Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order Wednesday to protect nearly a third of California’s land and coastal waters in his latest effort to fight climate change that he has blamed for recent record-breaking wildfires.

He directed state agencies to pursue actions that will remove climate-warming carbon from the atmosphere.

Newsom, who made the announcement in a walnut orchard 25 miles outside of Sacramento, said innovative farming practices, restoring wetlands, better managing forests, planting more trees and increasing the number of parks are all potential tools.

The goal is to conserve 30% of the state's lands and coastal waters in the next decade as part of a larger global effort. California is the first state to join 38 countries that have made similar commitments, Newsom said.

“Thirty by 30 by 2030 is the mandate,” Newsom said. “California, as the fifth-largest economy in the world, needs to flex its muscles, needs to assert itself, and to advance that cause, not only as it relates to its global impacts but hopefully jumpstart similar efforts in other states across this country.”

Newsom said the effort would build on the state's legacy of protecting open space, the environment and biodiversity.

This is the second major climate change directive from the governor since a string of massive wildfires broke out in mid-August. Fires have burned a record amount of land this year, mostly across Northern California, killed 31 people, destroyed nearly 9,000 homes, businesses and other structures, and produced massive amounts of air pollution.

Last month, Newsom directed state regulators to come up with rules to ban sales of new gas-powered passenger cars and trucks by 2035. He said the plan will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 35%.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chief questioned the legality of Newom’s effort to ban sales of those cars.

Environmental and other groups applauded the latest announcement.

POOL

Yolo County, California - 7 October 2020

1. Medium view of California Gov. Gavin Newsom signing executive order

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Gov. Gavin Newsom, (D) California:

"I'm here today to advance an effort to codify efforts that are already underway here in the State of California but to advance them more formally by establishing a framework to reserve and protect over 30 percent of the state's lands, to be conserved here in the State of California, and extend that to our coastal waters as well. Thirty by 30 by 2030 is the mandate and the goal. We'll be the first state in the United States of America to do both land conservation and coastal conservation, and we will join other parts of the globe, some 38 nations and some national governents that have done the same. This is an international movement. California, as the fifth-largest economy in the world, needs to flex its muscles, needs to assert itself, and to advance that cause, not only as it relates to its global impacts but hopefully jumpstart similar efforts in other states across this country.”

STORYLINE

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on July 16th dismissed criticism leveled by European nations over deforestation in the Amazon, calling Europe an "environmental sect".

Speaking on social media from his official residence, the Alvorada Palace, the president said that Brazil was an agribusiness power and that it was "a commercial fight" with Europe, not just environmental interests.

Bolsonaro has remained at the residence since last week after being diagnosed with COVID-19.

The Brazilian leader took office in 2019 with plans to develop the Amazon region, and he has frequently denounced environmental restrictions hampering activity.

Lately his government has sought to demonstrate its commitment to the environment, following international criticism last year, when deforestation reached its worst level in 11 years.

In June, mainly European investment firms sent a letter to the Brazilian government expressing concern over rising deforestation and demanded forceful action against illegal activities in the Amazon.

The previous week Brazil's government proposed that global asset-managers adopt protected areas in the Amazon rainforest in order to curb illegal deforestation ahead of the season farmers traditionally use fire to clear land and brush.

That could entail providing financial support for environmental projects or paying for security to prevent people from entering the areas.

Brazilian space agency (INPE) published a report on July 17th revealing 400 square miles (1,034 square kilometers) of deforestation in the Amazon in June, a new record the month since data started being gathered in 2015.

Total deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon from January to June was 1,890 square miles (3,069 square kilometers), up 25% from the same six-month period in 2019.

Outside observers are keeping close tabs on Brazil's environmental stewardship just ahead of the so-called burning season, during which landholders use fire to clear brush and forest.

"The average of fires and heat spots in Brazil is below the average of the last years," said Bolsonaro on July 16th.

He added that the fires were part of the culture of people living in the rural areas, including the indigenous people.

Bolsonaro has banned setting agricultural and forest fires as the country enters the dry season at a moment when the government faces pressure from local and foreign companies to show greater commitment to environmental protection.

His 120-day decree, published in the official gazette, comes just ahead of the period when fires are most common in the Amazon region, with rainfall is at its lowest.

In 2019 fires across Brazilian forests spread at a pace unseen since 2010, stirring an international outcry.

