Full Title: US Green Economy Report Series: New Mexico
Author(s): UK Government, Climate Advisers, University of Maryland’s Center for Global Sustainability
Publisher(s): UK Government, Climate Advisers, University of Maryland’s Center for Global Sustainability
Publication Date: April 29, 2021
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
Under the leadership of Democratic Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, New Mexico has increased its climate ambitions in recent years. The 2019 Energy Transition Act set the state’s renewable energy production targets to 40% of the total production by 2025 and up to 100% by 2045. Additionally, Governor Lujan Grisham signed an executive order establishing that GHG emissions in the sector should be 45% below 2005 levels in the next ten years. Renewables already make up 20 percent of the state’s electricity generation, supported predominately by wind, although New Mexico’s geography allows for high growth in solar. With the state’s legislature controlled by Democrats, New Mexico’s climate ambitions will likely be implemented in the coming years. Despite the growth in renewables and the state’s long-term targets, fossil fuels remain a large part of the economy. New Mexico is one of the country’s leading oil producers, and it has the 10th largest recoverable reserves of coal. In the Energy Transition Act, the state addressed the issue of a just transition by including initiatives to help re-train fossil fuel workers as New Mexico shifts to renewables.