HI HR60

Hawaii House of Representatives endorses, accepts, and adopts the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF), a declaration launched at the United Nations Climate Summit in September 2014 with endorsements from 200 entities including governments, corporations, civil society organizations, and indigenous peoples.

The NYDF outlines ten global forest protection and restoration targets with potential to reduce annual carbon emissions by 4.5 to 8.8 billion tons of CO2, equivalent to annual United States emissions.

The ten NYDF goals include: stopping forest loss, eliminating agricultural deforestation, reducing non-agricultural deforestation, supporting subsistence alternatives, restoring forests, quantifying conservation targets for 2030, reducing emissions from deforestation, providing financing, rewarding emissions reductions, and strengthening governance and indigenous rights.

Hawaii's forests cover approximately 2 million acres (half the state's land mass) and provide critical watershed, soil, habitat protection, cultural value, and environmental benefits.

The legislature urges federal leaders to embrace NYDF goals and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and directs certified copies be sent to the President, Congressional leadership, UN officials, Hawaii's congressional delegation, and all county mayors.