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John, This month, I was honored to attend the 2022 UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon. I joined with over 6,000 other participants leading the work for urgent and concrete actions to tackle the ocean crisis. Climate change is the greatest challenge of our lifetime, and because of it we know that our ocean is in a dire state: rising sea levels, coastal erosion, warmer and more acidic waters, pollution, extreme overfishing, destruction of marine biodiversity, and more. Of the many issues that span across borders and jurisdictions, this ocean crisis is one of the most pressing we currently face, and one that cannot be adequately addressed without swift international cooperation. The Lisbon conference was an unprecedented opportunity for global leaders to come together in support of innovative and science-based action to improve and protect our oceans’ health. It is heartening to see such enthusiastic recommitment to meeting our collective goal of achieving at least 30% ocean protection and 100% sustainable management by 2030. John, we can’t become complacent now. We must live up to the agreements of this conference and put our discussion into action. Our climate depends on it. It is time for us to invest in the expansion and management of marine protected areas, commit to reducing and eliminating plastic pollution, calling for regulation targeting abusive overfishing practices, and continue fighting against Big Oil’s offshore drilling. In Congress, I have been proud to be on the front lines of this work protecting our oceans and coastal communities, but we know this is a long-game effort – and time is quickly running out to halt and reverse our oceans’ health and get our marine ecosystems on the path to a sustainable future. I am ready for the work ahead, and I hope you’ll stand with me in this moment when collaboration and collective effort is needed most. Thanks for all you do, Jared Huffman
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