HI SCR243

Hawaii engages, endorses, accepts, and adopts the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF) to support the United Nations Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, specifically Sustainable Development Goal 15 on Life on Land.

The NYDF outlines ten global forest protection and restoration targets, including stopping forest loss, eliminating deforestation from agriculture, restoring forests, and reducing emissions from deforestation in accordance with global climate agreements.

Implementation of the NYDF could reduce annual carbon emissions by 4.5 to 8.8 billion tons of carbon dioxide, equivalent to the annual emissions of the United States.

Hawaii's two million acres of forests, covering approximately half the state's land mass, provide critical watershed, soil, habitat protection, and cultural significance to the islands.

The Legislature urges federal leaders and the nation to embrace the NYDF goals and the 2030 Agenda as the centerpiece of national social and sustainable policies, with copies of the resolution transmitted to the United Nations, President, Congress, and state/county officials.