fossil fuel drilling plans undermine climate

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This task force will be a key test for Lujan Grisham. Time Will Tell If Governor Grisham Is More Than Just Talk On Clean Energy While the bill is much needed, we remain skeptical about how much progress will be made, as the bill still allows the oil industry to have a seat at the table and the person in charge of the taskforce - Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham - took over $50 thousand in oil money during the 2020 election cycle.

#FOSSIL FUEL DRILLING PLANS UNDERMINE CLIMATE HOW TO#

It is therefore critical that New Mexico diversify its revenue streams and economy if the state is ever going to move off fossil fuels.įor this reason, we are heartened by passage of SB 112, which for the first time creates a task force to study how to advance this critical economic diversification.

This state dependence on fossil fuels gives industry an extraordinary amount of political power and leverage in addressing legislation.

Approximately a third of the New Mexico state budget comes from revenue from the oil and gas industry. The State of New Mexico Must Reduce Its Dependence on Fossil Fuel Revenue So They Can AdaptĪt the same time, it is clear that the oil and gas industry continues to run politics in New Mexico, thanks to their significant political spending and also the way New Mexico funds its governmental operations. Bringing together a statewide coalition effort is an important step in building a more powerful presence in New Mexico. This year we worked to help bring together diverse groups to support the fracking pause bill in the legislature. This legislative battle highlighted both the growing anti-fracking movement in the state as well as the power of the oil and gas industry. It was not surprising that Cervantes killed the bill as he received 17% of his campaign contributions from the oil and gas industry. Though the bill ultimately died in the Judiciary Committee when Chair Joseph Cervantes refused to bring it forward for a vote, the fact that it passed out of its first committee showed the growing strength of the anti-fracking movement in the state. The result was the bill passing out of the Conservation committee. Still, Food & Water Watch and our allies across the state rallied around Sedillo Lopez’s bill, generating hundreds of emails and phone calls to legislators as well as significant media coverage. For this reason, when state Senator Antoinette Sedillo Lopez introduced a bill to pause fracking this year, few gave it much of a chance of passing out of a single committee, let alone the legislature. According to a report from New Mexico Ethics Watch, the fossil fuel industry spent $3.3 million on elections in the state in the 2020 cycle and leadership of both parties accepted significant campaign contributions from them. It is hard to understate the influence of fossil fuel money on politics in New Mexico. Fossil Fuel Interests Unleashed A Tidal Wave of Money On Elections In New Mexico Yet despite this setback, anti-fracking voices continued to make progress this legislative session.

The powerful fossil fuel industry flexed its significant muscle in New Mexico this year, blocking a bill which would have paused new fracking in the third largest oil producing state in the country.

Fossil fuel drilling plans undermine climate