Climate change has arguably never been discussed more on the national level. President Biden, from the beginning of his bid for the presidency, made climate change the center of many of his policy proposals, and since his inauguration many of his appointments are climate-minded individuals. Even though his climate strategy thus far has been mandate- and government-heavy, it’s encouraging for climate activists to see the dialogue unfold.

Environmental issues, like the effects of climate change, are especially important here in Arizona because we’ve seen a rise in events like forest fires and droughts, which are exacerbated by climate change. In fact, the recently reported that even the iconic saguaro cactus – the blooms are Arizona’s state flower – is threatened by climate change.

While Arizona is in annual carbon emissions compared to other states, there is still room in the state to promote clean energy production and other climate mitigation events. These challenges require that all Arizonans come to the table to talk solutions, regardless of partisanship or age.

As the president of an environmental organization, I understand the importance of building coalitions to get results. With this in mind, I spent a few days with our Arizona-based activists to experience the state, talk about local challenges, and further empower our activists to take action ahead of Earth Day. Our Arizona activists started the Sustain 48 campaign, an advocacy initiative to promote clean air, water, and energy in the state of Arizona. Already the activists are working to better their community with trash clean-ups and events to discuss local environmental issues.

Thanks to these activists and the efforts of many more elected officials and advocacy groups, Arizona is an emerging climate leader in the United States. In 2019, Arizona generated approximately 12% of its electricity from renewable sources, which puts the state right in the middle at in the country. This obviously leaves room for improvement, but Arizona’s prioritization of and even in recent years shouldn’t go unnoticed. Continuing to prioritize energy sources like the Palo Verde nuclear plant will be critical to increasing Arizona’s clean energy production while boosting the economy. 

Other states should also take note of the bipartisan consensus around the need for climate action in Arizona. Republican Governor Doug Ducey’s and important on environmental prosperity with economic growth is critically important to real action on the issue. 

We often focus nearly exclusively on our federal government when we’re advocating for climate change action. We can’t lose sight of how important localized advocacy is, though, as environmental activists. While Biden works on the issue at the national level, we should be putting in work as well right in our communities. Nearly every environmental issue is local. Sure, no matter where in the nation one lives, catastrophic wildfires are alarming, but Arizonans experience them right in their backyards.

Moving forward, we must continue to build coalitions in our communities for meaningful environmental action. Local politics may not always make headlines, but it remains one of the most important avenues for change. Here in Arizona, it is possible to address climate change and sustain our beautiful 48th state.

Benji Backer is the president and founder of the American Conservation Coalition (ACC). He can be found on Twitter at @BenjiBacker.

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Tucson Electric Power (TEP) hired its first female CEO in the company’s 128-year history. 

Susan M. Gray, who was a student intern at the utility almost 30 years ago, was named CEO of UNS Energy Corporation and its subsidiaries, including TEP and UniSource Energy Services (UNS), earlier this year. 

Now, she’s furthering the company’s most ambitious goal: to generate 70 percent of its energy from renewable energy like solar and wind by 2035. That would reduce the company’s carbon footprint by 80 percent, Gray said.  

“It’s aggressive. It’s also reasonable and achievable and it allows us to do it at a pace that we can maintain safe reliable service and maintain affordability,” she said. “If we do it too fast, then we risk affordability. 

“Reliability will be a bit of a challenge. But that affordability piece is important.”

Promoted to lead the company in a climate-challenged world

Gray spoke to Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­ about her rise through the rank and file from intern to CEO and what the business community can expect as she leads the company forward in a climate-challenged world.  

In addition to renewable energy, Gray said she will continue to promote diversity and inclusion within the traditionally male-dominated energy industry and the Tucson community at large, she said. 

“When you look at the pictures of the officers when I started, it was just white men,” she  said. 

Today’s management team is much more diverse, a credit to company leaders who pushed for it over the past several years, Gray said.  

“It’s a tribute to our board, especially Bob Elliot, who was chair for many years. I saw a major shift when Paul Bonavia became our CEO and he really focused on that.”

Hometown daughter follows in father’s, grandfather’s footsteps 

Home grown in Tucson, Gray attended the University of Arizona where she enrolled as a biology major. But genetics took over and she was compelled to switch to engineering, following in the footsteps of father and grandfather, both electrical utility engineers. 

After doing a student internship in 1994, Gray landed a job at the utility as a system engineer in 1997. For the next 14 years, she worked as an engineer. When she began to pursue leadership roles, she moved up rung by rung every couple of years, wearing a number of hats including vice president of Transmission and Distribution Operations, vice president of Energy Delivery, and chief operating officer. 

