New Mexico lawmakers have rejected legislation to codify the state’s climate goals, with seven Democrats joining Republicans last week to kill a bill that would have required the fossil fuel-heavy state to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.
The failure of the “Clear Horizons Act” underscores the difficulty of advancing state climate policy against the dual challenges of high prices and the Trump administration’s hostility to transitioning away from fossil fuels.
The second-highest oil-producing state, New Mexico also has one of the nation’s highest poverty rates. Mounting climate-related disasters like wildfires have imposed higher costs on residents and businesses, especially for property insurance. But key groups — including the Navajo Nation, which lobbied against the Clear Horizons Act — see fossil fuels as an irreplaceable lifeline for jobs and education funding.
The 19-23 vote in the state Senate marked the second year in a row that the Democratic-controlled Legislature has rejected the “Clear Horizons Act,” sponsored by Sen. Mimi Stewart, the upper chamber’s president pro tem. Last year’s bill died in committee, prompting Stewart to loosen several provisions in this year’s version to address affordability concerns from some Democratic colleagues.
