{"id":9482,"date":"2025-08-28T05:38:25","date_gmt":"2025-08-28T09:38:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/?p=9482"},"modified":"2025-08-28T05:38:25","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T09:38:25","slug":"california-lawmakers-seek-to-curb-oil-imports-from-amazon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/?p=9482","title":{"rendered":"California Lawmakers Seek to Curb Oil Imports from Amazon"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The California Senate has unanimously approved a resolution calling for a review of its imports of crude oil from the Amazon rainforest<\/a><\/span> and an eventual phase-out, following years of advocacy from Indigenous leaders in South America.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s purchases undermine its reputation as a climate leader, even as the state works to cut greenhouse gas emissions, they say.<\/p>\n

Senate Resolution 51, introduced by Democratic Sen. Josh Becker, passed 37-0 on Monday evening. It directs the Californian Senate to examine the state\u2019s role as one of the world\u2019s top buyers of crude from the Amazon \u2014 much of it from Ecuador<\/a><\/span> \u2014 and explore steps to reduce and ultimately end those imports.<\/p>\n

Juan Bay, president of the Waorani people of Ecuador, foreground, looks at an oil tanker docked at the Chevron Long Wharf, Thursday, June 19, 2025, in Richmond, Calif. (AP Photo\/Godofredo A. V\u00e1squez, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The vote follows a June visit by leaders<\/a><\/span> 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe this Senate resolution is a call for coherence,\u00a8 said Diana Ch\u00e1vez, International Relationships leader at Pakkiru, an Indigenous organization based in Ecuador\u2019s Amazon.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs Indigenous peoples, we are already protecting the forests, life, and culture, and resisting extractive activities,\u201d she added. \u201cIt\u2019s time for others to assume their social responsibility and take meaningful action.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the first step in ending California\u2019s addiction to Amazon crude,\u201d said Kevin Koenig, climate and energy director at Amazon Watch, a nonprofit focused on protecting the Amazon and Indigenous rights.<\/p>\n

\u201cConsuming oil from the Amazon is incompatible with climate leadership. As the world\u2019s fourth-largest economy, California is sending a powerful market signal by examining its crude footprint and role in Amazon destruction,\u201d Koenig added.<\/p>\n

The resolution comes as Ecuador and Peru move to expand drilling.<\/p>\n

Ecuador plans to auction more than 2 million hectares (4.9 million acres) in a \u201cSouthern Oil Round,\u201d including blocks on remote Indigenous territories \u2014 an area roughly the size of New Jersey.<\/p>\n

The two countries\u2019 state oil companies have also signed a deal to build a bi-national pipeline to Peru \u2014 a project Indigenous groups have condemned.<\/p>\n

Supporters say California could stop using Amazon crude without raising costs for drivers if refineries made more fuel for local use instead of exporting.<\/p>\n

Although nonbinding, the measure outlines potential changes to California\u2019s fuel sourcing that supporters say would align with the state\u2019s climate targets and protections for Indigenous communities<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

– Steven Grattan, AP News<\/em><\/p>\n

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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…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":124,"featured_media":9484,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/dims.apnews.com\/dims4\/default\/e4fbbe7\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/8371x5581+0+0\/resize\/1440x960!\/format\/webp\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.apnews.com%2F4c%2Fa1%2Fd07fb898aace071e4451abf90cf7%2F849e3b5b37ff4acea7a60aacf18d68f1","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[189],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-borders-commerce"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/124"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9482"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9482\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9485,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9482\/revisions\/9485"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9484"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}