Our climate and our economy need stability

When international tensions flare, families here feel it at the pump—sometimes overnight. Even in one of the nation’s top oil-producing states, price spikes ripple through our budgets, and any short-term bump in royalties to the general fund offers little comfort when groceries, rent, and commutes all cost more. Volatile energy prices are a warning: without a stable energy system, our economy rides a roller coaster.

There’s a better path. Wind and solar now deliver power that’s low-cost, predictable, and homegrown. New Mexico already produces roughly half of its electricity from renewable sources—enough to keep the lights on and charge a growing number of electric vehicles. Sun and wind don’t invoice us every month for fuel. And as battery storage expands and becomes increasingly recyclable, reliability improves while long-term costs stay steady.

Our weather tells the same story of instability, but with higher stakes. Roswell kicked off one of its hottest early springs on record, brushing 90 degrees before many trees had leafed out. Statewide, we just came through the hottest winter in more than a century. What would have been a rare anomaly a hundred years ago now feels like a trend line we can’t ignore.

Snowpack—a crucial savings account for our water year—has been scant across New Mexico and much of the West. With little to melt, spring runoff dwindles. That means tighter irrigation seasons for farmers, pressure on our obligations to downstream neighbors, and reduced deliveries from the Colorado River system to urban users like Albuquerque, which then must lean more on groundwater. Meanwhile, taxpayers are increasingly footing the bill for disasters supercharged by heat and drought: firefights that drain budgets, then flash floods that rip through burn scars. During the recent 30-day session, lawmakers even set aside funds to help at-risk homeowners in places like Ruidoso where post-fire flooding now threatens neighborhoods.

To their credit, legislators have acted to buffer our finances against commodity swings by channeling a share of oil and gas royalties into investment funds. Those earnings can smooth out the boom-and-bust cycles that have long shaped our revenue, nudging the state away from dependency on extraction alone.

But financial cushions aren’t a climate plan. This year, lawmakers declined to lock in long-term emissions goals that have guided state agencies for years. The Clear Horizons Act—a proposal to set statewide targets in law and then implement them through expert rulemaking—stalled in the Senate after intense pressure and a barrage of misleading claims from fossil fuel interests. The result is more uncertainty precisely when we need steady, science-based direction. Without durable state policy, our economy and environment remain exposed to global shocks and the policy swings that follow in Washington.

Here’s what the proposed approach would have done, and why the process matters. The law would have set clear statewide benchmarks. The how—not the headline—would be crafted through a public, evidence-driven rulemaking that New Mexico already uses for environmental standards.

Step one: the New Mexico Environment Department would convene a wide range of participants—industry representatives, local governments, technical experts, workers, advocates, and community members. The focus would be on major sources of pollution. Regulators would assess each sector’s current emissions, document measures already in place, and evaluate additional, achievable reductions alongside their economic implications. The aim is practical progress, not surprise mandates.

Step two: a draft rule would go before the Environmental Improvement Board, a panel of Senate-confirmed experts. What follows is a transparent, quasi-judicial hearing. Parties can present technical studies and sworn testimony, cross-examine witnesses, submit rebuttals, and—if procedural or factual errors occur—appeal decisions in court. By law, the board must weigh economic impacts and base its decision on the factual record. Public participation is not an afterthought; it’s baked into the process.

This structure keeps political bargaining from dictating technical details in a rushed 30-day session. Lawmakers provide the destination—the targets and timelines—and experts, businesses, and communities build the roadway with data, evidence, and accountability. It’s slower than a sound bite, but it’s designed to be fair, durable, and grounded in reality.

Stability is the throughline. Stable prices come from an energy portfolio that leans into renewables and storage rather than betting our household budgets on global oil markets. Stable water supplies require planning for a hotter, drier climate, investing in conservation and resilience before crises hit. Stable state finances rely on diversifying revenue and locking in long-term climate goals so businesses can invest with confidence.

We can choose policies that reward predictability, transparency, and science. That means putting climate and clean energy targets into law, then executing them through the open rulemaking process New Mexico already trusts to protect our air and water. It means acknowledging the costs we’re already paying for extreme heat, dwindling snowpack, and megafires—and choosing a path that lowers those bills over time.

Energy stability drives economic stability. Climate stability protects our way of life. New Mexicans deserve both, and the tools are in our hands.