[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 191 (Tuesday, October 4, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60228-60230]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-21480]


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OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY


Ocean Climate Action Plan

AGENCY: Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).

ACTION: Notice of request for information.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the 
Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), on behalf of the interagency 
Ocean Policy Committee (OPC), request input from all interested parties 
to inform the development of a U.S. Ocean Climate Action Plan (OCAP) 
that will help guide and coordinate actions by the Federal government 
and civil society to address ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes-based 
mitigation and adaptation solutions to climate change. The OCAP will 
summarize planned Federal ocean-based climate action and the benefits 
of these actions, identify gaps in knowledge and application of 
knowledge to emerging ocean-climate issues, and recommend actions to 
advance the effectiveness of the Nation's response to the impacts of 
climate change. The input received will be used to inform the 
development of the OCAP.

DATES: Responses are due by 11:59 p.m. eastern time on November 18, 
2022. Submissions received after the deadline may not be taken into 
consideration.

ADDRESSES: Interested individuals and organizations should submit 
comments electronically to [email protected] and include ``RFI 
Response: OCAP'' in the subject line of the email. Email submissions 
should be machine-readable (PDF, Word) and should not be locked or 
password protected.
    Instructions: Response to this RFI is voluntary. Each individual or 
organization is requested to submit only one response. Commenters can 
respond to one or many questions. Submissions are suggested to not 
exceed a total of five (5) pages in 12 point or larger font. 
Submissions should clearly indicate which questions are being 
addressed. Responses should include the name of the person(s) or 
organization(s) filing the response. Responses containing references, 
studies, research, and other

[[Page 60229]]

empirical data that are not widely published should include copies of 
or electronic links to the referenced materials. Responses containing 
profanity, vulgarity, threats, or other inappropriate language or 
content will not be considered.
    OSTP or CEQ may post responses to this RFI, without change, on 
their websites. OSTP and CEQ, therefore, request that no business 
proprietary information, copyrighted information, or personally 
identifiable information be submitted in response to this RFI. Please 
note that the U.S. Government will not pay for response preparation, or 
for the use of any information contained in the response.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Scott Doney, 202-456-4444, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Background: Urgent and immediate action is needed to tackle the 
climate crisis through mitigation of and adaptation to the impacts of 
climate change. Climate change threatens valuable marine resources and 
the communities that depend on them. The ocean, as a critical heat and 
carbon sink and with capacities for both mitigation and adaptation 
climate solutions, is an integral component of the Biden-Harris 
Administration's ``all-hands-on-deck'' approach to climate action.
    Examples of ocean-based climate solutions include: harnessing ocean 
renewable energy, protecting and restoring ecosystems that sequester 
carbon and support biological diversity, expanding the extent and level 
of protection of marine protected areas, pursuing responsible and 
efficacious ocean-based carbon dioxide removal and sequestration, and 
decarbonizing shipping. These ocean-based climate solutions can also 
provide abundant co-benefits, including good-paying jobs, sustainable 
livelihoods and communities, and healthier ocean ecosystems that 
support future discovery and innovation. Ocean-based climate solutions 
can also provide an opportunity to advance more equitable access to the 
benefits provided by the ocean to people, and to create a diverse 
workforce.
    The Biden-Harris Administration has set goals and directed action 
for many of these opportunities, including to:
     provide 40% of overall benefits of Federal investment 
relating to climate change and other areas to disadvantaged communities 
(Executive Order 14008: Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad, 
January 27, 2021; https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/27/executive-order-on-tackling-the-climate-crisis-at-home-and-abroad/);
     produce 30 gigawatts of energy from offshore wind by 2030 
(FACT SHEET: Biden Administration Jumpstarts Offshore Wind Energy 
Projects to Create Jobs, March 29, 2021; https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/03/29/fact-sheet-biden-administration-jumpstarts-offshore-wind-energy-projects-to-create-jobs/
);
     conserve at least 30% of U.S. lands and waters by 2030 
(Executive Order 14008: Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad, 
January 27, 2021; https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/27/executive-order-on-tackling-the-climate-crisis-at-home-and-abroad/);
     working with the International Maritime Organization, 
achieve zero emissions from international shipping by no later than 
2050 (FACT SHEET: President Biden's Leaders Summit on Climate, April 
23, 2021; https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/04/23/fact-sheet-president-bidens-leaders-summit-on-climate/).
    More than 20 Federal agencies have developed adaptation and 
resilience plans in response to Executive Order 14008 (FACT SHEET: 
Biden Administration Releases Agency Climate Adaptation and Resilience 
Plans from Across Federal Government, October 7, 2021; https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/10/07/fact-sheet-biden-administration-releases-agency-climate-adaptation-and-resilience-plans-from-across-federal-government/).
    To outline a vision for ocean climate action, the Ocean Policy 
Committee, a Congressionally mandated, Cabinet-level interagency 
committee charged with coordinating Federal ocean policy, (https://www.noaa.gov/interagency-ocean-policy), will develop an Ocean Climate 
Action Plan (OCAP) that will: (1) summarize and assess current and 
planned Federal, ocean-related mitigation and adaptation activities, 
including but not necessarily limited to green shipping, blue carbon, 
biodiversity conservation and protection, ecosystem restoration, 
nature-based solutions, marine renewable energy, ocean-based carbon 
dioxide removal and sequestration, climate-ready aquaculture and 
fisheries, and other ocean-climate related actions; (2) characterize 
the benefits (e.g., mitigation, adaptation, and associated co-benefits) 
of such actions and how they contribute to Administration climate 
change and equity and environmental justice goals; (3) identify needs 
and opportunities to more effectively address climate change impacts 
through additional mitigation or adaptation actions; and (4) identify 
how we can utilize current knowledge to support existing action, and 
define new knowledge needed to better understand and address important 
emerging issues such as ocean-based carbon dioxide removal.

