: John Kerry Says the Ocean Is Finally Getting the Attention It Deserves in the Climate Change Fight #WorldNEWS John Kerry is a lifelong ocean lover and a long-time advocate for their protection. It’s

John Kerry Says the Ocean Is Finally Getting the Attention It Deserves in the Climate Change Fight #WorldNEWS
John Kerry is a lifelong ocean lover and a long-time advocate for their protection. It’s this passion which led the U. S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate to start the Our Ocean conference in 2014 during his time as Secretary of State in the Obama Administration. The annual meeting brings together countries, civil society, and businesses to cooperate on and make commitments to further ocean protection. In the years since, Kerry believes, the conference has effectively raised the profile of the oceans in the climate discussion.
We have succeeded, I think, in getting everyone to understand that you cant solve the climate crisis without the ocean, Kerry told TIME in an interview on April 13 on the sidelines of this year’s Our Ocean conference in the Pacific island nation Palau. And you cant solve the ocean crisis without reducing emissions. This year alone, 410 commitments were made and . 35 billion committed to ocean protection.
[time-brightcove not-tgx=true]
Although the conference focused on ocean-related topics, Kerrys keynote address also touched on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and how the events unfolding there highlight the urgency to accelerate the transition to an independent and clean energy future. Speaking with TIME, he expanded on those issues. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
This is the first time an Our Ocean conference is being held in a small island developing state, which are particularly at risk from climate change. How does being here in Palau drive home your commitment to protecting the oceans and the need to do that?
Its not something too novel, because Ive been in island states before, but it is very stark in the way that it clarifies the reality of their problems. You see the poverty and you see the reduced numbers of options and you can tune in much more easily to the reason that the impact of a marine protected area has more of a kick here than it does in places that are wealthier, whether its the state of Washington or Oregon or Massachusetts or California. Obviously, managing it here is a much tougher or people-disruptive process. So I think it just emphasizes it.
Palau is blessed in the sense that its got elevation and therefore sea level rise might not be the same thing as if youre an atoll nation. If you’re an atoll nation it’s a more immediate crisis. But nevertheless, the lack of resources, when you hear what the budget size is or what the needs are, it just puts an exclamation point on it.
What do you want to see from COP27 in terms of ocean protection?
I think its going to begin to be time to have greater transparency and accountability of what people are doing and making certain that their mitigation efforts are taking place because if you don’t mitigate you cannot cure the ocean.