Nearly three dozen groups in New Mexico have written a joint letter to lawmakers in the state that expressed their concerns about fossil hydrogen and how it's a "counterproductive distraction" instead of a solution for climate change.
The letter, dated Oct. 5 was addressed to nine of the state's top leaders including Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM), U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Congresswomen Teresa Leger Fernández (D-NM) and Melanie Stansbury (D-NM), along with Democratic leaders in both chambers of the state legislature.
"New Mexico's highest climate priority should be centered on investments in proven and readily available renewable energy generation, battery storage, electrification (including building heating and transportation), energy efficiency, and transmission technologies. These known, tested and cost-effective technologies will prove the backbone of New Mexico's clean energy economy, not hydrogen," the letter stated. "Even the most optimistic estimates of the use of hydrogen find that it is poised to play a markedly smaller role than other climate solutions in the future of energy economy."
The letter outlined seven guiding principles to "evaluate whether to integrate hydrogen into New Mexico's climate energy transition."
The letter also highlighted the fact that Lujan Grisham hoped to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the state by at least 45% in the next 14 years when compared to its production in 2005.
An article published by the Sierra Club of New Mexico stated that hydrogen production is already responsible for 3-4% of the world's greenhouse gas pollution, which is greater than all of Germany's emissions, and further backs the concerns of the groups that have reached out to lawmakers.
