Seafood, Blue Jobs, and the Green New Deal

The Green New Deal is a broad and ambitious agenda to invest in communities, infrastructure, technology, and good jobs to help the United States achieve environmental and economic justice. Our food systems comprise 9 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and 11 percent of all U.S. jobs. At the same time, oceans are our greatest natural resource. Oceans have absorbed around 30 percent of anthropogenic carbon and seafood is the number one source of animal protein in the world.

And with more U.S. territory sitting below water than above, and 40 percent of Americans living in coastal counties, oceans are also a major part of the U.S. economy, supporting 3.3 million U.S. jobs. By unleashing the potential of our waters, we can curb climate change while vastly strengthening the blue economy. This brief highlights how action at the intersection of these areas can and must play a large role in addressing climate change. Reforms within our food systems and investments in our waters and seafood infrastructure are vital to the environmental and economic goals of a Green New Deal.