect, and restore at least 30 percent of ocean waters under their 
jurisdictions by 2030. Nature-based solutions are also a key cross-
cutting theme across the President's Emergency Plan for Adaptation and 
Resilience (PREPARE), the Administration's cornerstone international 
adaptation response.

    3. How is climate change threatening U.S. security interests, and 
how can we better confront those escalating changes?

    The most vulnerable people, often those caught in or displaced by 
conflict, so often suffer the most from the climate crisis. The 
linkages between migration, health security threats, food insecurity, 
conflict, and climate change are clear. Climate change can exacerbate 
conflict and political instability--and conflict can undermine efforts 
to address climate change's impacts. The U.S. government launched the 
President's Emergency Plan for Adaptation and Resilience as the 
cornerstone of 
the U.S. foreign policy response to address the increasingly 
devastating impacts of the global climate crisis, improve the ability 
of vulnerable communities around the world to confront them, and, as a 
result, bolster regional stability and national security.

    4. The production and disposal of plastics, especially virgin 
single-use plastics, contributes to global emissions, while waste can 
end up in the ocean, where it further degrades, releasing emissions and 
threatening biodiversity. How is the U.S. collaborating with our 
partners abroad to address the damaging global effects of plastic 
pollution on the ocean?

    The United States is combating plastic pollution--both domestically 
and internationally--by building recycling and waste management 
capacity, investing in innovative research and solutions, and engaging 
with our global partners in international environmental bodies, such as 
the UN Environment Assembly. Most recently, we joined other countries 
to launch negotiations on a global agreement on plastic pollution. By 
working closely with interagency colleagues, as well as the private 
sector and civil society stakeholders, OES is assisting other countries 
in improving and implementing best practices, expanding public 
awareness, developing innovative solutions, funding related projects, 
and highlighting U.S. technology and expertise.