FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, February 19, 2026

Media Contact: info@clearhorizonsnm.org

SANTA FE, N.M. – As the 2026 legislative session concludes, the Clear Horizons coalition is reflecting on a sustained multi-year statewide effort to center climate policy in a conversation about affordability, economic stability, and long-term planning for New Mexico families and businesses.

While the Clear Horizons Act (SB18) did not reach final passage, the coalition’s work reshaped the debate. False claims fell apart as the reality of rising insurance premiums, drought-driven agricultural losses, skyrocketing disaster recovery costs, water scarcity, and grid instability drove the debate around the need for predictability and a framework to keep businesses investing with confidence, and communities resilient in the face of extreme weather. 

At the same time, the Trump administration’s move to rescind the EPA’s Endangerment Finding – the scientific and legal basis for regulating climate pollution – adopts climate denial as official U.S. policy. With the erasure of national protections, the responsibility for long-term planning increasingly rests with states.

“New Mexicans are already paying the price of climate inaction from allergies and mosquitos to fires, floods, and drought,” said Camilla Feibelman, director of the Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter and Clear Horizons coalition coordinator. “As the federal government guts every proactive attempt to reduce greenhouse gases that would save families money now and their livelihoods later, state leadership becomes paramount. The costs are here now and planning ahead is how we protect our communities.”

Advocates also noted that recent federal rollbacks highlight the limits of executive-only climate action.

“Seeing the federal rollback of the Endangerment Finding is a stark reminder of what’s at stake in New Mexico,” said Lucas Herndon, policy director at ProgressNow New Mexico. “The Governor’s 2019 executive orders have helped reduce emissions, but executive action alone is not permanent. Without durable legislation, New Mexico remains vulnerable to political shifts and escalating climate costs.”

During 2025 interim hearings, lawmakers heard more than $4 billion in climate-related costs – from wildfire recovery to infrastructure damage and lost revenues – underscoring that these expenses are already landing on New Mexico families and communities. The data makes clear that the cost of inaction is far higher than the cost of planning ahead.

Across sectors, the message throughout the session was consistent: durable climate policy is not about ideology. It is about economic stability, fiscal responsibility, and protecting New Mexicans from rising costs and health harms.

Voices from the Session

Throughout committee hearings and floor debate, New Mexicans and legislators shared firsthand accounts of what climate risk means on the ground.

Senator Angel Charley in her opening remarks of SB18’s Senate floor debate:

​ “I want to ground this in what our rural communities are already experiencing. Across rural communities, there’s less snow feeding the acequias that farmers and ranchers depend on. Water runs shorter and arrives later. Crops scorch under longer stretches of heat. Hunters are seeing less elk move slower in search of food and water. Families talk about the fewer rabbits that they remember than just a decade ago. This is not environmental rhetoric. This is economic pressure. This is cultural erosion happening in real time.”

Don Schreiber, Devil’s Spring Ranch, Rio Arriba County:

“For the first time in 26 years, when our neighboring stockmen returned this November, they found that not enough grass had grown over the summer to sustain their herds… This is not a sustainable business model. The effects of our changing climate are no longer something in our future, we are hotter than ever, drier than ever right now… There is no grass for grazing and no ranching business can sustain that. That is our reality. SB18 recognizes our reality. It does not ask ranchers like me and my neighbors to add costs to our operations.”

Randy Sadewic, Positive Energy Solar:

“From lived experience, as clean energy deployment increases, costs fall, efficiency rises, and local jobs grow–making renewable energy the lowest-cost, least-risk path for New Mexico’s future. Planning ahead for this protects jobs, strengthens our grid, and creates the certainty we need to invest. ”

Edie Dillman, B.Public Prefab:

“The idea that climate planning hurts business is simply not true. Stability and predictability are what allow companies like mine to grow.”

Nick Streit, Owner, Taos Fly Shop:

“When wildfire smoke or drought hits, rural economies feel it immediately. Protecting clean air and healthy watersheds isn’t political – it’s about survival for communities like ours.”

Across sectors, the message was consistent: planning ahead protects affordability.

Broad Support Across Industries and Communities

This session’s effort brought together a growing, diverse coalition.

• Health professionals warned of rising asthma attacks and heat-related illness.
• Tribal advocates emphasized water protection and intergenerational responsibility.
• Ranchers and farmers spoke about de-stocking herds and shrinking water supplies.
• Small businesses and clean energy employers underscored the importance of investment certainty and market stability.
• Family economic security organizations connected climate impacts directly to household affordability.
• Climate advocates helped connect the dots, showing how all of these experiences are part of the same larger problem.

More than 14,000 New Mexicans now work in clean energy, a sector growing faster than the broader state economy. Employers testified that long-term policy clarity reduces volatility, attracts capital, and strengthens grid reliability.