While speaking on social media on Thursday, Bolsonaro also spoke briefly about the upcoming US presidential elections, saying he supported President Donald Trump.

***

One year ago the "Day of Fire", a day to intentionally ignite fires, triggered international outcry when the number of wildfires in the region of Novo Progresso, a city in the Amazon Region of Pará, had a massive spike.

On August 13th, with the burning season starting, the region once again comes to national attention.

Preliminary official data published on August 7th shows that deforestation in Brazil's Amazon region over the past 12 months could be at a 14-year high, adding to concerns that President Jair Bolsonaro has failed to rein in the destruction of the world's largest tropical rainforest.

For residents of Novo Progresso, it's unfair that the crimes of few are used to label the people of a city built by hard-working ranchers.

"If there is an environmental crime committed by A, B or C, those people should not be taken as a stereotype of all the people from Novo Progresso", said Nubia Machado, a local teacher.

Smaller ranchers like 59-year-old Joaquim da Silva said that they pay the price of greedy ranchers that don't care about laws.

"All of us here, all our neighbours want their piece of land and want to have it legally, and we care about the environment. You can't cut it all down."

The Brazilian Amazon lost 9,205 square kilometres (3,554 square miles) of vegetation in the last months, according to data from the country's space agency.

That was mainly due to a surge of fires in August and September 2019.

The overall loss was 34% greater than the prior 12-month period.

The data was produced by Brazil's Deter monitoring system, which provides daily deforestation alerts based on satellite images.

Data from another system named Prodes, which relies on more detailed satellite images and records more of the deforestation, will be released by yearend.

Both are administered by Brazil's space institute, which tabulates annual deforestation starting with August, when the dry season starts and farmers and loggers traditionally start using fires to clear land.

Bolsonaro came to office promising to open more of the Amazon to development, such as farming and mining. But international concern has led investors to try to distance themselves from the deforestation and to pressure the government to take more action against it.

Bolsonaro dispatched the Army last year to combat Amazon deforestation and fires, and in May he stationed troops in several states ahead of the so-called burning season.

Deter data for July registered a decrease from the same month in 2019, when deforestation surged to the highest monthly level since at least mid-2015.

***

Fires resulting from unchecked deforestation in Brazil's Amazon rainforest are poisoning the air millions of people breathe, a report released on August 23rd shows.

According to the study carried out by Human Rights Watch, the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM), and the Institute for Health Policy Studies (IEPS), deforestation in the Amazon and the blazes which followed increased dramatically during 2019, President Jair Bolsonaro's first year in office, and 2020 is already proving to be worse.

The report called "The Air is Unbearable" analyzed data from 2019, crossing official figures from people admitted in hospitals with data on burns and the quality of the air.

It estimates 2,195 people were taken to hospital due to respiratory illness attributable to the 2019 fires.

Almost 500 of these cases involved infants under one year old, and more than 1,000 involved people over age 60.

Brazil Human Rights Watch director Maria Laura Canineu said the deforestation had created a "chronic" public health problem which had been "preventable".

***

Firefighters in Brazil's vast wetlands in the Pantanal region are waging an increasingly desperate battle to control the widespread fires that are engulfing thousands of square miles, killing wildlife and threatening livelihood of residents.

A vast swath of fires are sweeping across several national parks and obscuring the sun behind dense smoke, and affecting the hundreds of species that inhabit the wetlands.

About 200 jaguars in the area already have been injured, killed or forced from their territories by the fires, according to Panthera, an international wild cat conservation organisation.

Preliminary figures from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, based on satellite images, indicate that nearly 5,800 square miles (1.5 million hectares) have burned since the start of August - an expanse comparable to the area consumed by the historic blazes now afflicting California.

The large expanse of the fires proves a difficulty for the troopers and volunteers fighting them.

"Truthfully, one of the main difficulties here in Pantanal is to be able to get to the fire. So, even if I had (more) resources, we wouldn't be able to go directly to the (biggest) flames," said Lucas de Souza Brito, Fire Chief of the Pantanal Operation II.

Brazil's National Institute for Space Research, whose satellites monitor the fires, said the number of Panantal fires in the first 12 days of September was nearly triple the figure for the same period last year, topping 10,000.

Firefighters, troops and volunteers have been scrambling to find and rescue jaguars and other animals before they are overtaken by the flames, which have been exacerbated by the worst drought in 47 years, strong winds and temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).

