Gov. Hochul, Sign the TREES Act Now

Friends of the Earth urges Governor Kathy Hochul to sign the Tropical Rainforest Economic & Environmental Sustainability (TREES) Act, which would make New York the first U.S. state to require proof that state-purchased products are not driving deforestation.

• The Tropical Rainforest Economic & Environmental Sustainability (TREES) Act, passed by the Legislature in May, would mandate that New York state demonstrate it is not buying products that drive deforestation. If signed by Governor Kathy Hochul, it would represent the first anti-deforestation law in the United States.
• The TREES Act is supported by the New York Sustainable Business Council and investors managing more than $3.5 trillion in assets. Proponents argue the law would benefit the state economy by enabling small- and medium-sized businesses to better compete with multinational companies for state contracts.
• The TREES Act is modeled after the European Union's 2023 Deforestation Regulation law, which prohibits the import or export of products such as soy, palm oil, coffee, cocoa, leather, and paper if they are linked to recently deforested land. However, the EU Parliament recently approved a 12-month delay for business compliance, pushing back the December 30 start date.
• Global deforestation and associated violence remain critical issues, 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} }