Statement: HECHO Letter to House Committee on Natural Resources

1. 20th of September, 2022
The Honorable Alan Lowenthal
Chairman,Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral
Resources
Committee on Natural Resources
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable Pete Stauber
Ranking Member,Subcommittee on Energy and
Mineral Resources
Committee on Natural Resources
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Stauber, and Members of the Subcommittee,
As an organization working to empower Hispanic leaders to engage their communities in the conservation of our public
lands in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah we write to request your assistance in ensuring that the Public
Landsand WatersClimate Leadership Act of 2022is passed out of committee. The Public Lands and Waters Climate
Leadership Act of 2022 prohibits new federal fossil fuel leasing and permitting until the Department of Interior (DOI) and the
U.S. Forest Service (USFS) demonstrate that lifecycle emissions from additional oil, gas, and coal development are consistent
with our nation’s 2030, 2035, and 2050 climate change targets. The bill also requires DOI and USFS to develop, publish,
implement, and regularly update a comprehensive strategy to guide the agencies’ efforts to reduce GHG emissions and to keep
the public informed of the progress. This is an essential piece of legislation in preventing the worstimpacts of climate change
from occurring.
The climate crisis is an existential threat to the American economy and national security, the health and well-being of
all people, wildlife, our lands and oceans, and future generations. Our community members in northern New Mexico are still
experiencing the impacts of the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon fire through flooding that is wreaking havoc on water reservoirs and
structures. In a review of this largest wildfire in New Mexico’s history, Forest Service Chief Randy Moore said that “[c]limate
change is leading to conditions on the ground we have never encountered before.” It is imperative to prevent the worst climate
impacts from occurring. To do so, the U.S. must achieve our emissions reduction targets which are supported by top climate
scientists, including:
• Reducing net U.S. GHG emissions by 50-52 percent from 2005 levels by 2030;
• Achieving 100 percent carbon-free U.S. electricity by 2035; and
• Achieving net-zero emissions across the entire U.S. economy by 2050.
The 2050 net-zero goal is based on multiple Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports, which find that
limiting global warming to 1.5 degree Celsius requires the world to reach net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050 and net-zero
emissions of all GHGs roughly a decade after that. Despite these aggressive, science-based targets, DOI and the USFS have not
yet begun to develop a strategy to phase out oil, gas, and coal leasing and production on America’s public lands and waters.
Together, Congress has achieved major policy victories and made historic investments in clean energy, conservation,
and environmental justice communities, chiefly through the enactment of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the
Inflation Reduction Act, the most significant climate legislation in history. HECHO is proud to have supported and advocated for
these pieces of legislation, but more needs to be done. The management of our public lands and waters is outdated and DOI and
USFS have a responsibility to demonstrate whether fossil fuel development on U.S. public lands and waters is compromising the
country’s climate goals.
The Public Lands and Waters Climate Leadership Act will ensure U.S. public lands and oceans are part of the whole-
of-government approach to solving the climate crisis and achieving our emissions reduction targets, not undermining these efforts
as an unchecked source of fossil fuel pollution.
On behalf of HECHO, we thank you for your attention to this important issue.
Sincerely,
Camilla Simon
Executive Director
HECHO (Hispanics Enjoying Camping, Hunting, and the Outdoors)