Motivating governments to proactively respond to the impacts of ocean acidification by charting a course of action for sustaining coastal communities and livelihoods.

The OA Alliance was established in direct response to the impact of ocean acidification to oyster hatchery production that was felt across the West Coast, and to motivate governments to proactively respond to impacts of ocean acidification on coastal communities and livelihoods.

Together the OA Alliance is:

• Supporting governments to take meaningful actions to address changing ocean conditions;
• Pushing for inclusion of strong ocean protection provisions in international climate agreements and other relevant frameworks; and
• Creating a coalition of governments and partners elevate the visibility and importance of OA in public discourse and policy development.

OA Alliance members are working together to elevate the issue of ocean acidification and develop OA Action Plans that contain practicable, implementable steps to mitigate causes, to adapt to unavoidable change and to build resiliency in marine ecosystems and the coastal communities impacted by changing ocean conditions. The OA Action Plan toolkit provides members with examples and suggestions on a strategic process for getting started on the creation OA Action Plans.

The intent of the OA Alliance is to motivate governments to proactively respond to the impacts of ocean acidification by charting a course of action for sustaining coastal communities and livelihoods. OA Alliance members work together to raise awareness about ocean acidification. They commit to take individual actions that address the environmental and economic threat posed by ocean acidification within their region by creating their own unique OA Action Plan. Members are also calling for emissions reductions and ocean adaptation and resiliency actions under applicable climate frameworks like the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal. Ultimately, the best mitigation plan for ocean acidification is to drastically curb carbon emissions, requiring the same international collaboration.

Because OA is a multi-sectoral issue and is relevant to climate mitigation and adaptation, ocean and land management, food security, reef resilience, aquaculture and fisheries, it is essential that there is a high-level of coordination between ocean and climate scientists and policy implementers.