STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1791

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.C.R. No. 129

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2019

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Water and Land and Agriculture and Environment, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 129 entitled:

"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ENGAGING, ENDORSING, ACCEPTING, AND ADOPTING THE NEW YORK DECLARATION ON FORESTS TO ACHIEVE THE UNITED NATIONS PARIS AGREEMENT AND THE 2030 AGENDA FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT; SPECIFICALLY SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOAL 15, LIFE ON LAND,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to engage, endorse, accept, and adopt the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF) and urge federal leaders and the nation to embrace the goals of the NYDF and the 2030 Agenda and make sustainable development the centerpiece of national social and sustainable policies.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources and three individuals.

Your Committees find that the NYDF was created and launched at the United Nations Climate Summit at United Nations Headquarters in September 2014 to provide a proactive and participatory human rights based approach to protect and restore forests that supports the scope and significance of the United Nations 2030 Agenda and the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals. Your Committees further find that the NYDF outlines ten global targets related to protecting and restoring forests, which, if realized, have the potential to reduce annual carbon emissions by 4.5 to 8.8 billion tons of carbon dioxide – the equivalent of the annual emissions of the United States. Your Committees find that the NYDF coincides with ongoing state efforts to reduce loss of forests, increase carbon sequestration, and mitigate the impacts of climate change.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Water and Land and Agriculture and Environment that are attached to this report, your Committees concur with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 129 and recommend its adoption.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Water and Land and Agriculture and Environment,

________________________________ MIKE GABBARD, Chair

________________________________ KAIALI'I KAHELE, Chair