E&E News (Jan. 13, 2021) –  New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) has floated a bill that would set one of the nation’s most aggressive state climate goals.

If the measure passes, it would require all industries in the second-biggest U.S. oil-producing state to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, including carbon dioxide and methane, to 50 percent of 2005 levels by 2030. The bill would have the state cut emissions to the equivalent of zero emissions by 2050, using a combination of actual reductions and offsets.

Total emissions would have to be reduced to 10 percent of 2005 levels, to ensure that pollution doesn’t increase just because it’s offset.

The bill is significant because of New Mexico’s oil production, which has grown by about a third in the last year to pumping 1.3 million barrels a day. Only a handful of other states have set carbon neutrality goals, and New Mexico’s would be among the most stringent, according to the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions.

“The only real comparison among oil-producing states is Colorado (with about half the oil production of New Mexico) and its target is currently only 90 percent reductions by 2050,” Doug Vine, the group’s director of energy analysis, said in an email.

New Mexico, 2nd Largest U.S. Oil State, Eyes Net-Zero Emissions

Carlsbad Current-Argus:  Proposed ‘Clean Future Act’ targets greenhouse gas emissions in New Mexico