Questions To Inform Development of the Plan

    Respondents may provide information for one or as many topics below 
as they choose. Submissions should clearly indicate which questions are 
being addressed.
    An interagency workgroup co-led by the Department of the Interior, 
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the National 
Science Foundation, in partnership with the CEQ, the OSTP, the National 
Climate Task Force, and other Federal agencies and entities, will 
develop the OCAP with input from the public, States, Tribal Nations, 
scientists, and a wide range of stakeholders. While agencies and the 
workgroup have received ad hoc recommendations on ocean-climate 
solutions, this request for information offers a formal comment period 
to collect input specific to the development of the OCAP. The group is 
seeking input from the public on the following:
    1. Background information. Please briefly describe the role that 
you/your organization has in ocean-based climate solutions. If 
relevant, please describe how you/your organization engages with 
underserved communities.
    2. Critical Actions. What ocean-based climate solutions should be 
considered, and over what time scales? What are specific examples of 
ocean-based climate mitigation and adaptation activities that the 
United States should seek to advance? Which are higher priority? Are 
there actions that should be avoided, and if so, why?
    3. Knowledge, Science, and Technology. What kind of research is 
needed to implement and evaluate the effectiveness and impacts of 
ocean-based climate solutions? How can Indigenous knowledge be 
highlighted to inform solutions? What are important questions, issues, 
and unknowns that need to be addressed? What existing technologies 
might advance implementation of ocean-based climate solutions, and what 
innovations are needed?
    4. Environmental Justice, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. How can 
the benefits of ocean-based climate

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solutions be shared equitably? How should we engage communities in 
local implementation? How should we ensure that ocean-based climate 
solutions are implemented in ways that do not harm underserved 
communities? What opportunities exist for training and employing a 
diverse and inclusive blue workforce in implementing ocean-based 
climate solutions?
    5. Partnerships and Collaboration. What solutions can/should come 
from outside of government? Where and how can the Federal government 
partner with external stakeholders across regions and sectors to 
effectively mitigate and adapt to climate change through ocean-based 
climate solutions?
    6. Additional Comments: Please provide any other input that you 
believe is pertinent to this RFI, within the page limit.
    Please note that the OCAP will also inform the OPC's work to 
develop a National Strategy for a Sustainable Ocean Economy (National 
Strategy), which will describe a vision and set high-level goals for 
the sustainable management of the Nation's ocean, coasts, and Great 
Lakes, and frame development of a national plan towards a sustainable 
ocean economy. For more information, see https://www.noaa.gov/interagency-ocean-policy. OSTP and CEQ will solicit public comment on 
the National Strategy through public notice in the Federal Register.

    Dated: September 29, 2022.
Stacy Murphy,
Operations Manager.
[FR Doc. 2022-21480 Filed 10-3-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3270-F8-P