OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Environmental Sustainability Board Meeting April 16, 2026

County Council & Boards — Thursday, April 16, 2026
BodyLos Alamos County, New Mexico
SessionCounty Council & Boards
DateThursday, April 16, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:57:42

Transcript — Verbatim
0:02

All right, it's 5 30, so we're called order.

0:07

Um roll call.

0:08

Um member Growe, Member S.

0:12

Blair, um Member Leckle, and um Member Barnes and uh Member Hampton and Member Chandler online.

0:23

And we're still missing member um C.

0:25

Blair Country.

0:31

Oh yeah, oh yeah.

0:33

Yeah, Carly is gone.

0:34

Yeah.

0:36

Thank you.

0:37

I forgot about that.

0:40

All right, public comment for items not on the agenda.

0:45

None.

0:46

Does anyone have any changes to the agenda?

0:52

Agenda's approved unanimously.

0:54

Does anyone have any uh changes to the minutes?

0:59

Minutes approved unanimously.

1:02

And with that, we're ready for our uh New Mexico Climate Action Plan.

1:12

Okay, good evening uh board.

1:16

Tonight we have Amy Rose Rosebrow with us.

1:20

She's the climate action planning coordinator for New Mexico Environment Department, Climate Change Bureau.

1:27

And uh following the release of this climate action plan back in December 2025, she's begun transitioning and leading the plan's development um and implementation.

1:38

So her current work focuses on putting these strategies into practice to meet the state's climate goals.

1:45

And tonight I'll hand it over to Amy.

1:49

Thank you Anhelika.

1:51

Um, yes, my name is Amy Rosebro.

1:54

I work for the New Mexico Environment Department.

1:58

I'm just gonna go ahead and share my screen really quick.

2:08

Okay, so I am the Climate Action Planning Coordinator for the New Mexico Environment Department Climate Change Bureau, and like Anelika said, we're going to be presenting on the New Mexico Climate Action Plan for you all today.

2:27

Um we'll just kick it off by talking about climate change.

2:33

So what causes climate change is human activities such as burning fossil fuels, which emit greenhouse gases and in turn warm the planet and drive climate change.

2:46

And as New Mexicans, we feel the effects of climate change every day.

2:50

We feel it in our health, our security, and our wallets.

2:55

Um we experience more heat illness, respiratory illness, infectious diseases, and mental health issues.

3:04

We also um, as you all know, experience more wildfires and drought and floods, and lack of home insurance availability.

3:15

And lastly, we really feel this in higher food prices and home insurance premiums, utility bills, um, and more health care bills.

3:30

But in order to further understand green uh uh climate change in New Mexico, I want to give you a little background on what the top greenhouse gas emissions are within the state and where those are coming from.

3:47

And so um a greenhouse gas emissions inventory is how we at the state and um governments across the world, assess uh the types of emissions that are happening and where they're coming from.

4:04

They enable us to evaluate progress towards our climate goals as well.

4:09

And we recently have done one for 2023 greenhouse gas emissions reductions, and what it showed us was that oil and gas industry was the top emitting sector in New Mexico, um, as it has been for quite a while, and that came in at 45% of our state's emissions, and then following that is transportation at 23%, and agriculture at 15%, and then electricity generation at 9%.

4:46

So you can see in this pie graph here the dominance that the oil and gas industry has over the emissions in New Mexico.

4:56

You see transportation, agriculture and electricity generation taking up a big chunk of that graph as well.

5:03

And then buildings, other industrial sources, and waste and materials are more of a nominal impact, but still important as we're trying to lower emissions across the state.

5:27

We if you look at this graph can see that from 2005 to 2021, we've decreased emissions by 14%.

5:38

And then moving forward, we further decrease these emissions from 2021 to 2023 by 8%.

5:46

And that is good progress.

5:58

And the targets for the state of New Mexico are first of all to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions 45% by 2030, and that is compared to levels in 2005.

6:13

And then we also want to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, also compared to 2005 levels.

6:44

But we are going to strive for as much of the emissions reductions to be through mitigation as compared to offsets.

7:34

And then as it continues, the blue line is at the top still, and that's if we do nothing else, if we continue business as usual, our emissions will not reach our targets.

7:48

And our targets are there on this graph is the yellow diamonds with the red dotted lines connecting them, which we will reach through the New Mexico Climate Action Plan.

8:02

And if you recall me saying that oil and gas industry is the number one emitter, you can also see that we will reduce the most emissions from industry, specifically oil and gas through this plan.

8:20

The way that we developed the climate action plan was through two key methodologies, the first of which was scientific research, and the second of which was iterative and community responsive engagement.

8:34

So we had five main measure selection criteria as we were thinking of what projects, programs, and policies to include into the plan.