When she was promoted this year, Gray replaced another home grown CEO, David Hutchens, who was bumped up to president and CEO at Fortis, Inc., the Canadian-based parent company of UNS. Hutchens replaced Barry Perry, who retired. 

Biggest challenge in new role: demand for renewables

Gray has been leading the company’s transition as it acquires and builds solar and wind power facilities and retires its coal-based energy resources to meet demand.   

More and more companies are asking for renewals, wanting to improve their own emissions record and their public responsibility image with their shareholders. The ability to offer clean-energy solutions is a draw for companies looking to relocate here, Gray said.

Meanwhile, in the race to go renewable, there are some significant challenges, Gray said.  

For one, shifting to renewables is much more expensive than many realize. Not only is there an investment in infrastructure and property to build solar plants and wind farms, transmission lines must then be built to traverse hundreds of miles to get to cities like Tucson. 

“You can’t build a large solar plant in the center of town. You need transmission to bring resources,” Gray said. “We have a wind plant in New Mexico and we need transmission to get that energy to Arizona.”

That requires building the infrastructure at a reasonable pace to keep costs down, and electric rates affordable for residential and commercial customers. 

Another complicating factor is the high cost of energy storage battery systems for renewable energy. Without sufficient storage, reliability will remain a question mark, said Gray.

“The sun doesn’t shine 24/7 and the wind doesn’t blow 24/ 7 although they do tend to have complimentary production curves,” Gray said. “You tend to have more wind at night and solar in the day but there are times where one or either of them are not available so you have to have energy storage.

The demand for grid-scale storage batteries is rising, which should eventually lead to more cost effective options, she said.

“In the long term, energy storage will be critical to providing reliable renewable service,” Gray said. 

Working to help businesses transition as well 

As commercial customers are requesting more renewables, TEP is working with local businesses and organizations to meet clean energy goals, Gray said. For example, the utility is working with the University of Arizona to provide all the university’s energy through renewable resources. 

TEP is also partnering with commercial customers to help them make the decisions about how to best introduce into their daily operations. 

“Everybody has a different model. School buses only run twice a day while city buses run all the time. Mail delivery is only in the day, but it’s all day,” Gray said. “We help them evaluate their specific model and determine what their fleet needs to look like, what they’re charging needs to look like, and then we provide incentives to help them get there.”

To learn more about incentives for electric vehicles , including rebates for businesses, visit: . 

To learn more about solar for businesses, visit: . To see how much renewable power TEP is delivering to customers right now, go to:

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Whether rich, poor, cold or hot, every region’s economy will be affected by climate change, indicates research from institutions like the National Bureau of Economic Research and the World Bank Group. 

In Arizona, technology, research and public-private collaborations already are helping to mitigate the impacts here. Still, the quest to protect the state’s quality of life under the scorch of record breaking heat, drought and increasing wildfires is a constant chore.  

Last week, a slate of experts in Tucson offered up recommendations on how Arizona can rise above the heat to keep the economy and the environment thriving. 

They spoke at a virtual event, Climate and Arizona’s Future: A Conversation About the Nexus Between Environment, Economy, and Innovation. The event was sponsored by the University of Arizona’s Water Resources Research Center (WRRC), the Southern Arizona Leadership Council (SALC), and Biosphere 2.

No-growth mentality not realistic 

A no-growth mentality is not the answer, the panelists said. Smart growth is. 

“The truth of the matter is that people are coming,” said Ted Maxwell, president and CEO of SALC, a group of more than 140 CEOs and business and community leaders actively working to create a vibrant future for the Tucson region and the state. 

New industries and residents provide the jobs and tax revenues that make quality of life possible, said Maxwell, who added that Pima County is now home to about 1.1 million residents. 

“People coming here are going to be driven by two things: the economy and the social and natural environment. That’s not going to go away. We just have to figure out how to preserve it.” 

Sharon Megdal, director of the University of Arizona’s Water Resources Center, and Joaquin Ruiz, vice president of the university’s Global Environmental Futures and the director of  Biosphere 2, also were featured speakers at the event.

Here are three of their key recommendations for moving forward:

1. Communicate to the world that Tucson is a hotbed of innovation 

Other cities have made a name for themselves in specific areas that attracts not only big industry but startups as well. Tucson could do the same, Ruiz said.

San Diego is known for biotechnology, Silicon Valley for digital technology and Fort Collins, Colorado for energy. All are reaping investment for their communities, he said.Ěý

University of Arizona in Tucson already has a reputation for top rankings in environmental and sustainable research in areas like water management, controlled agriculture, and green technologies.

