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- In The News
- November 2022
NM Political Report: Governor Touts Federal, State Efforts to Combat Climate Change at Cop 27
November 14, 2022
The NM Political Report covers New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s appearance at COP27 while taking part in the U.S. Climate Alliance delegation.
“’Under the Inflation Reduction Act, the U.S. is going to be making the most significant climate investments in our nation’s history,’ Casey Katims, the executive director of the U.S. Climate Alliance, said.
Katims outlined some of the things that Lujan Grisham has pushed for as governor such as increasing the number of electric vehicles, conserving land, setting in place a goal to reach zero emission electricity, modernizing the grid and working to limit methane emissions from oil and gas.
Katims said that the Inflation Reduction Act, which is often considered a federal bill, is a state climate bill in many ways. He said that means state leadership is important to its implementation.
“’We’re the second largest oil and gas producer in the United States,’ Lujan Grisham said about New Mexico. ‘So we’re in a very interesting juxtaposition.’”
About the Alliance
Launched in 2017 by the governors of Washington, New York, and California to help fill the void left by the U.S. federal government’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, the Alliance has grown to include 24 governors from across the U.S. representing approximately 60 percent of the U.S. economy and 55 percent of the U.S. population. Governors in the Alliance have pledged to collectively reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 26-28 percent by 2025, 50-52 percent by 2030, and 61-66 percent by 2035, all below 2005 levels, and collectively achieve overall net-zero greenhouse gas emissions as soon as practicable, and no later than 2050.
The Alliance’s states and territories continue to advance innovative and impactful climate solutions to grow the economy, create jobs, and protect public health, and have a long record of action and results. In fact, the latest data shows that as of 2023, the Alliance has reduced its collective net greenhouse gas emissions by 24 percent below 2005 levels, while increasing collective GDP by 34 percent, and is on track to meet its near-term climate goal of reducing collective greenhouse gas emissions 26 percent below 2005 levels by 2025.
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