8:44

The first of which was feasibility of implementation.

8:48

The second was the cost, and is there any funding available to make these measures happen?

8:57

How much greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced from a given measure, the transformative impact that a measure would have within communities via workforce and economic development and health and environmental impacts, and also community values were really important part of this process.

9:20

And so those last two criteria, transformative impact and community values were largely informed by the coordination with communities that we did.

9:33

And we held 12 public meetings, seven were in-person all over the states, and then five were virtual and more sector-based to get into the details of what would be included in the plan.

9:49

And those were really informative.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Climate Action Planning██████████████████████████████████████38%
Public Engagement████████████████████████24%
Sustainability██████████████14%
Waste Management██████████10%
Electric Distribution██████6%
Procedural███3%
Community Engagement██2%
Energy Management█1%
Economic Development█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Environmental Sustainability Board Meeting

The Environmental Sustainability Board (ESB) met on Thursday, April 16, 2026, at 5:30 PM in Council Chambers and via Zoom. The meeting covered the New Mexico Climate Action Plan, a climate marketing and engagement plan from Firebrand Creative, and Council direction to propose a single-use plastic bag ordinance. Reports from board liaisons and the Sustainability Manager were also presented.

Consent Calendar

  • Roll call – All seven members present except Carly Blair (absent with notice).
  • Approval of agenda – Approved unanimously.
  • Approval of minutes – Minutes of March 19, 2026, were approved unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Jody Benson (3547 Pueblo Drive) – Expressed strong support for a plastic bag ban, noting years of community work on the issue and offering to share input from groups like the Sierra Club, League of Women Voters, and Eco Club. She argued that the community is now ready for a ban, contrasting past divisiveness.
  • Councilor Melanie Hunt – Urged the ESB to frame the ordinance as providing viable alternatives (e.g., multi-use bags, certified compostable materials) rather than a simple prohibition. She stressed the need to define exactly which bags are banned, consider business impacts, and avoid further community division.

Discussion Items

Presentation of the New Mexico Climate Action Plan (CAP)

Amy Rosebrough, Climate Action Planning Coordinator for NMED’s Climate Change Bureau, presented the 2025 CAP. Key points:

  • State greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions decreased 14% from 2005 to 2021 and 8% from 2021 to 2023.
  • 2023 GHG inventory: Oil & gas 45%, transportation 23%, agriculture 15%, electricity generation 9%.
  • Targets: 45% reduction by 2030 and net-zero by 2050 (relative to 2005 levels), with no more than 20% reliance on offsets.
  • The plan was developed through scientific research and community engagement (12 meetings, 7 in-person, 5 virtual).
  • Measures include industry, transportation, agriculture/forests, electricity, buildings, and waste/materials.
  • Full implementation would prevent $294 billion in health and climate damages and create economic opportunities.
  • A status update report is planned to track implementation progress.
  • Board members asked about home insurance issues, inventory boundaries (includes all NM except Four Corners power plant on Navajo Nation), and wildfire reduction efforts (coordinated with EMNRD Forestry).

Climate Marketing and Engagement Plan by Firebrand Creative

Amanda Larringa (with Lignail Chacon listening) presented the behavioral science-based plan for a seven-year contract. Highlights:

  • Community survey (320 participants) selected the tagline "give a shift" with 38.7% of the vote; alternative phrases "small shifts, big impact" and "every bit matters" will also be used.
  • Audience segmentation based on Yale/George Mason “6 Americas” study (only 11% dismissive nationally).
  • Key behavioral principles: make actions easy, visible, socially reinforced; use trusted messengers; emphasize solutions, not doom.
  • Year-one focus: brand visibility (soft launch at Earth Week), community events, simple tools (e.g., cost savings calculators for EVs).
  • Three priority areas: alternative transportation, energy efficiency/electrification, and zero waste.
  • Measurement includes KPIs like bus ridership, recycling contamination rates, and event participation.
  • Board member Sue Barns raised concerns about past divisiveness on the plastic bag issue and the need to keep the community together. Board member Shannon Blair suggested promoting existing state EV tax credits and partnering with LANL on waste reduction.
  • Councilor Hunt encouraged Firebrand to align with the plastic bag effort by offering constructive solutions.

Council Direction on Single-Use Plastic Bag Ordinance

Chair David Hampton reported that the County Council (April 7, 2026) asked the ESB to propose a single-use plastic bag ordinance within 90 days (81 days remaining). The ESB discussed forming a working group:

  • Working group members: Shannon Blair, Erik Loechell, and Sue Barns (S. Blair). Jason Chappelle (Smith’s manager) will serve as a non-voting advisor on business impacts.
  • The group will draft an ordinance based on existing county models, with legal review by the County Attorney (Mr. Leipart suggested tweaks for easier implementation).
  • Council indicated a preference for no fee on paper bags and possible exemption for small businesses (constitutional concerns noted).
  • Community engagement will include a survey and/or public hearing after the ordinance is drafted.