While illegal logging, mining and farming operations have been blamed for most of the fires in the Amazon region to the north, the Matto Grosso State firefighters said that one of the cause of the Pantanal fires is the practice of burning roots to smoke wild bees from their hives to extract honey.

01:08:00

STORYLINE

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on July 16th dismissed criticism leveled by European nations over deforestation in the Amazon, calling Europe an "environmental sect".

Speaking on social media from his official residence, the Alvorada Palace, the president said that Brazil was an agribusiness power and that it was "a commercial fight" with Europe, not just environmental interests.

Bolsonaro has remained at the residence since last week after being diagnosed with COVID-19.

The Brazilian leader took office in 2019 with plans to develop the Amazon region, and he has frequently denounced environmental restrictions hampering activity.

Lately his government has sought to demonstrate its commitment to the environment, following international criticism last year, when deforestation reached its worst level in 11 years.

In June, mainly European investment firms sent a letter to the Brazilian government expressing concern over rising deforestation and demanded forceful action against illegal activities in the Amazon.

The previous week Brazil's government proposed that global asset-managers adopt protected areas in the Amazon rainforest in order to curb illegal deforestation ahead of the season farmers traditionally use fire to clear land and brush.

That could entail providing financial support for environmental projects or paying for security to prevent people from entering the areas.

Brazilian space agency (INPE) published a report on July 17th revealing 400 square miles (1,034 square kilometers) of deforestation in the Amazon in June, a new record the month since data started being gathered in 2015.

Total deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon from January to June was 1,890 square miles (3,069 square kilometers), up 25% from the same six-month period in 2019.

Outside observers are keeping close tabs on Brazil's environmental stewardship just ahead of the so-called burning season, during which landholders use fire to clear brush and forest.

"The average of fires and heat spots in Brazil is below the average of the last years," said Bolsonaro on July 16th.

He added that the fires were part of the culture of people living in the rural areas, including the indigenous people.

Bolsonaro has banned setting agricultural and forest fires as the country enters the dry season at a moment when the government faces pressure from local and foreign companies to show greater commitment to environmental protection.

His 120-day decree, published in the official gazette, comes just ahead of the period when fires are most common in the Amazon region, with rainfall is at its lowest.

In 2019 fires across Brazilian forests spread at a pace unseen since 2010, stirring an international outcry.

While speaking on social media on Thursday, Bolsonaro also spoke briefly about the upcoming US presidential elections, saying he supported President Donald Trump.

***

One year ago the "Day of Fire", a day to intentionally ignite fires, triggered international outcry when the number of wildfires in the region of Novo Progresso, a city in the Amazon Region of Pará, had a massive spike.

On August 13th, with the burning season starting, the region once again comes to national attention.

Preliminary official data published on August 7th shows that deforestation in Brazil's Amazon region over the past 12 months could be at a 14-year high, adding to concerns that President Jair Bolsonaro has failed to rein in the destruction of the world's largest tropical rainforest.

For residents of Novo Progresso, it's unfair that the crimes of few are used to label the people of a city built by hard-working ranchers.

"If there is an environmental crime committed by A, B or C, those people should not be taken as a stereotype of all the people from Novo Progresso", said Nubia Machado, a local teacher.

Smaller ranchers like 59-year-old Joaquim da Silva said that they pay the price of greedy ranchers that don't care about laws.

"All of us here, all our neighbours want their piece of land and want to have it legally, and we care about the environment. You can't cut it all down."

The Brazilian Amazon lost 9,205 square kilometres (3,554 square miles) of vegetation in the last months, according to data from the country's space agency.

That was mainly due to a surge of fires in August and September 2019.

The overall loss was 34% greater than the prior 12-month period.

The data was produced by Brazil's Deter monitoring system, which provides daily deforestation alerts based on satellite images.

Data from another system named Prodes, which relies on more detailed satellite images and records more of the deforestation, will be released by yearend.

Both are administered by Brazil's space institute, which tabulates annual deforestation starting with August, when the dry season starts and farmers and loggers traditionally start using fires to clear land.

Bolsonaro came to office promising to open more of the Amazon to development, such as farming and mining. But international concern has led investors to try to distance themselves from the deforestation and to pressure the government to take more action against it.

Bolsonaro dispatched the Army last year to combat Amazon deforestation and fires, and in May he stationed troops in several states ahead of the so-called burning season.

