NM No False Solutions  Calls Out “Building an Advanced Energy Ecosystem” as Corporate Greenwashing

Organization Press Release – From the New Mexico No False Solutions Coalition

ALBUQUERQUE, NM— The New Mexico No False Solutions Coalition (NM NFS) is calling attention to the upcoming event “Building an Advanced Energy Ecosystem” hosted by NM Women Lead on September 15–16 on the eve of September 20th, the Global Day of Climate Action and New York Climate Week of Action.

While billed as a conversation on innovation, the event is heavily sponsored by corporate polluters, including Invenergy and Tallgrass Energy, both tied to Blackstone Inc., alongside Google and ConocoPhillips.

In 2023, NM NFS Steering Committee Member YUCCA held the NM Climate Strike outside the event when it was held in Downtown Albuquerque at the Clyde Hotel. Since then, NM NFS has warned politicians and the community that the term “advanced energy” often masks so-called false solutions that delay real climate action, including:

• Carbon capture and storage – prolongs fossil fuel dependence;
• Offsets and carbon markets – let polluters keep polluting;
• Techno-fixes – distract from proven, community-led renewable solutions.
  

Adding to the concern, state officials, including Environment Department Secretary James Kenny, Economic Development Department Secretary Rob Black, and Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources Secretary Melanie Kenderdine, are all slated as panelists.

Their continued participation in this space lends credibility to corporations to shape state energy policy, while protecting their bottom line. This is why we see an explosion of private-public partnerships coming out of the Governor’s Administration. 

Meanwhile, frontline and Indigenous communities across New Mexico are developing genuine climate solutions: community-owned solar and wind, water protection, and policies to transition away from fossil fuels.

Coalition members have repeatedly pressed these same state agencies to uphold the New Mexico Constitution’s Pollution Control Clause, which mandates protection from harmful pollution.

“We need our Governor and her cabinet to stop legitimizing corporate polluters and start backing solutions that serve New Mexicans, not Wall Street.”  Alejandria Lyons, Coalition Coordinator, added, ”If we can create measures for universal health care for children, we can create a regenerative energy economy with that same intention. Frontline communities are calling on Michelle Lujan Grisam to create regenerative economies, not extractive ones.”

“All New Mexicans and families have a right to live in a clean environment and have healthy and abundant families for generations to come. Yet, our leaders forge pathways for corporate gain while misguiding our communities to our demise. We will not be manipulated into false solutions to the climate and economic crisis.” Krystal Curley,  Executive Director, Indigenous Lifeways.

“Young people in New Mexico are done watching our elected officials prop up false solutions and so-called ‘advanced energy’ schemes like carbon capture and nuclear that do nothing but extend the life of the extractive industry,” said Zoey Craft, Communications Manager for Youth United for Climate Crisis Action. “Real solutions come from our communities, not the billionaires and corporations putting profits over our future. It’s time for our leaders to hear our voices and stand with the people, not polluters.”

“Our elected officials cannot continue to prop up a corporate takeover of our energy system, our lives, and our futures. New Mexicans know the real solutions that will help our communities when facing the climate crisis. It’s time they start listening to the people and not industry’s pockets,” said Ennedith Lopez, Los Jardines Institute 

NM NFS urges policymakers, media, and the public to see “Building an Advanced Energy Ecosystem” for what it is: a corporate greenwashing exercise designed to stall real progress.

More on the New Mexico No False Solutions Coalition

The New Mexico No False Solutions Coalition is a statewide alliance of grassroots organizations, frontline communities, and advocates working to advance environmental justice, protect community self-determination, and resist corporate-driven false solutions to the climate crisis. The NM NFS Steering Committee includes Indigenous, frontline, and legacy environmental justice organizations such as Pueblo Action Alliance, YUCCA, Los Jardines Institute, Indigenous Lifeways, and Earth Care. Our network includes individuals and organizations working across the state of New Mexico.