New Mexico Climate Change Task Force Seeks Public Input
The New Mexico Climate Change Task Force encourages the public to participate in a new survey as the state seeks input to guide our ongoing climate work. Public input is a critical component of our climate strategy as we look to meet our emissions reduction goals, as well as boost the state’s resilience to the effects of climate change.
The work of the Task Force, which is co-chaired by the cabinet secretaries of the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD) and Environment Department (NMED), continued throughout the pandemic and subgroups were created to explore how to move our current strategies forward and develop new ones.
“Our state is proud of its diverse population, and we want to make sure our work is inclusive of every New Mexican,” said NMED Cabinet Secretary James Kenney. “We are committed to ensuring our climate strategy is an equitable one, and we can’t do that without your voice.”
Accomplishments to date include passage of the Energy Transition Act, new solar market development tax credits for homeowners and businesses, adoption of modern statewide building codes, completion of the Renewable Energy Transmission Authority (RETA) study on transmission corridors for renewable energy, and a statewide natural gas waste reduction rule. More accomplishments and strategies underway are detailed in the Task Force’s annual strategy document.
The survey results will be used to help the Climate Change Task Force prioritize new climate strategies over the next five years. The Task Force, along with a stakeholder advisory group, will review the survey results alongside data on emissions and economic impacts of different strategies. It will also be guided by a set of climate equity principles developed by community leaders and experts from across the state.
“Our work will be most impactful if all New Mexicans are represented in our climate plans,” said EMNRD Cabinet Secretary Sarah Cottrell Propst.
(Surveys open through July 15, 2021)