“Like Fort Collins is the innovation capital for energy solutions for the future because of the relationships of the university with its city, we should become the innovation capital for solutions of global climate change and semi arid environments,” Ruiz said.

Dialogue is needed to create task forces and networks to attract industries and startups that are interested in global climate change technologies and solutions for semi-urban environments, he said.

2. Public-private partnerships and a stronger voice in Congress

Over the past decade or so, the business community has become much more involved in sustainability with public partners. But to make it successful, it takes investment on both parts, Maxwell said. 

“Public-private partnerships are going to play a big factor in the future because for all this technology, for all the innovation and for all the research, it’s going to require investments,” Maxwell said.

Right now, other, bigger states like California are pulling in a large share of dollars, he said.

The new U.S. Census count could help. There may be enough new residents in the new count to earn another congressional seat, he said. A larger voice in Congress would help Arizona better compete for public investment in research and development. 

3. Leave no stakeholder behind   

All stakeholders must be included in the process.

Arizona, long a leading state in water management and technology, has shown it can bring a diverse group of players together to tackle water challenges, Megdal said. 

One example is the historic agreement hammered out last year to protect Arizona’s share of the Colorado River. The deal involved changes to a seven-state-and Mexico agreement, called the Drought Contingency Plan (DCP). 

An update was needed earlier than projected because of a relentless drought shrinking the mighty Colorado. The updated DCP requires states and water suppliers to “bank” water in Lake Mead where Arizona’s share of the river supplies are stored.

It took a buy-in from water stakeholders statewide. Tribes, cities, water companies, farmers, legislators, nonprofits and industry were all at the table to make it happen, Megdal said.

It wasn’t easy, but it worked. Last month, state water leaders reported that Arizona’s river supplies should remain stable for the next two years and likely beyond because of the DCP.Ěý

“Fundamentally, it’s going to come down to the people part; having the people work together to accept, adopt and recognize the solution set that will help us go forward,” Megdal said.

To hear more of their discussion, view the entire event at:

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Climate change is threatening military operations and soldiers in Arizona, across the nation and worldwide, warns a retired brigadier general who now heads a research and public policy organization that examines long term threats to national security.  

Estimates put Arizona as the fourth–fastest warming state and Phoenix as the second-fastest warming city in the nation, and that’s placing the military at risk here, said retired U.S. Marine Brigadier General Stephen Cheney, president and CEO of the nonprofit American Security Project (ASP) in Washington, D.C.  

“Extreme heat, drought and wildfires affect the day-to-day lives of Arizonans and Arizona businesses, and climate change really impacts military training and readiness,” said Cheney, who recently spoke to a group of Arizona government and community leaders at an event entitled National Security in the Time of Climate Change. 

The event was hosted by the nonprofit Arizona Forward, which advocates for a balance between economic development and environmental quality in the state.

“National security is typically not a top of mind issue when we consider climate change,” said  Lori Singleton, president and CEO of Arizona Forward that partnered with ASP, the Environmental Defense Fund and the Association of Defense Communities to “spotlight this critical topic.” 

Heat, drought impact Arizona’s seven military bases

In Arizona, this summer’s record-breaking heat wave is undoubtedly impacting the state’s military bases, Cheny said. While the state hasn’t seen the devastation that bases in the country’s Hurricane Alley have suffered, the extreme heat impacts outdoor training and even the ability to deploy quickly, Cheney said. 

“When temperatures reach 90 or above in the military, we call it a black flag day and literally raise a flag where all outdoor physical training stops,” said Cheney, a 30-year veteran of the Marine Corps and former member of the Secretary of State’s International Security Advisory Board and the Department of State’s Foreign Affairs Policy Board.

Extreme heat also can prevent a military plane from taking off to deploy troops to an assignment, he said. 

Heat exhaustion, dehydration among soldiers rising  

Active duty members suffering from heat stroke and exhaustion also are on the rise, said Cheney, citing a joint report issued by NBCNews and InsideClimateNews last year.

More U.S. troops are falling to heatstroke as the military struggles to balance training with rising temperatures, according to the . Statistics show that in 2008, there were 1,766 cases of heat stroke or heat exhaustion among active duty members. By 2018, that number had grown to 2,792, a 60 percent increase, he said.

“It’s really posed a huge risk, certainly the health impacts, and some estimates are that it cost the military $1 billion just for that decade,” Cheney said.

Damage to military installations costing taxpayers

The U.S. Department of Defense maintains installations worldwide worth over $1.2 trillion that are critical to U.S. national security. In the past several years, military bases have seen extensive damage from climate change, Cheney said.

