New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham believes other states should follow New Mexico's example in implementing the clean car standards of the Green New Deal, she said at the 2021 Virtual State Environmental Protection meeting for the Environmental Council of the States (ECOS).
The state's Green New Deal, officially known as the Energy Transition Act and signed by Grisham in 2019, calls for 50% of New Mexico's power to come from renewable sources by 2030. By 2040, that number raises to 80%, with the aim of being completely carbon-free by 2045, according to CBS.
That translates to higher prices at the pump, Pinon Post reported.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham
| Office of the Governor
"MLG floats gas tax on the poor, forcing citizens to buy ‘clean’ fuel cars during speech," Larry Behrens, western states director of the nonprofit Power the Future, said in a tweet.
Other opponents of the measure believe that the deal would be highly harmful to poor Americans who will not be able to afford to upgrade their vehicles, nor spend an additional 20 cents per gallon at the gas pump.
Both Republicans and Democrats were unable to get behind the proposal at the 2021 Legislative Session. During her keynote speech, Grisham touched on topics of climate change; cutting emissions in the utility sectors; clean fuel standards and their importance; investing in green energy job training; and potentially making New Mexico the largest hydrogen plant in the nation.