Environmental organizations from all over the country are gathering in New York to celebrate the state’s annual Climate Week event alongside the United Nations General Assembly.
One of them––the U.S. Climate Alliance––is made up of states committed to addressing climate change. It released a report showing New Mexico and the 23 other states under its umbrella are polluting less and saving more energy.
The coalition includes governors from across the political spectrum and across the country––from New Mexico’s own Democrat Michelle Lujan Grisham to Vermont’s Republican Phil Scott.
The group released new findings that show member states pollute less, save more energy, employ more clean energy workers, and are better prepared for climate disasters compared to the rest of the country.
“So as the political winds shift and legal uncertainty persists in D.C., our governors and our states will be the ones who are continuing to move full speed ahead,” said Casey Katims, executive director of the Climate Alliance.
Those “legal uncertainties'' Katims' talking about? That’s a nod to the Supreme Court's recent decision to curb the EPA’s power to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.
Here in New Mexico, the report points to plans for achieving a zero-carbon electricity grid, tax credits for sustainable construction and the adoption of new oil and gas emission rules as ways the state is moving towards the green.
This summer, Gov.Michelle Lujan Grisham’s administration doubled down on efforts to build a hydrogen economy in New Mexico by signing an executive order to strategize plans for the industry. The study touches on this, though the idea has received major pushback from environmental advocates.
