Governor Hochul is at the Vatican this week for a climate resilience summit and audience with the Pope, before heading to Ireland for more climate discussions. Hochul’s international tour and scheduled Thursday speech on “Climate Leadership in the Empire State: Building Resiliency for All,” comes as she presides over a state legislative session threatening to fail on climate, without passage of The NY HEAT Act to move off fossil fuels, and the Climate Change Superfund Act to make polluters pay for climate resiliency.

Food & Water Watch Northeast Region Director Alex Beauchamp issued the following statement:

“While Governor Hochul cavorts around Europe, top climate bills are languishing in Albany. You don’t get to grandstand on climate leadership abroad while presiding over a legislative session primed to end in climate failure at home. If Governor Hochul wants to prove that she’s a climate leader, after losing offshore wind contracts and letting every meaningful climate measure fall out of the budget, she needs to get serious about passing bills at home.

“We need Governor Hochul to actually fight for and pass the NY HEAT Act and Climate Change Superfund Act, not burn jet fuel all the way to Europe for a PR stunt.”