This week, YUCCA was joined by over 100 students, frontline community members, partners, and allies to hold a powerful direct action outside of the New Mexico State Capitol on the first day of the 2025 Legislative Session.
During the action, we blockaded Old Santa Fe Trail, limiting access to the Roundhouse as we sang, raised our voices in chants and speeches, and constructed a large-scale street mural to send a stark message to New Mexico's legislators as they arrived for opening day: time is running out.
Just one day after Donald Trump took office for his second term – promising to "Drill, baby drill!" and roll back critical environmental protections at the Federal level – we came together to call upon our State Legislators to hear our voices and act with the courage to pass bold, transformative policy solutions that address the urgency of the climate crisis and advance a just transition to a renewable energy future.
The protest continued YUCCA's annual tradition of collective action on the Opening Day of the Legislative Session, serving as a timely reminder of what is at stake and a powerful moment to set our intentions for the work that still lies ahead.
"We are here to tell our Legislature – who are responsible for the second-largest oil production anywhere, really, second only to Texas – that we cannot continue to let industry sacrifice our health and well-being," said YUCCA Organizer Jonathan Júarez.
During the action, we also called for an end to lawmakers' proposed false solutions – like the Governor's Strategic Water Supply Plan, hydrogen production, and carbon capture and sequestration – that only prolong harm to their constituents and to the planet.
"Knowing that there isn't science to back safety for human consumption or even simply the Earth, it's just too risky of an investment for our communities," said YUCCA Policy Campaign Manager Ennedith Lopez.
As our communities continue to face the impacts of rising temperatures, perpetual oil spills, continued PFAS contamination, and historic wildfires across the West, our powerful direct action marked the launch of new, creative tactics designed to meet the urgency of this moment in the fight for climate action.
We are hopeful that our calls for Climate Courage and our ongoing pressure will result in meaningful action this session. Bills are being filed every day. We are analyzing them as they are filed. We will have a comprehensive list of policy priorities for the 2025 Legislative Session next week including social justice bills we are supporting in solidarity with partners. YUCCA's top priority bills will help to further a just transition to renewable energy, protect our communities from the dangerous impacts of pollution, and meet the urgency of the climate crisis, including H.B. 33, H.B. 34, H.B. 35, and the proposed Local Solar Access Fund.
JOIN US THIS FRIDAY: VIRTUAL ADVOCACY 101 TRAINING
As we prepare to advocate for bold policies and push back against harmful legislation during the remainder of the 2025 Legislative Session, we're hosting a virtual Advocacy 101 training to help you learn more about how you can advocate for change and join the fight for bold legislative action!
We hope you'll join us this Friday, January 24th from 5:30-7:00 pm for our Advocacy 101 training facilitated by organizers from the Learning Alliance of New Mexico as we break down the ins and outs of the New Mexico Legislature, expose how power flows through the system, and strategize how we can disrupt business as usual to fight for policies that serve our people–not corporations.
SIGN UP TO RECEIVE OUR ADVOCACY ACTION ALERTS!
The remainder of the 2025 Legislative Session is sure to be filled with important advocacy needs. Stay informed and sign up below to receive our action alerts to stay in-the-know about how you can get involved and make your voice heard at the State Legislature!
We will be sending out time-sensitive action alerts about committee hearings and advocacy needs as the Legislative Session progresses. We update our Legislative Tracker daily and also review newly filed legislation to assess which bills we will support or oppose. In addition to climate and environmental justice bills, we will also be including bills that address social justice and democracy.