We can cut Arizona's risk of wildfire and extreme weather without running up debt
An extended drought. Blistering extreme temperatures. Ever-more-common wildfires.
Couple any of these urgent realities with rising energy prices and inflation and it’s very clear: the time for Arizona to act responsibly is now, and with the recent U.S. Senate and House passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, we will be doing just that.
We are grateful for this commitment from the federal government.
It’s incredibly encouraging to see Congress pass the Inflation Reduction Act, which will keep Arizona’s economy strong and resilient, expand jobs and encourage clean and renewable, U.S.-produced energy.
It will also build on our existing statewide climate action efforts.
This bill is central to Arizona's future
Arizona cities, including Tucson, Flagstaff, Mesa, Tempe, Phoenix and Scottsdale, show incredible leadership into sustainable development, whether it be public transportation, electric vehicle infrastructure, building codes or renewable natural gas. This bill is central to our state’s long-term planning and investment in clean energy, environmental justice and climate solutions.
Fiscal responsibility is at the forefront of the measure. It closes tax loopholes for the wealthy and large corporations, so they can pay a fair share of keeping our state and nation working. More than $300 billion will be used to reduce the federal deficit.
Catalysts: How Sinema, Kelly shaped the Inflation Reduction Act
We can be fiscally responsible while investing in transformative technologies to help Arizonans. We look forward to how this bill will bolster our efforts at community-wide investments from the cars we buy and energy solutions we deploy to the micro-level neighborhood grants we fund.
It'll help cities with transit, energy, wildfires
This legislation allows Tempe to invest in supporting the transition to electric cars and trucks, public transit infrastructure and resilient energy hubs supporting vulnerable populations with reliable cooling using solar and battery storage.
By encouraging the development of cheaper and cleaner energy sources, like wind and solar energy, the act will help families save money on their electric bills, too.
The legislation helps Tempe and other Arizona cities grow the clean energy economy, lower energy bills and address critical environmental and climate justice challenges that Arizona cities face.
The Flagstaff region is one such example. It is threatened by catastrophic wildfires, year-round. The impacts of these fires are devastating, from the sheer loss of beloved and sacred landscapes (last year, more than 1,700 wildfires burned over half a million acres across our state), the threats to public health and safety, to the economic loss for residents and businesses.
This legislation provides programs and resources to further address forest health, wild wildfire mitigation and preparedness, flood mitigation and support the work Flagstaff is doing on promoting decarbonization and carbon sequestration technologies. In addition, the Inflation Reduction Act helps Flagstaff produce jobs, mitigate disasters and support our carbon neutrality goals.
Hopefully, this is just the beginning
A coalition of 126 top economists, including a former adviser to John McCain, posited in a support letter that the act “will fight inflation and lower costs for American families while setting the stage for strong, stable, and broadly-shared long-term economic growth.”
The financial services company Moody’s projects this bill will lower inflation in the long term and lead to sustained productivity increases and job growth – to the tune of 1.5 million added jobs nationwide by 2030.
Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly have joined a tradition of Arizona senators with a legacy of climate and fiscal actions by acting to reduce the deficit, fight climate change, cut costs for families and create jobs. Their leadership with this federal legislation brings resources to Arizona to reduce emissions, increase resilience and grow our economy.
We hope this is just the beginning of the federal investment and leads to even greater support from local, regional, state, corporate and philanthropic partners in climate action.
Corey Woods is mayor of Tempe, Paul Deasy is mayor of Flagstaff and Lori Singleton is CEO of Arizona Forward. Reach them at corey_woods@tempe.gov, nantonopoulos@flagstaffaz.gov and lsingleton@arizonaforward.org.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Inflation Reduction Act helps Arizona cities fight climate change
