New Mexico stays the course in climate change regulation policies amid federal priority shifts

New Mexico’s clean energy and environmental advocates are recoiling from energy policy shifts set in motion by the Trump administration this week, including the possible rollback of a major scientific finding about climate change and the delay of rules regulating oil and gas emissions.

For a big oil- and gas-producing state like New Mexico, the consequences could be far-reaching, state officials say. But Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s administration is sticking to its own clean energy policies, and a state board in the coming weeks will hold a hearing to consider the adoption of a clean fuels rule.

“The proposal to rescind the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2009 Endangerment Finding ignores decades of established climate science and threatens the health and economic future of New Mexican families,” said state Environment Secretary James Kenney.

The federal administration’s pro-oil and gas stances have resulted in multiple unfavorable policies for renewables, according to advocates, who pointed out that just last month, President Donald Trump signed a bill that they say will slow down the nation’s renewable energy transition.

On Tuesday, the EPA announced a move that the Union of Concerned Scientists called “laughable, if it weren’t so dangerous” — an intent to rescind a 2009-era legal prerequisite that allows the federal government to combat climate change.

Known as the “endangerment finding,” it concluded that greenhouse gas emissions pose a global threat by contributing to climate change. The largest source of greenhouse gas emissions nationwide is transportation, contributing 28% of GHG emissions in 2022, according to the EPA.

If the EPA officially rescinds the endangerment finding, the federal government could no longer impose greenhouse gas emissions standards for vehicles and trucks.

“In our work so far, many stakeholders have told me that the Obama and Biden EPAs twisted the law, ignored precedent and warped science to achieve their preferred ends and stick American families with hundreds of billions of dollars in hidden taxes every single year,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in a statement.

President Trump has long played down, or questioned, the seriousness of climate change, arguing that the steps taken by Democratic administrations to address the issue were too expensive.

Zeldin told Fox News in an interview Tuesday that the proposed change would amount to “a trillion dollars worth of savings.”

“If finalized, this amounts to the largest deregulatory action in the history of the United States,” Zeldin said to Fox News.

Additional EPA changes drew even more ire from environmentalists as Zeldin announced Tuesday that his agency is pushing back several deadlines on emissions standards.

“These announcements make it more important than ever that New Mexico strengthen its state regulations that address oil and gas methane emissions to protect its citizens’ health, its unparalleled landscape and its legacy as a climate leader,” said Nini Gu, regulatory and legislative manager with the Environmental Defense Fund, in a statement.

New Mexico has its own emissions standards, two of which — an ozone precursor rule and a methane waste rule — are projected to reduce methane emissions by 54% between 2020 and 2030, according to NMED. By the end of 2026, operators must capture at least 98% of their natural gases. Ozone and methane are two common GHGs, though by far the largest GHG pollutant is carbon dioxide, which is what cars, planes and other transportation vehicles produce.

Last year, operators in New Mexico captured 99.67% of their methane, according to data compiled by the Center for Western Priorities. They produced 3.5 trillion cubic feet of methane and wasted 11 million cubic feet of that.

“New Mexico did what the federal government can’t do — create certainty for its oil and gas operators,” said NMED spokesperson Drew Goretzka. “We followed the science, collaborated with stakeholders and set innovative rules that embrace technology while reducing emissions.”

Kenney said the state will continue working with lawmakers on the right toolsets needed to reduce emissions, “regardless of what happens in Washington.”

“New Mexico will continue standing behind the science and leading on climate action because it protects our families, our economy and our future,” he said.