Statement from Senator Liz Krueger on the Veto of the Tropical Deforestation-Free Procurement Act

Albany -- State Senator Liz Krueger released the following statement today in response to Governor Kathy Hochul's veto of the New York Tropical Deforestation-Free Procurement Act:

“I am incredibly disappointed that the Governor has chosen to veto the Tropical Deforestation-Free Procurement Act. Just a week after the nations of the world produced the most aggressive joint statement yet from COP 28, this decision from the Governor sends a dangerous message that New York is not going to do its part. Vetoing this bill is a missed opportunity and a failure to take leadership on a critical issue that affects every New Yorker.
 
“Let’s be clear, this is not some esoteric issue for tree-huggers – the climate crisis and the biodiversity crisis threaten the very survival of human civilization. The days when New York’s leaders can pretend that what goes on in another part of the world has no impact on us are long past. It is crunch time to make sure New York is solidly on the path to fight climate change with everything we've got. That means we can't ignore the emissions we outsource to other countries through our consumer choices. State government must take the lead in ensuring our procurement dollars are not driving deforestation in our planet's critical tropical forests, exacerbating the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss, and threatening the rights and lands of Indigenous peoples.
 
“At the same time, this bill would have given New York businesses a leg up on the competition by helping them clean up their supply chains. It was a win-win-win for people, planet, and New York's economy. Unfortunately, now it’s a lose-lose-lose because of the Governor’s veto.
 
“Over the last two weeks we have negotiated in good faith and offered everything we could to ease the Governor’s fears. But we cannot cross the line beyond which the bill would no longer have any actual impact. I have no interest in getting a bill signed that makes a nice press release but does nothing in reality – we’re much too far along in the crisis to play that kind of game.
 
“Implementation of this bill is entirely feasible, companies around the world are already meeting the standards the bill sets, and the European Union will be implementing similar rules throughout their entire economy starting next year. There is no reason to allow New York to fall behind and shirk the global leadership that will benefit our people and our economy.
 
“There is strong and growing support here in New York and around the globe, not only for this bill, but for taking action to end the existential crisis of deforestation. I was proud to join with representatives of the EU, with Indigenous leaders from Ecuador to Brazil to Liberia to Indonesia, with local and international businesses, with leading global investors, and with local and national advocates in calling on the Governor not to miss this chance. That coalition will only continue to grow when we reintroduce this bill next session.
 
“The climate crisis and the biodiversity crisis are not going anywhere. They are existential threats that will require significant efforts over the next several decades. Signing this bill should have been the easy part. Now we’ll waste another year with inaction.”
 

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