PNM Resources Chair, CEO plays pivotal role in crucial new climate report

PNM Resources Chair and CEO Pat Vincent-Collawn is part of a group at the American Academy of Arts & Sciences that created a groundbreaking new report on climate action that will be released Tuesday.

Vincent-Collawn is one of four co-chairs who led the Commission on Accelerating Climate Action to create the report.

The report, “Forging Climate Solutions: How to Accelerate Action Across America,” calls for a coordinated, cross-sector effort to combat climate change with five strategies and 21 recommendations rooted in justice, pragmatism and accountability. The report was developed over a two-year period by the commission of leaders sharing their expertise and priorities. Their report recommends how corporations, frontline communities, government and environmental groups can work together to mobilize investments, build infrastructure, reduce emissions and prepare for the impacts of climate change.

Vincent-Collawn shepherded the recommendation creation process. She shared her expertise by generating ideas that would appeal to climate-forward members of the private sector.

“There is no silver bullet that will end the climate crisis. Our report details policies that will create both short- and long-term change,” Vincent-Collawn said. “By sending consistent and credible signals and focusing on learning, our goal is to create a broad and durable coalition for sustained climate action.”

In addition to Vincent-Collawn, the commission was led by Mustafa Santiago Ali (National Wildlife Federation), Christopher Field (Stanford) and David G. Victor (University of California, San Diego, and the Brookings Institution). The commission’s expertise spans the arts, faith communities, environmental justice, youth activism, the natural and social sciences, Indigenous people and Indigenous Knowledge, public health and urban design.

“Climate change is an existential challenge and addressing it will require us to build and sustain new kinds of coalitions,” said David Oxtoby, President of the American Academy. “The work is challenging but our Commission modeled how to connect across sectors and divides to take action. We hope the Commission and the report provide a roadmap for transcending ideological divisions to achieve tangible climate progress.”

The Academy’s Commission on Accelerating Climate Action, one of the most diverse groups to address climate issues, calls for a coordinated strategy that can withstand shifting political priorities. The final recommendations build on earlier reports from the Commission on effective communication, climate change-induced risks to human and national security and barriers to private sector action, as well as case studies highlighting promising efforts underway.