Climate and Energy Advocate Samantha Kao
CVNM News:
SANTA FE — Conservation Voters New Mexico (CVNM) has announced that in the wake of one of New Mexico’s most devastating wildfire seasons to date, a broad group of 35 organizations and community leaders submitted a letter to state decision-makers urging for bold action on climate change.
The letter, addressed to U.S. Congress, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and the state legislature, discusses the impact that decades of inaction on climate have had on wildfire size, intensity and frequency.
As the letter states:
“Wildfires are not “caused” by climate change. But their increased size, speed, and intensity are a result of climate change and land management impacts – changes in precipitation form and amount, loss of soil moisture and structure, drying plant material, increased tree infestation and disease, and perhaps stronger and more persistent winds, among other effects.” The letter continues by stating, “It’s time to confront the heartbreaking truth: We are in a climate emergency. The state now has a shocking number of New Mexicans internally displaced by an environmental disaster. The people of New Mexico are looking to you not only for leadership in addressing this moment, but in working to ensure that we’re taking proactive steps to head off more moments like these.”
The letter is signed by a wide range of community leaders, from city councilors to Indigenous groups and business owners. The broad list of stakeholders represented by the letter are a reminder that climate change reaches every aspect of our communities, including people and families from all walks of life.
“New Mexico is currently ground-zero for the climate crisis, with record drought and wildfire impacting thousands of families across the state,” said CVNM Climate and Energy Advocate Samantha Kao. “The costs of inaction are significant, and in many instances devastating. We recently witnessed this firsthand with two of the state’s largest wildfires burning out of control. We must take climate change seriously and do all that we can to address it head on at the state and federal level.”
For the past year, U.S. Congress has debated several policy packages that would make historic investments in climate change solutions, creating new jobs and renewable energy investments across the country. These policies have already passed the U.S. House, and now await final consideration by the Senate. At the same time, last week the U.S. Supreme Court limited the ability of the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate greenhouse gas emissions at the federal level (West Virginia v. EPA), increasing the pressure for states to act.
CVNM said Gov. Lujan Grisham has made historic strides to address climate pollution legislatively and administratively, including recent adoption of clean car standards and ozone precursor rules. While this progress has established model standards for other states across the country, more sources of climate pollution economy-wide still remain unregulated.
“It’s clear that Gov. Lujan Grisham and our New Mexico Congressional Democrats have heard the call from our communities that action on climate is critical for New Mexico’s quality of life. We applaud the Governor for leading on recent rulemakings to address climate pollution,” CVNM Executive Director Demis Foster said. “We also thank U.S. Senators Lujan and Heinrich, and U.S. Representatives Stansbury and Leger Fernandez for calling on their congressional colleagues to pass climate policy as soon as possible. We need all of our leaders to build on progress made by prioritizing policies that address carbon pollution economy-wide, and invest in local solutions like wind, solar and energy efficiency. Our future depends on it.”
To view a copy of the letter and the full list of signers, please click here.
