Gov. Hochul, Sign the TREES Act Now

The document calls on New York Governor Kathy Hochul to sign the TREES Act, which would make New York the first U.S. state to require proof that state-purchased products do not drive deforestation. The author argues that this action is necessary to align state procurement with global markets and combat the climate catastrophe, especially as the European Union's similar deforestation regulation faces implementation delays.

• The Tropical Rainforest Economic & Environmental Sustainability (TREES) Act, passed by the Legislature in May, would mandate that New York state verify it is not buying products that contribute to deforestation, making it the first such law in the United States.
• The TREES Act is supported by the New York Sustainable Business Council and investors managing over $3.5 trillion in assets, with the argument that the law would help small- and medium-sized businesses compete against multinationals for state contracts.
• The European Union's 2023 Deforestation Regulation, which bans the import or export of products like leather, cocoa, coffee, soy, palm oil, and paper linked to recently deforested land, has faced a 12-month compliance delay approved by the EU Parliament.
• Global deforestation and associated violence remain critical, with over 16 million acres of forest permanently lost in 2023 and at least 300 human rights defenders killed across 28 countries.

APA

Fox, A. (2024). Gov. Hochul, Sign the TREES Act Now. Friends of the Earth. https://foe.org/blog/gov-hochul-sign-the-trees-act-now/

Chicago

Fox, Audrey. Gov. Hochul, Sign the TREES Act Now. Friends of the Earth, 2024. https://foe.org/blog/gov-hochul-sign-the-trees-act-now/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Fox |first1=Audrey |title=Gov. Hochul, Sign the TREES Act Now |publisher=Friends of the Earth |date=9 December 2024 |url=https://foe.org/blog/gov-hochul-sign-the-trees-act-now/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{fox2024gov, author = {Fox, Audrey}, title = {{Gov. Hochul, Sign the TREES Act Now}}, publisher = {Friends of the Earth}, year = {2024}, month = dec, url = {https://foe.org/blog/gov-hochul-sign-the-trees-act-now/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }