NMIPL IN THE NEWS

Video: Kayley Shoup Thanks State Land Office for New Oil & Gas Rules

Kayley Shoup, organizer for Citizens Caring for the Future (an IPL New Mexico & El Paso affiliate), urges climate justice advocates to reach out to the State Land Office at slo-info@slo.state.nm.us to thank our commissioner, Stephanie Garcia Richard and her staff for taking action to stop oil and gas leasing on state lands within a mile radius of school and daycares

Broad Coalition in New Mexico Calls on BLM to End to Sacrifice Zones

Photo: Wild Earth Guardians

We are shocked and dismayed that in spite of a clear scientific, political, and public consensus that action for the climate requires we begin to phase out fossil fuels, the BLM is continuing the legacy of sacrifice zones in New Mexico by moving forward with the auction of additional public and ancestral lands to more oil and gas leasing and drilling.

Las Cruces Rally

Last week, groups rallied at the Bureau of Land Management field offices in Farmington, Carlsbad, Las Cruces, Albuquerque, and Santa Fe calling on the BLM to cancel the May 25 oil and gas lease sale of nearly 10K acres of public lands in New Mexico and Kansas administered by the BLM New Mexico State Office.

On that Thursday, on the lease day, over fifty advocates rallied at the Bureau of Land Management New Mexico state office to deliver a letter signed by over 270 local and national groups, unions, businesses, and institutions urging the agency to cancel its plans to auction off over more acres of public lands for fracking. In spite of a clear scientific, political, and public consensus that action for the climate requires we begin to phase out fossil fuels, the BLM forged ahead with the sale.
It’s not over. We continue to call on the Biden administration to keep its promise to end new oil and gas leasing on public and ancestral lands.

President Biden promised to end new oil and gas leasing on public lands. We would like this promise to be honored. The federal government, including the President himself, has a moral and ethical imperative to confront the climate crisis. The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report reveals that our window to address catastrophic impacts is narrowing. Quick action is required to phase out fossil fuels and BLM must play a leadership role in addressing greenhouse gas emissions from extraction in New Mexico’s Permian Basin and
Greater Chaco regions which contribute to worldwide warming.

Santa Fe Rally, including Western Environmental Law Center, WildEarth Guardians, Center for Biological Diversity, Pueblo Action Alliance, New Mexico No False Solutions Coalition, Rio Grande Sierra Club and Diné CARE

Ongoing Campaign

Please join the coalition in amplifying the message to phase out fossil fuels and end the area of Sacrifice Zones using this social media toolkit.
 
We also have a call to action (included in the toolkit) to call the White House comment line (202) 456- 1111) and tell Biden he must phase out oil and gas production on public lands and waters.

SAMPLE FACEBOOK/INSTAGRAM POST:

It’s shocking that in spite of clear scientific, political, and public consensus that action for the climate requires phasing out of fossil fuels immediately, the Bureau of Land Management New Mexico state office auctioned-off more public and ancestral lands to oil and gas drilling —perpetuating the legacy of sacrifice zones. It’s time to end the era of fossil fuels and sacrifice zones. Over 270 groups from across the country added their voice to a letter calling on the agency to cancel the May 25 oil and gas lease sale. <link to a graphic/video/PR>

#EndSacrificeZones  

#EndFossilFuels

#ClimateJusticeNow

Press clips:

Carlsbad Current-Argus: Protests rally ahead of federal oil and gas lease sale in southeast New Mexico

EE News Energywire: Biden’s contentious N.M. oil sale earns almost $80M

KWRG: Local environmental groups speak out against BLM oil and gas lease sale

E&E News Greenwire: Biden urged to cancel N.M. lease sale

Carlsbad Current-Argus: Oil and gas sale nets $79M. New Mexico Environmental groups fear climate impacts.

Thanks to Miya King-Flaherty of WildEarth Guardians for supplying the text for this post.

Organizing Committee

Chaco Coalition, Citizens Caring for the Future, Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Earth, Interfaith Power and Light, New Mexico Climate Justice, Permian Basin Climate Justice Coalition, Pueblo Action Alliance Sierra Club, WildEarth Guardians, Western Environmental Law Center.

