Saying more needs to be done to preserve nature as a way to help address climate change, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday committed the state to a goal of protecting 30% of California’s land and coastal waters by 2030. Newsom signed an executive order directing the state’s Natural Resources Agency to draw up a plan by Feb. 1, 2022, to achieve the goal in a way that also protects the state’s economy and agriculture industry, while expanding and restoring biodiversity — the vast variety of animals and plants — that live in areas as varied as the Bay Area’s tidepools to arid deserts in Southern California to mountain forests across the Sierra Nevada. “In our existential fight against climate change, we must build on our historic efforts in energy and emissions and focus on our lands as well,” Newsom said. “California’s beautiful natural and working lands are an important tool to help slow and avert catastrophic climate change.” California becomes the first state to commit to the “30 x 30” goal — a growing effort by dozens of environmental groups, scientific […]
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