Deter data for July registered a decrease from the same month in 2019, when deforestation surged to the highest monthly level since at least mid-2015.

***

Fires resulting from unchecked deforestation in Brazil's Amazon rainforest are poisoning the air millions of people breathe, a report released on August 23rd shows.

According to the study carried out by Human Rights Watch, the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM), and the Institute for Health Policy Studies (IEPS), deforestation in the Amazon and the blazes which followed increased dramatically during 2019, President Jair Bolsonaro's first year in office, and 2020 is already proving to be worse.

The report called "The Air is Unbearable" analyzed data from 2019, crossing official figures from people admitted in hospitals with data on burns and the quality of the air.

It estimates 2,195 people were taken to hospital due to respiratory illness attributable to the 2019 fires.

Almost 500 of these cases involved infants under one year old, and more than 1,000 involved people over age 60.

Brazil Human Rights Watch director Maria Laura Canineu said the deforestation had created a "chronic" public health problem which had been "preventable".

***

Firefighters in Brazil's vast wetlands in the Pantanal region are waging an increasingly desperate battle to control the widespread fires that are engulfing thousands of square miles, killing wildlife and threatening livelihood of residents.

A vast swath of fires are sweeping across several national parks and obscuring the sun behind dense smoke, and affecting the hundreds of species that inhabit the wetlands.

About 200 jaguars in the area already have been injured, killed or forced from their territories by the fires, according to Panthera, an international wild cat conservation organisation.

Preliminary figures from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, based on satellite images, indicate that nearly 5,800 square miles (1.5 million hectares) have burned since the start of August - an expanse comparable to the area consumed by the historic blazes now afflicting California.

The large expanse of the fires proves a difficulty for the troopers and volunteers fighting them.

"Truthfully, one of the main difficulties here in Pantanal is to be able to get to the fire. So, even if I had (more) resources, we wouldn't be able to go directly to the (biggest) flames," said Lucas de Souza Brito, Fire Chief of the Pantanal Operation II.

Brazil's National Institute for Space Research, whose satellites monitor the fires, said the number of Panantal fires in the first 12 days of September was nearly triple the figure for the same period last year, topping 10,000.

Firefighters, troops and volunteers have been scrambling to find and rescue jaguars and other animals before they are overtaken by the flames, which have been exacerbated by the worst drought in 47 years, strong winds and temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).

While illegal logging, mining and farming operations have been blamed for most of the fires in the Amazon region to the north, the Matto Grosso State firefighters said that one of the cause of the Pantanal fires is the practice of burning roots to smoke wild bees from their hives to extract honey.

01:08:00

00:00:00

Bolsonaro calls Europe an 'environmental sect'

4279078

ASSOCIATED PRESS

ARCHIVE: Renascer Reserve, Para State - 22 November 2019

++MUTE++

1. Drone shot of the forest at Renascer Reserve

2. Tilt down from the trees to logs on the ground (Cut by illegal loggers)

ARCHIVE: Near Trans-Amazon highway, Para State - 22-29 November 2019

++MUTE++

3. Various of fallen trees seen behind the smoke rising from a fire in the rainforest

00:12:01

Brazilian Amazon fires on rise amid growing deforestation

4283182

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Novo Progresso, Pará State - 13 August 2020

+++AERIAL SHOTS+++

4. Various aerials of fire and deforestation in the Amazon forest

00:24:01

Brazil deforestation fires affect millions in Amazon

4285130

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Novo Progresso, Para State - 23 August 2020

5. Aerial of fire and deforestation in the Amazon rainforest ++MUTE++

Novo Progresso, Para State - 25 August 2020

6. rainforest burning and smoke

Novo Progresso, Para State - 26 August 2020

7. Heavy smoke over highway

Novo Progresso, Para State - 23 August 2020

8. Aerial of fire and deforestation in rainforest ++MUTE++

Novo Progresso, Para State - 25 August 2020

9. rainforest burning and smoke

00:48:01

Wildlife and wetland area devastated in Brazil

4288077

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Poconé, state of Mato Grosso - 14 September 2020

10. Dead alligator in burned area

11. Burned vegetation

Poconé, state of Mato Grosso - 13 September 2020

12. Various of jaguar walking through the damaged Pantanal

Poconé, state of Mato Grosso - 11 September 2020

13. Aerial image of a big fire consuming Pantanal ++MUTE++

14. Smoke in area next to the Transpantaneira Road