Progress This Session

The coalition also acknowledges important climate and resilience investments advanced during the 2026 session, including:

• $22.5 million to implement the Lower Rio Grande water settlement
• $50 million to the State Forestry Department for the Wildfire Prepared Fund and funding for critical upgrades to the Santa Fe office 
• $70 million to the Office of the Natural Resource Trustee for land creation, expansion, or restoration projects, including up to $21 million in state matching funds for federal assistance due to natural disasters
• $25 million to the Environment Department for industrial decarbonization grants
• $10M to the Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources Department for geothermal project grants and extended the deadline to spend the $10M geothermal grant from the 2025 budget to FY27
• $20 million to the NM Match Fund
• $1.5 million to the Public Regulation Commission to administer the Community Solar Program
• $10 million to the Office of the Superintendent of Insurance for the New Mexico fair access to insurance requirements program

Notably, the addition of an entirely new section titled “Natural Disasters & Executive Orders Appropriations” in the state budget dedicated to disaster response reflects a clear reality: climate-driven emergencies are no longer isolated events – they are recurring fiscal obligations. Lawmakers are preparing for the costs of disaster. The next step is reducing the pollution that is driving those costs.

These steps reflect growing bipartisan recognition that climate impacts are already straining state budgets and local economies.

The coalition also expressed appreciation for the leadership of Senate President Pro Tempore Mimi Stewart, Senator Angel Charley, Representative Kristina Ortez, and Representative Andrea Romero.

“The sponsors showed real leadership this session,” said Berenice Estrada, Political Director at The Semilla Project. “They kept the focus on what New Mexicans are experiencing right now – rising costs, water stress, and economic uncertainty. That kind of long-term thinking reflects our values as a state.”

A Shift in the Conversation

Throughout the session, the coalition consistently reframed climate policy as fiscal policy and a reflection of New Mexicans’ values. Recent statewide polling shows that a strong majority – 77% – of New Mexicans support government action to reduce climate pollution, underscoring that the Clear Horizons Act aligns with voter priorities across the state.

This session followed a familiar pattern. When climate legislation advances, fossil fuel interests respond with significant ad spending designed to amplify short-term cost fears. Yet despite that effort, the bill advanced to the Senate floor and the conversation did not stay there. Lawmakers and communities increasingly focused on the real and rising costs of inaction, underscoring that long-term planning is essential to economic stability.

The debate centered on:

• Home insurance getting more expensive and harder to find
• Whether farms and ranches can stay in business
• Whether there will be enough water for families and agriculture
• Keeping the lights on during extreme heat and high demand
• Taxpayer dollars going to disaster cleanup instead of schools and services
• How New Mexico can foster innovation to build long-term resilience and economic opportunity

Even without final passage, the link between pollution, rising costs, and economic stability is now firmly part of New Mexico’s legislative conversation.

Looking Ahead

New Mexican families and communities are already experiencing prolonged drought, extreme heat, increased wildfire risk, water scarcity, and rising infrastructure demands from energy-intensive industries. At the same time, federal climate oversight is becoming less predictable.

The need for durable, state-level planning has not diminished. It has intensified.

As the session closes, the Clear Horizons coalition reaffirmed its commitment to advancing practical, economically grounded climate solutions that protect families, strengthen businesses, and safeguard the land and water that define New Mexico.

Climate resilience is economic resilience.
Planning ahead is fiscal responsibility.
And New Mexicans deserve stability they can count on.

Media Contacts:
Camilla Feibelman – Rio Grande Chapter of the Sierra Club, 505.715.8388, camilla.feibelman@sierraclub.org

Itzayana Banda – The Semilla Project, 720.532.3293, itzayana@semillastrategies.org
Lucas Herndon – ProgressNow NM,  575.342.1505, lucas@progressnownm.org

Jim Ekstrand – NM Interfaith Power and Light, 505.490.8163, jim.ekstrand@yahoo.com

Christie Silverstein – Western Resource Advocates, 602.803.4130, christie.silverstein@westernresources.org 

Voices from Across New Mexico
Clear Horizons Coalition Quote Sheet 

The Clear Horizons coalition is a statewide alliance of community leaders, businesses, health professionals, Tribal advocates, and environmental organizations working to advance long-term climate and energy policies that reduce pollution, foster innovation, and protect New Mexico families through sustainable economic growth and resilience.

Mike Eisenfeld, San Juan Citizens Alliance
“Northwestern New Mexico understands better than most what it means to rely on extractive industries and to live with the consequences of pollution. As our region diversifies its economy, long-term climate planning is essential to protect water, public lands, and the communities that depend on them. Stability and accountability are how we build durable prosperity.”

Haley Jones, Citizens Caring for the Future
“Families in southeastern New Mexico care deeply about keeping our communities strong and economically secure. Every day we experience the consequences of pollution- haze, asthma attacks, respiratory problems, exacerbation of existing heart and lung conditions. Planning ahead to reduce pollution and manage risk is practical. Our communities deserve long-term stability, not short-term uncertainty.”

