350NM Event Calendar
Blowing Smoke: NM’s Permian Basin Methane Emission Problem
When: 6:30pm MT Monday November 24, 2025
Speaker: Tom Singer, 350 New Mexico (Bio below)
Where: 350NM Speaker Series on Zoom: link to register
Description: On September 22, 2025 Governor Lujan-Grisham held a press conference to tout that New Mexico had “slashed emissions by half compared to Texas” due to our methane rules. But what’s really going on? Do New Mexicans know how much methane the oil and gas industry emits to the atmosphere every year, and what emissions trends have been? Is the state meeting the reduction targets established by the Governor in her Executive Order 2019-003 “Addressing Climate Change and Energy Waste Prevention”? Tom Singer will walk through how the Governor’s announcement sought to change the conversation — from absolute emissions reductions to relative reductions, aka methane intensity. He will review the systems that
are in place at the federal and state levels for measuring and reporting oil and gas methane emissions. He will also explain the role of the state’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory in tracking methane emissions. Finally, Dr. Singer will explore what’s next for New Mexico methane policy, including the state’s forthcoming 2025 Climate Action Plan and prospects for a new rulemaking to require the level of emissions reductions that are needed from oil and gas.
Thomas O. Singer is currently the Principal for TOS Advisors, a policy advisory practice focusing on energy, climate, and economic transition. His current projects, in partnership with 350NM, include reforming the State Investment Council’s approach to ESG to reduce investment in fossil fuels; just transition for the Four Corners Region; continuing to advance regulation of oil and natural gas industry GHG pollution; and NM electric utility policy including the upcoming Blackstone bid to acquire PNM.
Dr. Singer previously served as Senior Policy Advisor for the Western Environmental Law Center and as Energy Program Senior Advocate with the Natural Resources Defense Council, where he led the team that published “Leaking Profits”, a seminal work on reducing methane emissions from the oil and gas industry. Dr. Singer has also served as the Director of Research for the Western Governors’ Association, as energy policy analyst for Governors and legislative committees in Alaska, and as a graduate-level International Business Professor. He holds a BA from Harvard University, an MBA from Stanford Business School, and a Ph.D. in International Business from George Washington University.