The California Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Water advanced a resolution to investigate the impact of California’s crude oil imports from the Amazon region. It awaits a full vote in the Senate for approval.
The resolution, advanced on July 8, 2025, would commit the Senate to “investigating the impact of California’s role in the consumption of crude sourced from the Amazon region and exploring ways that changes to state policies and practices can assist with efforts to preserve and protect the Amazon rainforest.”
California State Senator Josh Becker introduced the resolution after indigenous leaders from the Ecuadorian Amazon came to Sacramento to “educate California’s decisionmakers on the status of deforestation in the Amazon and to explore opportunities to work together on solutions.”
California imported 43.8 million barrels of oil from Ecuador in 2024, according to the Senate analysis of the bill, or about 14% of the oil imported into California. The state is the top consumer of crude oil from the Amazon rainforest, as approximately 50% of all oil exported from the Amazon goes to California refineries.
In 2026, the government of Ecuador plans to auction off more than 2 million hectares of rainforest in 14 new oil blocks, according to the AP. Brazil is also planning to increase oil development in its part of the Amazon.