SANTA FE (AP) — New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Tuesday committed her fledgling Democratic administration to aggressive targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions amid a boom in oil and natural gas production in the state, while endorsing goals of the 2015 Paris climate agreement to limit global warming.
Flanked by newly appointed energy and environment secretaries, Lujan Grisham signed an executive order that sets in motion efforts to encourage renewable energy development, improve energy efficiency for buildings, safeguard air quality and consider stricter pollution-emission standards for cars sold in the state.
The state will pursue a 45 percent reduction in the emission of heat-trapping gases by 2030. The goal is benchmarked to 2005 emission levels.
The executive order also brings New Mexico into the so-called U.S. Climate Alliance of governors from 19 states that are pursuing goals of the Paris agreement. In 2017, President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the international agreement that seeks to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit).
“Our goal is to eclipse states that are successfully doing this work,” said Lujan Grisham, singling out Colorado’s progress on limiting methane emissions through state regulation.
— Read on www.lamonitor.com/content/gov-joins-alliance-against-climate-change
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