Target: Phoebe Suina, Chair of New Mexico’s Environmental Improvement Board
Goal: Support New Mexico’s recent carbon reducing restrictions for cars and trucks.
In May 2022 New Mexico’s Environmental Improvement Board adopted new restrictions aimed at reducing smog-causing pollutants and carbon emissions from cars and trucks.
In recent years the US’s progress toward reducing harmful emissions from passenger vehicles had been stalled by the Trump administration’s roll back of Obama era rules requiring car manufacturers to increase their emissions efficiency by 5% annually. Under Trump, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) no longer leveled penalties against manufacturers who failed to meet the 5% increase each year. This move allowed car companies to put profits over the health and safety of not only the planet, but the people as well. This Force Change petition called on the Trump administration to reverse its profit-driven decision and to protect our health.
The recent New Mexico restrictions take effect in 2026 and, according to the City of Albuquerque, “includes a combination of increasingly stringent vehicle emission standards and a requirement that manufacturers deliver for sale an increasing number of zero-emission vehicles, such as battery electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.” The combination of stricter emission standards and increasing the number of electric cars on the roads of New Mexico is estimated to reduce about 130,000 tons of harmful greenhouse gases in the state by 2050.
The City of Albuquerque also reports this new law will save money for New Mexico – a projected $237 million by 2050. These savings are in lower maintenance and lifetime fuel costs. In particular, New Mexico’s low-income purchasers will see the financial relief, as they spend a disproportionate level of their income on fuel. Sign below to support this planet-saving initiative.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Chairperson Suina,
Following the Trump administration’s shortsighted and ugly profit-motivated decision to no longer level penalties against car manufacturers who failed to meet the Obama era emissions efficiency standards, your decision to adopt stricter standards is a breath of fresh air.
Climate change is the most devastating existential crisis of our time, and we need our government officials to stand by the people and enforce standards that will protect our health and the health of our planet. The new restrictions put in place by your board will not only offer environmental relief – eliminating about 130,000 tons of greenhouse gases from your state by 2050 – but it will also offer much needed financial relief as well.
Thank you for your swift action to protect the people of New Mexico, and our planet, from the devastating impacts of climate change.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Kārlis Dambrāns
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