Enacts the tropical rainforest economic & environmental sustainability act and establishes the supply chain transparency assistance program

• Democratic22

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Liz Krueger says this is needed

Tropical forests cover roughly 7 percent of Earth's surface, but harbor close to 50 percent of all species on Earth. Those species are now going extinct at a rate that is at least 100 to 1,000 times higher than historical levels, due to human activity. Globally, an estimated 18,000,000 acres of forest, an area more than half the size of New York State, are lost every year to deforestation according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, with over one-half of Earth's tropical forests already gone. At the current pace, the entirety of Earth's tropical rainforests will be degraded or destroyed within the next 100 years. A significant amount of the world's greenhouse gas emissions come from deforestation and forest degradation. Taking into account carbon seques- tration potential, stopping the loss of tropical forests, mangroves, and wetlands could provide over 20 percent of necessary climate mitigation by 2030. Loss of biodiversity resulting from forest degradation and deforesta- tion, as well as human encroachment on formerly undisturbed ecosystems, increases the risks of zoonotic disease pandemics such as COVID-19. In addition, tropical deforestation in many countries is closely associ- ated with violations of the land rights of indigenous peoples and local communities and with the exploitation of workers, including forced labor and child labor, and in many cases is enabled by corruption, criminali- ty, and violence against conservationists and land defenders. The prima- ry factor leading to tropical deforestation is degradation and road- building associated with logging for timber, while the largest direct cause of tropical deforestation is industrial-scale production of agri- cultural commodities. Together, these are increasingly known as "forest-risk commodities." New York, which has one of the largest economies in the world and a state government with significant purchasing power, is inadvertently promoting and sanctioning tropical primary forest degradation and trop- ical deforestation through the purchase of goods and products that have been produced in supply chains that contribute to tropical primary forest degradation and tropical deforestation. This bill will update and close loopholes in existing statutes that limit the purchase of tropical hardwoods, and create a new statute requiring contractors that sell tropical forest-risk commodities to state agencies or authorities to certify that they are not contributing to tropical forest degradation or tropical deforestation directly or through their supply chains. The bill would also create a Supply Chain Transparency Assistance Program to help New York's small- and medium-sized businesses, as well as minority-and women-owned businesses who choose to establish more ethical and sustainable supply chains, while ensuring they have the tools they need to compete in the national and global marketplace.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.