How Federal Clean Energy Tax Credits Benefit New Mexico

(The organization Energy Innovation recently ublished individual state modeling showing the economic and health benefits of Inflation Reduction Act clean energy tax credits for all 48 contiguous states. This modeling focuses on the clean energy investment tax credit, production tax credit, and clean vehicle tax credits because of their outsized impact on jobs and the economy. Below is the analysis for New Mexico).

Federal clean energy tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) are transforming the United States economy, already generating nearly $250 billion in project announcements that could create more than 140,000 new jobs. Prior modeling by Energy Innovation Policy & Technology LLC® showed IRA tax credits are projected to unleash billions in investment by 2030, increasing GDP up to $200 billion and creating up to 1.3 million jobs nationally.

Energy Innovation® used our free and open-source Energy Policy Simulator to study potential state-level benefits on economic growth, jobs, and public health in New Mexico from the IRA. We focus this analysis on clean electricity and clean vehicle tax credits, given the outsized impact of these tax credits on jobs and the economy. This modeling finds these federal clean energy tax credits are projected to lower annual energy costs nearly $79 per household for New Mexico residents in 2030, prevent more than 29 early deaths from pollution through 2050, and cumulatively prevent more than 100 million metric tons of carbon dioxide through 2050 compared to the base case – equivalent to the emissions from 28 coal-fired power plants in one year.

Federal Clean Energy Tax Credits Add to GDP and Cut Household

Energy Spending Federal clean energy tax credits will increase clean energy deployment and electric vehicles sales in New Mexico. These investments and their impacts are projected to increase New Mexico’s GDP by $700 million in 2030. Higher clean energy deployment and decreased spending on gasoline are projected to reduce average annual household energy spending by $79 per year in 2030 and a cumulative $2.3 billion through 2050 across all households in New Mexico. Because more clean energy will be deployed with federal clean energy tax credits, New Mexico is projected to gain more than 6,800 jobs in industries like manufacturing, construction, and sales in 2030. 2 www.energyinnovation.org

Federal Clean Energy Tax Credits Are an Investment in Cleaner, Healthier Communities

IRA programs are expected to shift the U.S. energy system, replacing fuel combustion with clean energy. This transition will dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions along with harmful air pollution that causes asthma, respiratory illness, and premature death. Federal clean energy tax credits are projected to prevent 29 premature deaths and 64 asthma attacks in New Mexico through 2050. The shift to clean energy is expected to have a particularly positive impact on the health of communities of color and low-income communities, which are disproportionately affected by vehicle and power plant pollution. Pollution reductions in neighboring states would avoid additional premature deaths and health impacts as well. Avoided Health Impacts in 2030 through 2050 Premature Mortality 4 30 Asthma Attacks 64 493 Nonfatal Heart Attacks 1 7 Hospital Admissions 1 6

Methodology

We identify incremental state clean electricity deployment by comparing two scenarios from modeling by the National Renewable Energy Lab: the Mid-case, nascent techs, current policies scenario and the No IRA, nascent techs, current policies scenario. Comparing these two scenarios reveals the incremental clean electricity deployment from the IRA. We used the incremental clean electricity deployment to develop an IRA policy scenario for each state in the Energy Innovation® Energy Policy Simulator. We estimated clean vehicle tax credit impacts using a a complementary model we developed. We combined the clean vehicle tax credits and clean electricity deployment to create an IRA scenario for New Mexico and compared it against a case without the IRA to find outputs for changes in emissions, health impacts, statewide household savings, GDP, and jobs.

See Energy Innovation’s Analysis for 47 other states

Carlsbad Current Argus. Sep. 3, 2020 New Mexico finalizes oil and gas wastewater regulations, lawmakers hear testimony (Rev. Nick King Quoted)

Las Cruces Sun-News,  Aug. 19, 2020, Report on solving climate crisis brings hope (Co-authored by Michael Sells, Clara Sims and Edith Yanez)

Santa Fe New Mexican, Aug. 15, 2020 Vote your values this November  (Commentary by Larry Rasmussen and Tabitha Arnold)