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Why does the Clean Transportation Fuel Program matter?
New Mexico has a history as a global energy powerhouse rooted in oil and gas production. Today, the demand for affordable, low-carbon energy sources is rising fast. Clean fuel jobs in the U.S. have also grown rapidly, increasing by 17% since 2020 – much faster than the rest of the economy, according to a 2024 analysis. Business decisions made today will shape future job opportunities in clean fuel for years to come.
The Clean Transportation Fuel Program incentivizes businesses to supply cleaner fuel to New Mexico, promoting a transition that maintains the state’s energy, environmental, and economic interests.
Economic Development
By 2040, a fully implemented Clean Transportation Fuel Program is projected to1 result in:
- Hundreds of full-time construction, installation, and maintenance jobs for New Mexicans in both rural and urban counties.
- $162 million in infrastructure-related jobs.
Consumer choice and affordability
The program provides drivers in New Mexico with more fuel choices for their vehicles, reducing dependence on traditional fossil fuels, making it easier to own more efficient vehicles, and potentially lowering fuel market prices by increasing competition.
Climate pollution reduction
The Clean Transportation Fuel Program helps reduce climate pollution at a time when New Mexicans are already feeling the effects of climate change. Rising temperatures and unpredictable weather patterns are contributing to more frequent and severe hazards – drought, extreme heat, wildfires, and floods – that directly threaten our environment, our health, and our way of life.
By 2040, program is projected to:
- Reduce greenhouse gas emissions in New Mexico by 10.5 million metric tons
- Save the state $2.4 billion in avoided climate pollution damage.
Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s Executive Order 2019-032, Addressing Climate Change and Energy Waste Prevention, sets a statewide goal for New Mexico to reduce climate pollution by 45% by 2030 from 2005 levels. The order identifies market-based programs with carbon dioxide and other emissions limits, such as the Clean Transportation Fuel Program, as a key strategy to help reach that goal.
Air quality improvements
Burning traditional fossil fuel like gasoline and diesel to power vehicles releases air pollutants — nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, fine particulate matter, and sulfur dioxide — that threaten public health. Transitioning to low-carbon fuel under the Clean Transportation Fuel Program will reduce those air pollutants and help New Mexicans breathe easier.
By 2040, program is projected to:
- Avoid hundreds of asthma cases through 2040.
- Generate up to $20.8 million in savings from better health outcomes and reduced health care costs.
Climate equity
Under New Mexico’s Clean Transportation Fuel Program, a participating utility’s total revenue from the program, except for administrative costs, must go towards transportation decarbonization and electrification projects. At least fifty percent of such revenues must benefit low-income and underserved communities in New Mexico.
The program is projected to reduce air pollution, which disproportionately affects people who live in low-income and underserved communities.
