Heinrich and Lujn criticized for supporting oil and gas subsidies | Local News

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On Friday, environmentalists and two state lawmakers sharply criticized the senses Martin Heinrich and Ben RayLujn for not opposing $ 121 billion in tax incentives for the domestic fossil fuel industry, saying the duo silently stimulates greenhouse gas polluters amid a growing climate crisis.

The panel convened for the press conference on Friday a month after 300,000 New Mexicans sent a letter to Heinrich and Lujn asking them to oppose fossil fuel incentives as part of a bill to budget reconciliation.

“And yet that letter went unanswered,” said Jessica Gable, spokesperson for Food & Water Watch, an environmental group in Washington, DC that hosted the webinar. “Today, we call on senators to break their silence now.”

The Senate Ways and Means Committee this week passed the bill to a floor vote with the tax incentives fully intact, Gable said. Both New Mexico senators must commit to removing fossil fuel subsidies from this bill, she said.

State Senator Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, D-Albuquerque, agreed. Historically, the fossil fuel industry has been strengthened because it was seen as the key to energy policy and vital to the nation.

“But what we know now is that drilling and burning oil and gas is a big contributor to climate change,” Sedillo Lopez said. “It is not in the best interests of New Mexico, our country, and the planet to continue these subsidies.”

New Mexico’s share of the incentives has yet to be determined.

Heinrich and Lujn did not directly respond to criticism and calls from the panel to oppose the inducements. They also did not indicate that they would consider taking such a step.

Instead, their offices issued a joint statement touting senators’ efforts to tackle climate change.

“Senators Heinrich and Lujn are longtime champions of New Mexico’s clean energy economy and are actively working to tackle the climate crisis head-on,” the statement said. “They believe the Build Back Better program represents the greatest opportunity of our lives to save the future of our planet. Senators Heinrich and Lujn are both fighting for big and bold climate solutions that respond to the present moment.

Environmentalists have argued that the $ 121 billion could be better spent elsewhere, including infrastructure to help transition to renewables rather than bolstering the current system.

“It shouldn’t be a difficult call,” said Raena Garcia, fossil fuel and land activist for Friends of the Earth. “We need an ambitious climate policy if we are to achieve a sustainable future. And when we are looking for income to invest in that future, these large oil distributions should be the first thing on the chopping block.”

Margaret Wadsworth, lead state organizer for Food and Water Watch, said the tax incentives reward the industry for its investment and expansion.

“Providing such incentives perpetuates the problem,” Wadsworth said. “It means we want more of this industry in our state and in our country nationally. And we know we’re not doing it.”

The recent United Nations report makes it clear that climate change demands immediate action from world leaders, Wadsworth said.

In New Mexico, those leaders are Heinrich and Lujn, she said.

A spokesperson for Heinrich noted that the senator has for years supported a transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. One of his bills is said to help ease the passage by paying New Mexico for its lost income as it turns to alternative sources such as solar and wind power.

Still, panelists said he and Lujn needed to be more aggressive to wean the state off oil and gas.

State Representative Andrea Romero D-Santa Fe said the state has depended on the industry for so long and is so used to subsidizing it that leaders have sometimes lacked the political will to diversify the economy.

It is important for the state’s national leaders to boldly chart a new direction, Romero said.

“Having them speak out in this regard will help New Mexico move into the next era of what we really want to build here and the kind of business we really want to host,” she said. “And the kind of economy we want to develop.”

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