by Josefina Barrantes, 30×30 Coordinator, EPIC

California has signed onto a global agreement to durably protect 30% of land and coastal water by the year 2030. This initiative started as an international goal that was first proposed in a 2019 scientific article titled “A Global Deal for Nature” (GDN), which demonstrated the need for increased conservation to mitigate climate change. The GDN article examined the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement and advocated on a global scale for 30% of Earth to be formally protected and an additional 20% designated as climate stabilization areas by 2030. The studies conducted within the article found that with the 30×30 initiative and the Paris Climate Agreement, we would avoid catastrophic climate change, conserve species, and secure essential ecosystem services. 

In response to this global movement, in October of 2020, our California State Governor, Gavin Newsom, decided to issue an Executive Order, making California the first state to declare a commitment to the 30×30 goal. By December of 2022, with the inclusion of 30×30 targets in the United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP15), nearly 200 nations had agreed to this goal, making it the largest agreement to conserve biodiversity in the world 

After Newsom’s Executive Order was released, the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) set out on a year of soliciting public comment, regional listening sessions, and fact-finding, all culminating in the release of the Pathways to 30×30 document. Once finalized and released in April of 2022, this document has essentially served as the state’s guiding strategy on how to accomplish the 30×30 goal as per the Governor’s Order. California’s final Pathways to 30×30 document has the strongest definition of conservation in the nation. 

EPIC (the Environmental Protection Information Center) is working to advance this initiative through working with the Power in Nature coalition, a grassroots amalgamation of over 300 environmental NGOs, land trusts, tribal and community organizations, and tribal governments, all banding together to further 30×30 efforts across the state. In 2022, Power in Nature started tracking 30×30 conservation projects and calculating how many people are working towards this goal to increase our ability to collaborate and to advocate for continued funding and legislation for 30×30. 

Protecting California

Every year at our “Protect California Advocacy Day” at the state capitol, we have a set of priority bills that we advocate for that will help agencies and organizations accomplish the goal of increased lands and ocean waters conservation. During our first Advocacy Day, we successfully helped pass Senator Min’s bill, SB 337, that helped codify 30×30 into state law so that it can live past the Newsom Administration. This bill also requires the state to report progress that it makes each year until 2030. Last year, our Advocacy Day was centered around advocating for a robust and equitable climate bond to be passed by the legislature with funding for 30×30 lands conservation so that voters could decide its fate during the November 2024 election. Fortunately, Proposition 4, or the California Climate Bond, was voted into law by Californians, and funds will begin being dispersed at the start of the coming state fiscal year on July 1, 2025. 

Going into our most recent Protect California Advocacy Day in March, we knew that we would have to push back against the desire for the legislature and the administration to backfill the general fund conservation allocations with the expected funds from the Climate Bond. This means that because there is an expected addition of funds from the passage of Proposition 4, the legislature and governor might slash allocations in the general fund that were expected for 30×30 projects. This is an issue because Proposition 4, the California Climate Bond, was supposed to be additive, not replace the source of funding for 30×30 in the state budget. 

In addition to advocating for general fund allocations for 30×30, we advocated for specific legislation that would help advance this initiative! We organized and met with over 70 legislator offices with 80 coalition members that came for our 3rd annual Protect California Day. Our coalition broke out into their regional groups so that they could meet with offices in which they were a constituent and could raise concerns from a regional perspective, giving examples of 30×30 projects that utilize the state funds for which we are advocating. To get involved in our advocacy efforts, you can call your State Senate and Assembly representatives (find them here: findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov) and ask them to support the passage of our priority legislation listed below. These bills are essential to help 30×30 become a reality in our Golden State. 

• AB 263 (Rogers) would protect critically important Scott and Shasta River watersheds by ensuring emergency regulations adopted by the State Water Board remain in effect until the board adopts permanent long-term instream flow requirements. 
  
• SB 427 (Blakespeare) would remove the sunset date on the Habitat Conservation Fund that provides $30 million each year for projects preserving biodiversity. 
  
• AB 902 (Shultz) would protect wildlife and improve climate resilience while making our roads safer for drivers by requiring regional transportation planning agencies to safeguard and enhance wildlife connectivity when making their regional plans. 
  
• AB 269 (Bennett) would make dam removal projects eligible for funding through the Dam Safety and Climate Resilience Local Assistance Program. 
  
• AB 484 (Kalra) would ensure that existing California law will continue to protect native and migratory birds regardless of actions taken by the federal government to weaken oversight and protections for birds. 
  
• AB 900 (Papan) would direct the California Natural Resources Agency to develop strategies to reduce barriers to science-based management and stewardship of conserved lands. 

If you want to join the Power in Nature coalition of environmental advocates for 30×30, reach out to [email protected]. More information at wildcalifornia.org and PowerInNature.org