SANTA FE, N.M.— The Center for Biological Diversity and a coalition of conservation and public health organizations today called on New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to exercise her power under state law to declare a fossil fuel emergency. Such a declaration would allow the state to direct resources and take aggressive action to protect New Mexicans from the health, environmental and economic harms of oil and gas extraction.
“New Mexico law gives our governor the power to act when a human-made disaster threatens widespread harm. That’s exactly what’s happening now,” said Gail Evans, an attorney at the Center. “Rampant state-sanctioned oil and gas extraction is poisoning our air and water, threatening people’s health and destabilizing our economy. This is an emergency, and our leaders can no longer turn a blind eye while New Mexicans pay the price.”
During Lujan Grisham’s time in office, New Mexico has become one of the nation’s largest oil and gas producers amid a dramatic expansion of drilling and extraction. This boom has generated outsized profits for oil and gas corporations while leaving communities with worsening pollution, mounting health risks and an economy increasingly tied to volatile oil markets.
Today’s letter to Gov. Lujan Grisham cites a new report from the Center for Biological Diversity that details how unchecked oil and gas extraction is polluting the state’s land, water and air and accelerating climate change.
“This report makes it clear that New Mexico can no longer ignore the harms of oil and gas extraction,” said Brian Campbell, executive director of Physicians for Social Responsibility. “The industry’s pollution is making residents sick. New Mexicans deserve clean air, healthy communities and an economy that supports their well-being. By reporting the true costs of extraction this report underscores the urgent need for action to protect New Mexico’s people, land and future.”
Across New Mexico, 70,000 extraction sites drive record-high methane emissions and rampant air pollution, with air quality out of compliance with basic federal health standards in high-producing regions. Thousands of wells that no longer produce oil or gas remain unplugged and unremediated and continue to pollute. The industry generates billions of gallons of toxic liquid waste annually, with thousands of spills contaminating the land and water every year.
“New Mexico has been a sacrifice zone for extractive industries for far too long,” said Nicole Horseherder, executive director of Tó Nizhóní Ání. “Our Indigenous and frontline communities face the most severe health risks, and our sacred lands and ecosystems are constantly under siege. We need our state leaders to immediately address this devastating crisis.”
The report also warns that the state’s growing dependence on volatile fossil fuel revenues has left it economically vulnerable as cleanup costs and climate damages rise and many New Mexicans struggle to afford food, housing and healthcare.
The groups called on the governor to crack down on oil industry polluters and take steps to build an equitable renewable energy future.
“Oil and gas companies love to talk about the prosperity they’ve brought to New Mexico,” said Jonathan Juárez, co-campaign organizer from Youth United for Climate Crisis Action (YUCCA). “But that’s just not the reality. These companies are extracting wealth from our state and leaving a growing disaster behind. We are now in an emergency. The governor must act to address this massive problem before it’s too late to repair the damage.”
In addition to the Center for Biological Diversity, YUCCA, Tó Nizhóní Ání, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Pueblo Action Alliance, Indigenous Lifeways, Torreon Community Alliance, WildEarth Guardians, Oilfield Witness, Food and Water Watch, Oil Change International, New Energy Economy, New Mexico Interfaith Power and Light, Interfaith Worker Justice — New Mexico, New Mexico Social Justice Equity Institute, Friends of the Earth U.S., Los Jardines Institute, New Mexico Climate Justice, Common Ground Rising, Santa Fe Forest Coalition, Wild Watershed, and Renewable Taos joined the call to demand a fossil fuel emergency.
