California’s Ocean Acidification Action Plan: A Roadmap for Science-informed Management and Decision Making

Over ten years ago, the California Ocean Protection Council (OPC) identified ocean acidification (OA) as a priority climate impact threatening our state. Since then, OPC has made strategic investments to understand the science behind ocean acidification and its impacts, as well as work collaboratively to move state, regional, federal, and international policy forward. Building off this work, and in concert with the Ocean Science Trust, OPC developed and released its 2018 California Ocean Acidification Action Plan. The Action Plan lays out six strategies and related actions to identify and prepare for a full range of risks and impacts, reduce the causes of OA, improve the resilience of vulnerable groups, and minimize harmful effects. For this session, we will highlight California’s accomplishments in understanding ocean acidification and its impacts, with a focus on ongoing projects and priorities to support management and policy.