By Teresa R. Christopher & Others Photo: David L. Ryan , Getty Images
In April 2021, the United States set an ambitious climate target of reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, a 100 percent carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035, and a 50 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.1 To reach these lofty climate goals, U.S. leaders should look to the ocean for climate solutions. The ocean is an important part of addressing climate change: It already absorbs 25 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions and captures 90 percent of the additional heat generated from those emissions.2 With climate impacts becoming ever more present, the ocean will serve as a key source of drinking water through desalination and food as supplies become scarcer.3 The ocean will also provide clean, renewable energy, including wave, tidal, floating solar, and—most notably—offshore wind. Stronger and more consistent than onshore wind, offshore wind has huge potential to make up a significant portion of the U.S. clean energy mix.4 In fact, offshore wind could provide more than 2,000 gigawatts (GW) of energy in the United States—two times the present generation of the entire U.S. electric grid.5