Washington, DC – On Wednesday, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will release its Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate. This report will be the IPCC’s first stand-alone assessment of our ocean. IPCC assessments focus on the science of climate change and don’t always include policy recommendations or solutions.

We hope that coverage of the new IPCC ocean report will include actions that people and governments can take today to mitigate climate change’s impacts and adapt to the effects we are already experiencing. Ocean Conservancy has regional experts in Alaska, the Pacific Northwest, California and Florida who can speak to the local impacts in these regions as well as potential ocean-based solutions, such as offshore renewable energy, shipping industry emissions reduction and the protection of marine ecosystems and habitats. We need the ocean to be not only a victim of climate change but also part of the solution.

Climate change is impacting our ocean and the communities that rely on it from Alaska, to the west coast, to Florida. The effects are dire. Our ocean is warming, acidifying and losing oxygen, which hurts ocean ecosystems and hinders vital services such as food, jobs, recreation and weather and climate modulation. But now is the time to act. The ocean itself is part of the climate solution.

MEDIA AVAILABILITY: Reporters interested in interviewing any of Ocean Conservancy’s experts should contact the media contacts listed above.

Ocean Conservancy experts available for interviews:

ALASKA/ARCTIC

Michael LeVine, Senior Arctic Fellow.

WASHINGTON STATE/ARCTIC

Becca Gisclair, Senior Director of the Arctic Program,

CALIFORNIA/WEST COAST

George Leonard, Chief Scientist.

FLORIDA

Jeff Watters, Senior Director of Government Relations, Florida Program lead.

NATIONAL

Sarah Cooley, Director of Ocean Acidification.

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Ocean Conservancy is working to protect the ocean from today’s greatest global challenges. Together with our partners, we create science-based solutions for a healthy ocean and the wildlife and communities that depend on it. For more information, visit oceanconservancy.org, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.