Governor Reveals New Mexico Climate Investment Center - Los Alamos Daily Post
Governor Reveals New Mexico Climate Investment Center
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham
STATE News:
ALBUQUERQUE — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham was joined by state leaders Friday to announce the creation of the New Mexico Climate Investment Center (NMCIC).
The Climate Investment Center will issue low-interest loans to local projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The governor was joined at the announcement by Leader Peter Wirth, Pro Tem Mimi Stewart and other legislators.
“These investments will make a difference on the ground in communities around the state,” Gov. Lujan Grisham said. “Climate action must be inclusive of all New Mexicans, and I am looking forward to seeing communities empowered through the Climate Investment Center. I also want to thank legislative leadership for their support of this critical initiative.”
The New Mexico Climate Investment Center is expected to bring between $50 and $70 million in initial state and federal funding to climate-focused projects. At the event, the governor and other legislative leaders announced their intention to ask the Legislature for $20 million in start-up funding during the upcoming session. As the fund grows, it will be able to fund larger projects.
“The New Mexico Climate Investment Center is a big step forward for the state,” said Martin Chavez, Infrastructure Advisor to Gov. Lujan Grisham. “While many people were involved in making this happen, Gov. Lujan Grisham led the way.”
While the application for the NMCIC’s application for 501(C)(3) status is pending, it will operate through the Santa Fe Communities Foundation. The investment center and state will utilize federal dollars through the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, part of the Inflation Reduction Act, to support carbon reduction technology projects.
“The New Mexico Climate Investment Center has been successfully created as a nonprofit public corporation, with support and leadership from the Governor and the Coalition of Sustainable Communities New Mexico,” said Beth Beloff, Interim Chair of the New Mexico Climate Investment Center. “It is an investment fund whose core mission is to accelerate a just clean energy transition, leveraging public and private funds. It will prioritize projects that provide direct benefits to low-income, disadvantaged and tribal communities, and it will further the climate action goals of New Mexico.”
Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics
Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:
- Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
- Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
- Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
- Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”