By Meghan Cleary

During an unprecedented period of social and political unrest, the specter of climate change presided over the United States like a dark omen. Frightening images of a changing climate appeared nearly as often as campaign ads in the daily newsreel. Massive wildfires spread throughout California and the pacific northwest, claiming over 30 lives as of mid-September. The gulf coast suffered an unprecedented hurricane season, with 27 tropical storms and 4 major hurricanes costing over 140 lives. With these and so many other flashbulb climate disasters fresh in voters’ minds, climate change was at the forefront of this year’s historic election. A recent poll found that 42% of all voters, 68% of Biden supporters, and 11% of Trump supporters said climate change was “very important” to their vote in this year’s election. With many issues at stake in the 2020 election, the prioritization of climate is telling of a growing understanding amongst Americans that climate change poses a very real threat to everyday life.

As the reality of climate change comes into focus for many Americans, it is important to reflect on the past four years as we chart a path forward. In the last four years, President Trump has made America the number one producer of oil and gas in the world, removed the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement, stopped the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan in its tracks, and approved the construction of several oil access pipelines. All of these actions delivered on the President’s promise to ensure the vitality of oil and gas industries in the U.S. threatened by mounting demands to transition to a clean-energy economy. In his speech at the Double Eagle oil rig in Midland, Texas, President Trump said of his time in office, “we ended the war on American energy, and we stopped the far-left assault on American energy workers.” The demonization and reversal of efforts to set the United States on a course towards a clean energy economy during Trump’s presidency represent more than just a missed opportunity to avoid an irreversible amount of warming. They lay bare a growing divide between the left and the right on the future of renewable energy.

The balance of power in the Senate, which depends mainly on the upcoming January 5th Georgia senate run-offs, could decide the fate of renewable energy investment by the United States over the next few years. If the incumbent Republican senator, David Perdue, is usurped by his democratic challenger, John Ossof, Senate’s balance of power would tip to the democrats, paving the way for several bills focused on cultivating a clean-energy economy to be passed into law. One of these bills focuses specifically on ocean-based renewable energy, which has the potential to be the key to inspiring a broad transition to renewable energy on land if successful.

On October 20th, Raul Grijalva (D-Ar) and Suzanne Bonamici (D-Or) introduced the “Ocean Based Climate Solutions Act” into congress. This bill supports the transition to a clean energy economy and highlights the monumental role oceans play in this effort. If passed, the act would prohibit new oil and gas leasing in all areas of the outer continental shelf, representing a decisive shift away from non-renewable offshore energy. The bill proposes a goal of 12.5 gigawatts of offshore wind energy production by 2025and 25 gigawatts by 2030. To put this amount of energy into context, one gigawatt of energy is enough to power 110 million LED lights, or light every household in Wisconsin.

According to a study done by Oceana and The Department of the Interior in 2015, offshore wind could generate more energy over a 13-year period than all of the recoverable offshore oil and gas resources that currently exist on the east coast. This is a lot of energy given that current offshore oil and gas drilling accounts for 18% of total U.S. oil production and 4% of natural gas production, enough to meet U.S. energy demand for a total of 45 days (2016).

Offshore wind, which currently produces only 0.3% of global energy, is a vastly underutilized resource that can generate 18 times more energy worldwide than the current global energy demand. In the United States alone, offshore wind could supply double the annual U.S. energy demand. The incredible potential of offshore wind is also becoming more recognized as the industry continues to gro. From 2010 to 2018, the offshore wind industry grew by 30% and is projected to grow by 15-fold by 2040.

The bill not only aims to promote offshore renewable energy but also recognizes the need for the conservation of marine and coastal ecosystems and communities. The bill sets a goal to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030 and, if passed, would establish several federal task forces to develop and implement plans to achieve this goal. The act allocates $3 billion dollars to support coastal communities hardest hit by the adverse effects of climate change. Through this funding, the bill would assist communities of color, tribal, rural, and low-income communities, while creating jobs for those left unemployed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition to expanding policy initiatives to conserve marine ecosystems and assist suffering coastal communities, this bill recognizes the profound power of blue carbon ecosystems like salt-marshes and mangroves to sequester atmospheric carbon. According to a 2011 study, blue carbon ecosystems have the potential to sequester up to four times as much carbon as inland forests. This massive potential of blue carbon ecosystems to contribute to the climate change mitigation effort is recognized in the bill, with several protections for these ecosystems outlined and federal funding proposed to aid in their protection and restoration.

In the wake of a challenging year, this bill finds hope for the future in our oceans. As bountiful sources of renewable energy, instrumental tools for carbon sequestration, and homes to countless species of marine life, oceans are one of our strongest allies in the fight against climate change. This bill promises to forge this sustainable alliance that would have ramifications far into the future for the health of our oceans and the world as a whole. With the new Senate composition still unknown, the responsibility is ours to advocate for this bill and others to ensure a better future for the climate.

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The Ocean-Based Climate Solutions Act Charts A Hopeful Path Forward In The Fight Against Climate Change