New Collaboration to Create a More Resilient New Mexico
Central New Mexico is planning for a more resilient future for families. A new collaborative effort will address overheating through safe and healthy community improvements. Today, Mayor Tim Keller and the State of New Mexico gathered to launch the City of Albuquerque’s Resilient Futures Initiative, a public engagement campaign made possible by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) Planning Program.
The initiative will work with residents across Central New Mexico to change how our community thinks about, plans for, and reduces the severity of extreme weather and climate pollution. Over the next year, the Resilient Futures Initiative will empower community members to build a regional resource for resilience planning that prioritizes those hit first and worst by extreme weather through research and coalition building.
The State of New Mexico today also provided more details on their CPRG initiatives. While all CPRG recipients will conduct individual projects, all six will collaborate to ensure continuity in their respective plans and partnership in accomplishing their shared climate goals.
“Our community is at its strongest when we work together, and collective action to protect our city’s beauty and health is the key to making Albuquerque more resilient for the future,” said Mayor Tim Keller. “Collaboration across Central New Mexico will ensure community-driven initiatives are informed by data and coordinated to create action that will address long-standing injustices.”
“Now more than ever, we understand the importance of local action and building social resilience in the face of extreme weather and climate pollution,” said Climate Pollution Reduction Grant Manager Alice Main. “Under the Resilient Futures Initiative, we seek to build bridges and charter a path towards a safe and healthy future for everyone. We hope you can join us.”
The State of New Mexico, Pueblo of Santa Ana, Pueblo of Sandia, Navajo Nation, and the Pueblo Coalition of Tesuque, Nambe, Picuris, and San Ildefonsoalso have funding for strategic planning under the nationwide CPRG Planning Program. By December 1st 2025, the State and the City will submit a comprehensive plan to the EPA that highlights strategies that reduce climate pollution and benefit frontline communities. Tribal recipients will submit by the end of the grant period, June 30th 2027. Active program websites are listed below:
- Central New Mexico: resilientfuturesnm.org
- State of New Mexico: climateaction.nm.gov/CAP
- Pueblo of Santa Ana: santaana-nsn.gov/sustainability
- Pueblo of Sandia: sandiapueblo.nsn.us/environment/
“This public engagement phase gives the City of Albuquerque and all CPRG recipients the data, stories, and experiences of New Mexicans living the effects of climate change,” said Travis Kellerman, Senior Climate Policy Advisor for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. “This process is at the core of the Comprehensive Climate Action Plan. It’s inclusive of the diverse voices and priorities of our state, leading to action for real change where it matters most.”
“The Pueblo of Sandia is proud to announce its collaboration with The State of New Mexico, The City of Albuquerque, and our fellow Tribal partners in advancing initiatives under the CPRG planning program,” said Pueblo of Sandia Governor Felix Chavez. “This partnership reflects our shared commitments to addressing the urgent environmental challenges we face in the region, many of which have disproportionately affected indigenous communities. As stewards of the land for generations, the Pueblo of Sandia holds a deep cultural value of environmental protection, rooted in the understanding that the health of the environment is inseparable from the well-being of our people. Through this collaboration, we aim to leverage our collective expertise and experience to protect natural resources and create a sustainable, resilient future for all communities.”