Ahtza Chavez, Executive Director, NM Native Vote
“For Indigenous communities, caring for the land, water, air and all our natural resources is about responsibility to future generations. The Clear Horizons Act would have helped ensure that decisions made today protect our air, land, and communities tomorrow, while giving the public a voice in how those decisions are made.”

Charles de Saillan, Coalition for Clean Affordable Energy

“It is unconscionable that many of our legislators have ignored the facts, ignored the warnings of scientists, and ignored the wishes of a majority of New Mexicans, and, once again, our Legislature has failed to enact sensible climate legislation. It is ironic that our Senate voted down the climate bill one day before the Trump administration formally withdrew the “endangerment finding,” which is the foundation for the federal clean air programs to combat climate change. I nevertheless wish to thank Senate Pro Tem Mimi Stewart, and Senator Charley and Representatives Kristina Ortez and Andrea Romero, for their dedication and hard work in sponsoring this legislation.”

Carlos Matutes, New Mexico State Director, GreenLatinos
“Our historically excluded communities are already paying the highest price for climate instability – in higher cooling bills, higher home insurance costs, health impacts, and disaster recovery costs. Climate planning is an affordability and equity issue.”

Giovanna Rossi, Moms Clean Air Force – New Mexico
“Parents across New Mexico want clean air and a stable future for their kids. This session showed that families are demanding long-term solutions that reduce pollution and prevent rising costs.”

Dr. Kristin Graziano, Healthy Climate New Mexico
“From asthma to heat-related illness, climate pollution is already impacting public health in our state. Prevention is far less expensive than emergency response.”

Alex Eubanks, Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP)
“Energy efficiency and renewable energy remain the lowest-cost tools available to reduce pollution and protect ratepayers. Smart planning protects both reliability and affordability.”

Rev. Clara Sims, NM & El Paso Interfaith Power and Light
“All faith traditions reflect that we have a sacred responsibility to care for our earth. They teach that every fiber of life is connected and every choice is consequential for the common good. Each time we choose to protect the status quo of polluting industry over the common good of New Mexicans, we betray present and future generations. Climate change is here and we need moral courage from our leaders now more than ever if we are to protect and preserve this place we cherish, our only home.”

AnnaLinden Weller, Western Resource Advocates
“New Mexico has built a national reputation for forward-looking energy policy. Continuing that leadership requires long-term frameworks that provide transparency, accountability, and economic stability.”

Susan Nedell, Senior Western Advocate, E2
“Businesses and investors need clear rules and long-term certainty to continue creating economic opportunities for thousands of workers across New Mexico. Policy whiplash puts the significant increase in clean energy investment at risk. The debate this session recognized that economic growth and climate planning go hand-in-hand.”

Liane Jollon, Western Leaders Network
“Wildfires, floods and other climate-driven disasters strain local governments by increasing emergency response and recovery costs, damaging infrastructure, and diverting limited resources from essential community services. Local elected officials need a long-term plan to drive down these rising costs. The Clear Horizons Act offered a stable framework for advancing renewable energy development while cutting pollution and protecting public health.”

Christian Casillas, Coalition of Sustainable Communities New Mexico

“Now is the time for the state of New Mexico to show leadership with sound regulatory policy that reflects the environmental stewardship and social values of many of our local governments and communities.” 

Michael Bueno, Environmental Defense Fund

“In the face of federal deregulation across bedrock environmental programs – including those meant to safeguard public health and prevent the worst outcomes of climate change – it’s up to states like New Mexico to take up the mantle with policies like Clear Horizons that look forward, not back in retreat.” 

Andrew Forkes-Gudmundson, Earthworks  

With this vote, the New Mexico senate has failed to meet the moment. While the federal government dismantles climate regulations left and right, New Mexico needs to tackle greenhouse gas emissions head on. Instead a majority of the Senate voted to take no action. We appreciate the efforts of President Pro Tempore Mimi Stewart and Governor Lujan-Grisham. The Governor must do all she can in the remaining months of her administration to support the agencies that protect New Mexicans from pollution and protect her legacy on climate. 

Mandy Sackett, Earthworks

As a thermographer, I see first hand how much pollution is still pouring into New Mexico’s air. The failure to enact commonsense protections means communities keep paying the price. Oil and gas pollution may be invisible to the naked eye, but neighbors feel them in real ways, from headaches and burning throats to hours of flaring and choking odors outside their homes. We have the technology to find the leaks and the knowledge to cut them, but the Senate chose delay over action.

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Clear Horizons New Mexico is a coalition committed to fostering sustainable growth and environmental resilience throughout the State of New Mexico. Through the advocacy and implementation of groundbreaking legislation like the Clear Horizons Act (SB18), we aim to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, promote energy development and innovation, and enhance community welfare. Our mission is to transform New Mexico into a leader in energy & sustainability by harnessing the state’s unique environmental assets and cultural heritage, ensuring a thriving, sustainable future for all residents. Clear Horizons New Mexico collaborates with local communities, policymakers, and environmental experts to drive meaningful change and innovation.