Michelle Lujan Grisham has served the Land of Enchantment in various capacities: as a longtime state Cabinet secretary, as a U.S. Representative for New Mexico’s 1st Congressional District, and most recently as the state’s 32nd governor. Following her successful gubernatorial bid in 2019, Lujan Grisham became the nation’s first Democratic Latina to serve as governor. Lujan Grisham’s election to office also marked a significant – and critical – departure from the anti-conservation and anti-climate record that was a hallmark of the preceding administration. 

From the very start of her administration, Governor Lujan Grisham and the Legislature have taken several significant steps toward transitioning New Mexico to a zero-emission economy and mitigating the impacts of the climate crisis. Lujan Grisham issued the Executive Order on Addressing Climate Change and Energy Waste Prevention, outlining the urgent need to build a clean energy economy to reduce climate impacts and protect public health. Shortly thereafter, she became the first of all the newly elected governors nationwide to sign a substantial climate policy into law. Governor Lujan Grisham led the way in the passage of the landmark Energy Transition Act (ETA), establishing unprecedented renewable energy standards, ensuring the closure of the San Juan coal plant, and creating a pathway to support communities and workers impacted by the state’s shift toward a zero-emission future. This work also led to the Governor’s selection to serve as Co-Chair of the U.S. Climate Alliance, a bipartisan coalition of Governors working to secure a net-zero future. 

The Governor’s leading climate agencies have also taken significant action. The Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD) passed a strong venting and flaring rule, followed by the New Mexico Environment Department’s (NMED) Ozone Precursor Rule; together, these were nation-leading rules that also influenced the federal methane rule. The 2022 passage of NMED’s Advanced Clean Cars I, followed by the 2023 Advanced Clean Cars II, Clean Trucks, and Omnibus Heavy-Duty NOx, is a critical step in getting more electric vehicles on the road and ensuring that more New Mexicans have access to them. State agencies also led a process to design New Mexico’s first Climate Adaptation and Resilience Plan to outline needs and steps to ready communities for climate impacts.

In 2021, Governor Lujan Grisham issued an executive order calling on the state to conserve at least 30% of New Mexico’s lands, water, and natural heritage by 2030. With this action, New Mexico became the second state in the nation to join President Biden’s America the Beautiful Initiative. New Mexico’s 30 x 30 initiative seeks to reflect the unique relationship that New Mexicans have with our land, water, wildlife, and culture. Per the executive order, state agencies must utilize a “broad view of conservation” that honors contributions of working lands and respects tribal sovereignty while protecting New Mexico’s unique biodiversity, ensuring equitable access to public lands, and supporting climate resiliency. 

The 2024 budget session carried this momentum forward following the passage of several significant climate and conservation laws. This year, Lujan Grisham signed bipartisan-sponsored SB 9, Legacy Permanent Fund, into law, establishing the state’s first-ever permanent conservation fund. This monumental bill guarantees consistent funding for state agencies and programs moving forward, ensuring we have the resources necessary to advance conservation, expand outdoor recreation, support agriculture, and build climate resilience across the state. It will also help the state leverage millions of dollars in historic federal funding, maximizing these benefits to deliver critical resources where New Mexico communities need them most. 

Lujan Grisham signed other years-in-the-making climate bills into law, including Clean Transportation Fuel Standards, which will help reduce transportation pollution and protect public health as the state continues to transition toward clean energy. The NM Match Fund, also passed in the 2024 session, will give tdhe state a leg up in applying for and maximizing the impact of unprecedented federal funding made possible by the Biden Administration’s Investing in America agenda. 

The Lujan Grisham administration inherited a slew of underfunded state agencies and programs, including EMNRD and NMED. Her administration has sought to rebuild these budgets so that they can not only execute their existing missions but also tackle challenges relating to ever-evolving climate and conservation issues. The 2024 budget session resulted in a 20.9% increase in funding for EMNRD, including a 112% increase to the healthy forests program, and a 19.9% increase in funding for NMED, with $7.6 million appropriated to establish a state-level water permitting program following the loss of federal protections after the US Supreme Court’s disastrous Sackett decision. Although state agencies still need more funding, this marked increase is a strong step forward. 

Despite this legacy of progress, the state continues to fall short on the bold climate and conservation goals set out by the Lujan Grisham administration. New Mexico’s progress has since been surpassed by other states, including Colorado, Minnesota, and Nevada, which have codified net-zero and 100% zero-emission commitments into law. Underscoring this, a 2023 report released by the Environmental Defense Fund warns that New Mexico is lagging in meeting its emissions reduction targets, resulting in both ongoing and long-term impacts on our air, land, water and way of life as New Mexicans. 

Despite increased funding for NMED and EMNRD, the Legislature has also failed to pass substantial reform to the Oil and Gas Act, with outstanding need for action on bonding and setback requirements. The climate and 30×30 executive orders, as well as the methane and ozone rules, continue to lack codification, thereby limiting enforcement capacity. In 2025, we head into the final 60-day session with Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham on the Roundhouse’s fourth floor. We can – and must – tap into the energy that propelled these bold climate and conservation commitments out of the starting gates. For Lujan Grisham’s environmental legacy to make it across the finish line intact, we must work to secure a package of defensible climate and energy bills that uphold the bold pledges laid out at the start of her tenure, compound the success of recent wins, and address issues that have so far gone unresolved. 

As the window of time to take necessary action on climate closes, the consequences of policy action – or lack thereof – cannot be understated.