Key Outcomes

  • Approvals: Agenda and March 19, 2026, minutes approved unanimously.
  • Plastic Bag Ordinance: Working group established (Blair, Loechell, Barns, plus Chappelle as advisor). They will prepare an ordinance and return to the ESB with recommendations. Public outreach will follow.
  • Climate Marketing Plan: Firebrand will continue deploying year-one activities, including Earth Day soft launch, and develop a formal monitoring and evaluation plan.
  • Staff Updates (Angelica Gurule):
    • March newsletter subscribers increased from 130 to 137 (66% engagement rate).
    • Six new Level 2 EV chargers at Municipal Building now operational.
    • NMDOT DC Fast Charging grant: equipment procured, construction at Mesa Public Library starting soon.
    • Food composting program on hold; EPA response pending on pivoting to in-vessel composting.
    • March diversion rate: 29% (477 tons GHG reduced in March, 1,052 tons in 2026 to date).
    • Recycling tonnage increased 25% year-over-year (nearly 20 tons more).
    • Earth Day events: April 18 at PEEC (10-2), April 22 at County (11:30-1:30).
  • Next Meeting: May 21, 2026, at 5:30 PM.

Meeting Transcript

All right, it's 5 30, so we're called order. Um roll call. Um member Growe, Member S. Blair, um Member Leckle, and um Member Barnes and uh Member Hampton and Member Chandler online. And we're still missing member um C. Blair Country. Oh yeah, oh yeah. Yeah, Carly is gone. Yeah. Thank you. I forgot about that. All right, public comment for items not on the agenda. None. Does anyone have any changes to the agenda? Agenda's approved unanimously. Does anyone have any uh changes to the minutes? Minutes approved unanimously. And with that, we're ready for our uh New Mexico Climate Action Plan. Okay, good evening uh board. Tonight we have Amy Rose Rosebrow with us. She's the climate action planning coordinator for New Mexico Environment Department, Climate Change Bureau. And uh following the release of this climate action plan back in December 2025, she's begun transitioning and leading the plan's development um and implementation. So her current work focuses on putting these strategies into practice to meet the state's climate goals. And tonight I'll hand it over to Amy. Thank you Anhelika. Um, yes, my name is Amy Rosebro. I work for the New Mexico Environment Department. I'm just gonna go ahead and share my screen really quick. Okay, so I am the Climate Action Planning Coordinator for the New Mexico Environment Department Climate Change Bureau, and like Anelika said, we're going to be presenting on the New Mexico Climate Action Plan for you all today. Um we'll just kick it off by talking about climate change. So what causes climate change is human activities such as burning fossil fuels, which emit greenhouse gases and in turn warm the planet and drive climate change. And as New Mexicans, we feel the effects of climate change every day. We feel it in our health, our security, and our wallets. Um we experience more heat illness, respiratory illness, infectious diseases, and mental health issues. We also um, as you all know, experience more wildfires and drought and floods, and lack of home insurance availability. And lastly, we really feel this in higher food prices and home insurance premiums, utility bills, um, and more health care bills. But in order to further understand green uh uh climate change in New Mexico, I want to give you a little background on what the top greenhouse gas emissions are within the state and where those are coming from. And so um a greenhouse gas emissions inventory is how we at the state and um governments across the world, assess uh the types of emissions that are happening and where they're coming from. They enable us to evaluate progress towards our climate goals as well. And we recently have done one for 2023 greenhouse gas emissions reductions, and what it showed us was that oil and gas industry was the top emitting sector in New Mexico, um, as it has been for quite a while, and that came in at 45% of our state's emissions, and then following that is transportation at 23%, and agriculture at 15%, and then electricity generation at 9%. So you can see in this pie graph here the dominance that the oil and gas industry has over the emissions in New Mexico. You see transportation, agriculture and electricity generation taking up a big chunk of that graph as well. And then buildings, other industrial sources, and waste and materials are more of a nominal impact, but still important as we're trying to lower emissions across the state. We if you look at this graph can see that from 2005 to 2021, we've decreased emissions by 14%. And then moving forward, we further decrease these emissions from 2021 to 2023 by 8%. And that is good progress. And the targets for the state of New Mexico are first of all to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions 45% by 2030, and that is compared to levels in 2005. And then we also want to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, also compared to 2005 levels. But we are going to strive for as much of the emissions reductions to be through mitigation as compared to offsets. And then as it continues, the blue line is at the top still, and that's if we do nothing else, if we continue business as usual, our emissions will not reach our targets.

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