Heinrich Participates In New Mexico 2021 Climate Summit, Makes Case For Major Climate Action Investments

WASHINGTON (Oct. 25, 2021) – Today, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) laid out the need for critical climate action investments during the New Mexico 2021 Climate Summit. Senator Heinrich and several members of his staff are participating in the first-of-its-kind, two-day event hosted by New Mexico Speaker of the House Brian Egolf.

VIDEO: Heinrich Participates In New Mexico 2021 Climate Summit [HD DOWNLOAD LINK HERE] 

Senator Heinrich is fighting for investments in President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better Agenda that meet the challenges of the climate crisis, create good-paying jobs, and reduce costs for families. 

Senator Heinrich’s remarks as prepared for delivery are below.

Hi everyone.

I’m thrilled that Speaker Egolf has brought so many leaders from throughout New Mexico and around the nation together for this important summit.

I think we can all agree that we don’t have any time to waste before enacting serious climate policy.

Extreme weather events, destructive floods, record-breaking heat waves, water shortages, and wildfires are already bearing down on the lands and waters that sustain our way of life in New Mexico. 

These climate impacts will only continue to worsen and be more costly unless we take significant climate action at the local, national, and global levels right now.

I’m doing everything I can in the Senate to enact critical climate priorities as part of President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda.

I’m fighting to pass game changing investments in clean energy generation, new high-voltage transmission lines, and the clean electrification of our vehicles, homes, and buildings.

I’m working to stand up a Civilian Climate Corps to make our landscapes more resilient.

And I am planning for how our state can replace the revenues currently generated by fossil fuel production and create targeted, place-specific investments in career re-training and economic diversification. 

I’m proud of all the ways that state and local leaders in New Mexico are already demonstrating what it looks like to lean into the clean energy transition and lead on climate.

Our state’s clean energy economy continues to grow by leaps and bounds.

Many of our local communities are taking bold actions to decarbonize their economies, conserve their precious water resources, and invest in solar, electrification, and efficiency.

But I would challenge all of us to keep going even further.

We all need to take steps to support new transmission projects in order to fully leverage New Mexico’s amazing wind and solar potential.

State leaders need to continue paving the way for the energy transition by identifying new ways to diversify our economy and state revenues.

Our climate problem is by far the greatest challenge of our generation.

We need to treat this moment like it is our best and even our last chance to address this problem with solutions that will make a real difference.

Because it is.

I want to leave my two boys with the same New Mexico landscapes and waters that I’ve grown to love so much.

The only way that will be possible is if we can enact policies and investments proportionate to this challenge right away.

We cannot squander this opportunity.

Thank you.