CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Resolution
No. 51

Introduced by Senator Becker

June 10, 2025

Relative to Protecting the Amazon Rainforest in Ecuador.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SR 51, as introduced, Becker.
WHEREAS, The Amazon basin is critical for the health of our planet and climate; and
WHEREAS, The Amazon is threatened by deforestation and degradation, driven by large scale agribusiness, the extractive industry, illegal logging, and other activities that have caused the Amazon to reach a dangerous ecological tipping point; and
WHEREAS, Indigenous people play an essential role in the protection of the Amazon and its biodiversity; and
WHEREAS, An overwhelming majority of Ecuadorians voted in a national referendum to keep 847,000,000 barrels of crude permanently in the ground in Ecuador’s Yasun  National Park to fight climate change and protect the rights of indigenous peoples living in voluntary isolation; and
WHEREAS, California has been a global leader in addressing climate change and has made important commitments and ambitious goals to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions in line with the Paris Agreement; and
WHEREAS, In 2023, the State of California endorsed the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, a global initiative aimed at accelerating the transition to clean energy and equitably phasing out fossil fuel production; and
WHEREAS, Three indigenous leaders from the Ecuadorian Amazon have come to Sacramento to educate California’s decisionmakers on the status of deforestation in the Amazon and to explore opportunities to work together on solutions; and
WHEREAS, Like other communities around the world, California’s fate is interconnected to the health and preservation of the Amazon basin and we are linked in our consumption of natural resources extracted from the Amazon; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, That the Senate commends the advocacy of Juan Bay, Zenaida Yasacama, Jhayayra Machoa, and their communities for their steadfast work in protecting the Amazon biome and safeguarding the future for their children and our entire planet; and be it further
Resolved, That the Senate commits to investigating the impact of California’s role in the consumption of crude sourced from the Amazon region and exploring ways that changes to state policies and practices can assist with efforts to preserve and protect the Amazon rainforest, and be it further
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.