California Air Resources Board Adopts Controversial International Carbon Offsets Standard. (2019, October 2). Retrieved from https://caleja.org/2019/09/california-air-resources-board-adopts-controversial-international-carbon-offsets-standard/.
The California Air Resources Board voted 7-4-1 to approve the Tropical Forest Standard. This controversial standard continues to let polluters pay to keep polluting. This neglects public health and the climate and doesn’t protect indigenous lands. There have been strong objections to this decision from environmental justice and indigenous groups alike. There is also strong evidence that international offset programs don’t work and abuse human rights. Four of the assembly members voted no, saying that it wouldn’t protect public health. One person refused to vote. People like Katie Valenzuela are upset that there are “corporate-funded environmental groups” that create policies that do not actually protect the environment.
This article shows that corporations and state-wide assemblies do not care a whole lot about the environment. This standard also passed the day of the Global Climate Strikes, so it is clear to see where people’s interests lie, and it is not the environment. I am still hopeful, however, since there were 4 assembly members, one of which is a Senator, who voted against the standard, and there were countless people who protested that day to help the environment.
I agree with your response, it’s definitely a bit upsetting, but there could be an opportunity for change in the future. Why did those 7 people decide to vote in favor of the law? Obviously it’d vary from person to person, but I don’t exactly see an upside to passing it.
The 7 people who voted in favor of the law likely have vested interest like family/stock holdings in these polluting industries, and it is more than likely that they receive campaign contributions from these industries through PACs in order to keep them on the side of the corporations.