BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — The California Senate has unanimously approved a resolution calling for a review of its imports of crude oil from the Amazon rainforest and an eventual phase-out, following years of advocacy from Indigenous leaders in South America.
Environmental groups say oil drilling in the Amazon is driving deforestation, destroying biodiversity and violating Indigenous rights, often without the consent of local communities. California’s purchases undermine its reputation as a climate leader, even as the state works to cut greenhouse gas emissions, they say.
Senate Resolution 51, introduced by Democratic Sen. Josh Becker, passed 37-0 on Monday evening. It directs the Californian Senate to examine the state’s role as one of the world’s top buyers of crude from the Amazon — much of it from Ecuador — and explore steps to reduce and ultimately end those imports.
The vote follows a June visit by leaders from the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of the Ecuadorian Amazon. They met lawmakers in Sacramento and staged a protest in kayaks near the Chevron refinery in Richmond, one of several in the state that process Amazon crude. Much of the gasoline made from this oil is sold in California, but large volumes are exported to nearby states such as Arizona and Nevada.
“I believe this Senate resolution is a call for coherence,¨ said Diana Chávez, International Relationships leader at Pakkiru, an Indigenous organization based in Ecuador’s Amazon.
“As Indigenous peoples, we are already protecting the forests, life, and culture, and resisting extractive activities,” she added. “It’s time for others to assume their social responsibility and take meaningful action.”
“This is the first step in ending California’s addiction to Amazon crude,” said Kevin Koenig, climate and energy director at Amazon Watch, a nonprofit focused on protecting the Amazon and Indigenous rights.
“Consuming oil from the Amazon is incompatible with climate leadership. As the world’s fourth-largest economy, California is sending a powerful market signal by examining its crude footprint and role in Amazon destruction,” Koenig added.
The resolution comes as Ecuador and Peru move to expand drilling.
Ecuador plans to auction more than 2 million hectares (4.9 million acres) in a “Southern Oil Round,” including blocks on remote Indigenous territories — an area roughly the size of New Jersey.
The two countries’ state oil companies have also signed a deal to build a bi-national pipeline to Peru — a project Indigenous groups have condemned.
Supporters say California could stop using Amazon crude without raising costs for drivers if refineries made more fuel for local use instead of exporting.
Although nonbinding, the measure outlines potential changes to California’s fuel sourcing that supporters say would align with the state’s climate targets and protections for Indigenous communities.
By Steven Grattan, Associated Press
This story first appeared on Mongabay
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