Rep. Patricia Royal Caballero House District 13 | Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter
President Biden's administration has proposed a new rule that would allow New Mexico to set stronger vehicle emission standards. This move is seen as a significant step in addressing climate change, improving public health, and saving money for drivers.
Travis Madsen, Transportation Program Director at the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project, stated: "President Biden is moving full speed ahead with Clean Car Standards, and that is great news for New Mexico. The faster New Mexico moves to electrify cars and trucks, the bigger the benefits will be. Cleaning up passenger vehicles in line with the state climate strategy will save New Mexicans more than $20 billion through mid-century. The state should initiate a Clean Cars rulemaking without delay."
Luke Tonachel from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) emphasized the importance of state-level clean vehicle authority: "By standing up for the clean vehicle authority of states like New Mexico, President Biden is standing up for public health and innovation. The Lujan Grisham administration should take advantage of this momentum by finalizing a clean cars rule this year, and the Biden administration should act swiftly to reinstate the Obama-era tailpipe standards and set new rules that would put us on a path to sales of all zero-emitting vehicles by 2035."
Camilla Feibelman from the Rio Grande Chapter of the Sierra Club noted: "Clean car standards are key to curbing climate change and reducing local air pollution while saving New Mexicans money on fuel costs. With the Biden administration’s waiver announcement today, states will be returned a powerful tool to protect public health and act on climate. Now it’s up to state leaders to ensure New Mexico moves forward with strong state-level standards as soon as possible to help drive dealers to service our state with a wide variety of electric vehicles."
The federal Clean Air Act allows states like New Mexico to set stricter vehicle emission standards than federal requirements due to ongoing air pollution issues. Governor Michelle Lujan-Grisham had pledged in 2019 to adopt such policies by 2020; however, plans were delayed due to COVID-19. In her 2020 Climate Strategy report, she indicated that adoption would occur in 2021.
The Trump administration previously attempted to revoke this authority from states early in 2020, prompting legal challenges from several states including New Mexico. The current proposal by President Biden aims to resolve these uncertainties and provide states like Washington State, Virginia, Minnesota, Nevada, among others with an opportunity to join those already implementing these standards.
