Input from the International Alliance to Combat Ocean Acidification to the EU coastal communities strategy

March 23, 2026

The OA Alliance EU Stakeholders Working Group grew out of the meeting, ‘Exploring Marine Management and Policy Response to Ocean Acidification,’ which was held 24 May, 2023 on the margins of European Maritime Day 2023 in Brest, France.

Since then, this working group has met quarterly and has continued to advance the integration of Ocean Acidification into European legal and policy documents. In this capacity, we responded to the call for evidence for the EU coastal communities strategy, an initiative aimed at supporting the sustainable development of coastal communities, thereby also addressing their socio-economic challenges. Moreover, the strategy aims at facilitating coastal communities in their responds to climate change.

The OA Alliance submission to the EU coastal communities strategy calls on the European Commission to account for climate-ocean changes, such as Ocean and Coastal Acidification (OA), by:

1. Strengthening economic competitiveness while taking into account the threat posed by OA to European ecosystems and marine species;

2. Enhancing climate-ocean resilience and adaptation;

3. Identifying the threat posed by OA to the cultural heritage of coastal communities, thereby fostering inclusive and vibrant communities,

4. Aligning the Strategy with key policy and legal priorities such as the European Ocean Pact and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD).