Ariana Marmolejo Regional Communications Strategist (West) | Conservation Voters New Mexico
On April 8, President Donald Trump issued an executive order declaring the elimination of state and local laws related to climate change and environmental initiatives. The order instructs the US Attorney General to report back within 60 days detailing actions taken under the order and any further steps needed to halt enforcement of such laws.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul and New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, co-chairs of the U.S. Climate Alliance, which represents 22 states committed to achieving net-zero emissions, issued a joint statement in response:
“The federal government cannot unilaterally strip states’ independent constitutional authority. We are a nation of states – and laws – and we will not be deterred. We will keep advancing solutions to the climate crisis that safeguard Americans’ fundamental right to clean air and water, create good-paying jobs, grow the clean energy economy, and make our future healthier and safer.”
During President Trump's first term, state-based actions and groups like the US Climate Alliance were crucial in advancing climate progress amid a lack of federal leadership. In the president's second term, more pro-climate Democrats hold governorships than before. Notably, New York and Vermont have enacted climate Superfund laws to hold fossil fuel companies financially accountable for the impacts of climate change. There are multiple lawsuits from states, tribal, county, and city governments against the fossil fuel industry for misleading consumers about the risks of their products.
Demis Foster, the Chief Executive Officer of Conservation Voters New Mexico, criticized the executive order in a statement:
“The executive order is another example of the chaos and bluster the President seeks to use to bully his opponents into backing down from whatever issue he and his fossil fuel allies dislike. The President has no authority to end state laws and the US Supreme Court has twice refused to intervene in the lawsuits brought against the fossil fuel companies. The American public, across partisan lines, overwhelmingly support environmental protections and government action on global warming, even when climate change is not at the top of issues they are extremely concerned with."
Foster further commended New Mexico's leadership in setting emission standards and advancing legislation for water quality and community resilience in response to federal changes:
“Here in New Mexico, we applaud our state leaders for passing nation-leading methane emissions rules, which informed the Biden administration’s rules and which are already being met by a majority of oil and gas companies in the state. We just passed legislation giving the state the ability to develop a state-led water quality permit program for all surface waters in the state, after the US Supreme Court erroneously gutted the Clean Water Act. And we have just passed historic funding to support community resilience to the impacts of climate change and the state’s ability to develop and implement innovative ideas for climate mitigation after the irresponsible dismantling of the Federal Emergency Management Agency that will force states to bear the growing burden of extreme weather event response. We must build on this momentum and keep moving New Mexico forward, not backward.”
The Conservation Voters New Mexico organization aims to connect New Mexicans to political processes to protect the state's natural environment and resources.
