The Climate Policy Bureau (CPB) of the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD) is launching a series of community conversations to collect feedback on New Mexico’s first-ever state Climate Adaptation and Resilience Plan (CARP). We applaud state leaders for taking this important step.
Here are the upcoming meetings:
- Truth or Consequences: Monday, May 20th, at 6:00 pm at the Ralph Edwards Civic Center (400 W 4th Street, T or C)
- Roswell: Tuesday, May 21st, at 6:00 pm at the ENMU Roswell Occupational Technology Center (20 W. Mathis Street, Room 124, Roswell)
- Albuquerque: Wednesday, May 22nd, at 6:00 pm at the Jackson Student Center (1922 Las Lomas NE, Albuquerque)
- Farmington: Monday, June 3rd, at 5:00 pm at the Riverside Nature Center (N Browning Pkwy, Farmington)
- Taos: Tuesday, June 4th, at 6:00 pm at the Bataan Hall (121 Civic Plaza Drive, Taos)
- Las Vegas: Wednesday, June 5th, at 6:00 pm at Stella’s Cafe/Kickstart Kafe (148 Bridge Street, Las Vegas)
- Tribal Workshop: Thursday, June 6th, at Noon at Mabry Hall in the Jerry Apodaca Education Building (300 Don Gaspar Avenue, Santa Fe)
EMNRD is also hosting a virtual meeting for those who would prefer a remote option. You can sign up for the meetings (and the virtual option) by clicking here.
The plan outlines six resilience themes:
- Community and culture,
- Ecosystems and natural resources,
- Human health and services,
- Water systems,
- Infrastructure and the built environment, and
- Local economies.
The plan also emphasizes the importance of collaboration with local communities, tribes, and state agencies to implement these strategies effectively.
This is an excellent opportunity for community members and those with the ability to attend to help shape this important work.
If you plan on attending here are three key points that can be raised to address the strengths and areas for improvement in the climate resilience and adaptation plan.
- While the plan does provide some timelines for action and identifies a few statutory solutions, more detailed elaboration on the implementation process is needed.
- It’s crucial to fully fund the importance of this work in the budget and by statute to ensure its sustainability.
- Robust public engagement is not just important, it’s necessary to ensure the plan’s recommendations are comprehensive and reflect the needs of the public. This can be achieved through a more inclusive public comment process and a clear process for incorporating feedback into an updated draft.
Please also share your story on how you’ve been impacted by climate change – from climate disasters to public health and more. Your stories can help highlight needs that should be incorporated into the plan and the state’s process.
Add your voice to this process, and help make sure our state’s climate adaptation and resilience plans are as strong as they can be. Your attendance is vital to ensure New Mexico continues on the path to building deep community health and resilience.