Hazy horizons? Revised climate change bill set to generate debate at Roundhouse

SANTA FE — Less than a month after taking office in 2019, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham issued an executive order focused on climate change that directed New Mexico to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by 2030.

But attempts over subsequent years to codify that order in state law have stalled at the Roundhouse amid concerns over impacts to local agricultural operations and the state's oil and gas industry, which generates about 35% of the state's revenue.

Senate President Pro Tem Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque, said she plans to try again during the upcoming 30-day legislative session, while adding that 21 other states already have similar emissions targets in place.

She said she plans to make changes to the Clear Horizons Act based on feedback received during this year's session, including removing certain enforcement directives and exempting emissions of less than 10,000 metric tons per year. A typical car emits about 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually.

Stewart, who also met recently with tribal leaders on the issue, pointed out New Mexico oil production still increased after the state adopted a new methane emission rule in 2021. That rule prohibited the venting and flaring of methane gas in an attempt to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

"I do not believe that these types of regulations ... will impact production," she told the Journal. "I certainly hope they impact pollution because it's significant."

However, energy industry groups are expected to once again lobby against the legislation, arguing it could have a damaging impact in the nation's second-highest oil-producing state.

Missi Currier, the president and CEO of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association, said Friday industry groups have not yet seen a revised draft of the Clear Horizons Act, but said the group's core concerns remain unchanged.

"New Mexico cannot afford policies that jeopardize jobs, investment, and the revenue that funds our schools and essential services," Currier said in a statement. "Last year’s Clear Horizons Act would have created regulatory uncertainty and imposed mandates that are unrealistic, scientifically unsound, and economically damaging." 

Specifically, this year's bill would have set future deadlines for meeting statewide greenhouse gas emissions — including a 100% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, based on 2005 levels. It also would have established new methane emission limits for the oil and gas industries.

The bill passed its first assigned Senate committee, but was derailed in the Senate Finance Committee when two Democrats sided with Republicans in blocking the bill from advancing.

Under the proposal, the state Environment Department would be tasked with creating a greenhouse gas emissions inventory and enforcing the specified reduction deadlines, which could require significant funding and staffing increases, according to a legislative analysis of this year's bill. 

Lujan Grisham, who will enter her final year as New Mexico's governor in January, has backed past versions of the bill and the Governor's Office indicated she would include it on the agenda for the upcoming 30-day session.

If legislation is not enacted codifying the governor's executive order in state law, it could be undone by a future governor.

"Gov. Lujan Grisham has long pushed for codifying New Mexico's net-zero emissions goals in statute, and she's committed to getting legislation over the finish line that locks in our 2050 timeline," the governor's spokesman Michael Coleman said. "Exactly what that will look like is not yet clear."

Meanwhile, supporters of the legislation say the rising cost of natural disasters shows the need for more aggressive climate change legislation.

The governor has authorized more than $250 million in emergency funding this year, with most of that funding targeted at recovery efforts from destructive wildfires and subsequent flooding in the Ruidoso area. 

With New Mexico projected to see higher temperatures and decreased surface water runoff over the next 50 years, according to a state climate adaptation and resilience plan, Stewart said public health issues related to climate change will likely become more acute.

"I think people are concerned about what's happening in our state," she said.

Stewart, who said she's been working closely with the Governor's Office on the revised proposal, also said it was never supporters' intent to impact state residents who rely on wood burning or propane by implementing the greenhouse gas reduction targets.

The 30-day legislative session begins Jan. 20.