People around the world feel the urgency of climate change, but real leadership is hard to come by. The 27th meeting of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) just concluded without achieving meaningful progress on climate, again. A thin anti-conservation majority in the US House could mean the end of necessary climate action at the federal level, perhaps even rollback of the historic action taken in the first two years of President Biden’s administration. The responsibility is now on states to take bold climate action and drive progress forward.
New Mexico has made significant investments to address the climate crisis head on, including: rulemakings to limit methane and ozone pollution from the oil and gas industry, adoption of advanced clean car standards, enacting community solar, ensuring New Mexico’s electricity is sourced by 100% clean energy by 2045, and addressing carbon pollution economy-wide by putting the state on a path to zero carbon emissions by 2050.
But there is still much that needs to be done to implement these policies and rules and ensure an equitable transition to a zero-emission economy that works for every New Mexican. To help move New Mexico further along that path, CVNM launched a new website – Climate Action Now NM – in September to help amplify your voice and call on decision-makers to continue to act to address the crisis. The site highlights the state’s progress to date on bold climate commitments, and outlines a path forward on the work we have ahead of us.
It also features a legislative Climate Action Pledge, which has been shared with the full Legislature. The pledge asks legislators to commit to prioritizing climate action in 2023. As legislators sign the pledge, their status on the website updates to reflect their commitment. When specific climate legislation becomes more concrete, we expect our legislators to step up, sign the pledge, and vote in support of legislation that fully codifies the state’s climate commitments into law.
Take a look at the website, Climate Action Now NM, email your legislators, and stay informed during this especially consequential upcoming session.
Thanks for being a climate action voter,
Sammi Kao
CVNM Climate & Energy Advocate