The Ocean Policy Committee, chaired by the Council on Environmental Quality and Office of Science and Technology Policy, released the first-ever White House Ocean Justice Strategy today in Dubai at COP28. According to the Biden-Harris administration, the Ocean Justice Strategy is intended to build upon the White House Ocean Climate Action Plan, released in March 2023, to further the vision, goals, and high-level objectives for coordinating and guiding ocean justice activities across the federal government, while minimizing the impacts of ocean climate action to ocean justice communities and those on the frontline of climate change.

As a founding member of the Ocean Justice Forum, Earthjustice joins our partners in celebrating the historic release of the Ocean Justice Strategy today. Earthjustice Legislative Representative Kristin Butler said:

“For the first time, we are seeing the U.S. government acknowledge that we need to center the voices of the coastal communities most impacted by climate change, declining ocean health, and the negative health impacts of industrialization and development. The Ocean Justice Strategy marks a transition towards prioritizing these voices, which often have been systemically excluded from power and under-resourced, across U.S. federal governance. But ocean justice communities, including many of our partners across the country and territories, have been fighting for equity in our oceans for generations. They deserve to see this strategy implemented.”

Read the full release from the Ocean Justice Forum.