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A bill to direct California's mighty economy against tropical rainforest destruction has been reintroduced in Sacramento.
"The 2021 version of this measure passed both houses of the California legislature before it was vetoed," said Paul Hughes, executive director of Forests Forever. "This time advocates are meeting with Gov. Gavin Newsom to develop language that will address his stated concerns.
"With added public outcry we can make 2022 the year it passes. Our members and supporters who wrote, emailed or donated in favor of the previous versions deserve a big thank-you!"
Authored by Assemblymember Ash Kalra (D-San Jose), A.B. 1979 is the California Deforestation-Free Procurement Act. It would require that all state contracts involving "forest-risk commodities" (examples include palm oil, beef, rubber, and soy) certify that their operations do not contribute to tropical deforestation or abuses of indigenous peoples' rights. This would apply to contracts starting or renewing on or after Jan. 1, 2025.
The world's tropical forests are indispensable in the fights against both global warming and loss of biodiversity. These forests are some of the most carbon-rich biomes on the planet, harboring some 80 percent of all terrestrial species. Forest destruction is the second-largest driver of global CO2 emissions.
California's is the fifth largest economy in the world if it were a country, larger than the economies of the U.K and India. Our state government's purchasing power matters. Let's make sure our tax dollars are not helping destroy the lungs of the planet.
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Paul Hughes
Executive Director
Forests Forever
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RESOURCES →
- Read A.B. 1979 here.
- Our ally Friends of the Earth has prepared a fact sheet on the bill and the problem of tropical deforestation.
- With your help Forests Forever backed two previous versions of the Deforestation-Free Procurement Act. Our action alerts outline the first, A.B. 2002 as well as its successor, A.B. 416, which added boreal forests to the biomes protected. In the interest of speeding its passage, A.B. 1979 again narrows the focus to tropical forests.