House passes Clean Fuel Standard for first time
NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
February 3, 2024
Contact: Matthew Maez, Communications Director
New Mexico Environment Department
505.670.8911 | matthew.maez@env.nm.gov
House passes Clean Fuel Standard for first time
Senate has passed Clean Fuel Standard legislation twice in previous sessions
SANTA FE — The New Mexico House of Representatives today passed HB41, Clean Transportation Fuel Standards, for the first time. HB41 now heads to the Senate, where similar legislation has passed in the chamber twice in previous sessions.
The clean fuel standard will help improve the quality of the air, along with the respiratory and cardiac health of New Mexicans, with a market-based solution that spurs investment in a new sector of the state’s booming energy economy. The clean fuel standard requires producers and vendors of high-carbon fuels to purchase credits from generators of low-carbon fuels to offset their carbon emission or reduce the carbon intensity of their production or product.
“A clean fuel standard is a critical step to bolster our energy leadership while expanding our sustainable economy,” said Environment Department Deputy Cabinet Secretary Sydney Lienemann . “According to Bloomberg reports, more than $350 billion in private investment was spent in clean energy in the first six months of 2023 alone. We need to keep bringing that investment here.”
While the economic impact of the clean fuel standard is significant, there is also a significant health consideration. New Mexico has an air quality problem due to ground-level ozone. Albuquerque and Las Cruces rank in the top 25 cities for ozone pollution. According to the American Lung Association , 1 in 7 New Mexicans suffer from a respiratory illness like asthma or COPD. The annual cost to treat asthma is about 10% of the annual median per capita income of New Mexicans.
“Our air quality is hitting New Mexicans in the wallet,” said Environmental Protection Division Director Michelle Miano . “A clean fuels standard means cleaner air and a healthier New Mexico.”
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