For example, Hurricane Florence in 2018 caused an estimated $3.6 billion in combined damages to three bases in North Carolina: Camp Lejeune, Marine Corps Air Station New River, and Marine Corps Air Station in Cherry Point. 

Military funds had to be reallocated to handle hurricane repair along with curtailing training and deployments, Cheney said.  

Not the radical left wing

Cheney, who has seen firsthand the damage caused by increasingly erratic weather at military bases, said he and other retired military officials and others are trying to create awareness around the topic that often is described as a “left wing” issue, he said. 

“It’s not a Republican or Democrat issue. It’s a national security issue and it’s not going away,” Cheney said. 

Worldwide conflicts and instability also can be tied to climate change, he said. One example is the long drought in Syria that dried up agricultural yield, driving people from rural areas into cities that helped fuel conflicts with ISIS. 

Military and national security initiative for carbon-free air

The ASP, its board and more than 80 military and national security leaders that have joined its  Consensus for American Security want to raise public awareness about concerns that affect national security like climate and energy security, terrorism, economic competitiveness, trade, public diplomacy, and more.

Through research, they are making public policy recommendations to forge bipartisan consensus on national security strategy.

Among the policies they are recommending to address changing weather are investment in  clean and renewable energy, more weather resistant military installations and global partnerships to fight climate change. 

“We really can’t afford to ignore the risks,” Cheney said. “If there’s one thing that’s threatened most, it’s our national military and we’re seeing it worldwide.”

To read more about the ASP and threats to national security, go to: . 

About Arizona Forward 

is the state’s leading sustainability not-for-profit organization that has successfully worked on major environmental initiatives for Arizona since 1969. The organization leverages its collective power by forming partnerships with Arizona business leaders, local and state officials, state education leaders and policymakers to drive how the state can best grow its communities, stimulate the economy and enhance the environment.

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As Arizona faces climate change head on, water leaders are taking steps to ensure that development can continue, particularly in the most populous central part of the state. 

Three of the state’s leading water officials spoke about what is being done to sustain growth and other issues important to homebuilders and developers during a virtual “breakfast” meeting of the Valley Partnership, the voice of the real estate industry for the Phoenix region. 

“We are working on solutions that are needed to make sure your industry, other growth, and those who are already here have a secure water supply in the future,” said Tom Buschatzke, director of the Arizona Water Resources Department. 

But Buschatzke and other water leaders also made it clear that the road ahead will be riddled with challenges.

Ted Cooke, general manager of the Central Arizona Project (CAP) that brings Colorado River to the state’s growing megaregion, and Joe Gysel, president of EPCOR USA Inc., which provides water and wastewater services in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, also spoke at the event. 

Among the topics touched on: how Arizona’s Colorado River water supplies are holding up, forecasts for the next few years, and infrastructure projects to support the booming West Valley.

Water supplies should remain stable through 2023

Arizona’s Colorado River water supplies should remain stable for the next two years and likely beyond because of the historic seven-state (DCP) approved by Congress last year, said Buschatzke and Cooke, who led a statewide committee to negotiate Arizona’s part of the agreement. 

“This is more evidence that the Drought Contingency Plan that was approved by the Arizona Legislature and signed by Governor Ducey in early 2019 was a success,” Buschatzke said. 

The DCP lays out measures for water conservation in Lake Mead, which stores Arizona’s river supplies including agreements by water stakeholders like CAP, cities and tribes to leave water in the lake and share excess water with users faced with supplies like Pinal County. 

Because of the DCP, the lake has not dropped to dreaded lower levels. If water levels start to dip lower, the agreement requires the state to take larger reductions in its annual Colorado River allocation. 

To help prevent that from happening, a new higher tier level was created last year, Tier Zero, that requires users to leave a certain amount of water in the lake when the elevation dips below 1,090 feet. If lake levels continue to drop, more tier levels kick in and more drastic cutbacks to water supplies.

This year, Arizona was under Tier Zero. And even though that required the state’s river  allocation to be reduced by 192,000 acre-feet, that’s good news, explained Cooke. 

Water users already have been leaving an excess of that amount in the lake on an annual basis. 

“The next tier is a 512,000 acre-feet reduction, so we’re actually pleased to be in Tier Zero,” Cooke said. 

Tier Zero will continue in 2021, the federal Department of Reclamation . It is likely the lake will remain in Tier Zero in 2022 and 2023 though there is “real risk” of it moving into the next level down, Tier 1, which starts at 1,075 feet, Cooke said.

Infrastructure projects to keep up with West Valley growth

Gysel of EPCOR, the largest private water company in Arizona, detailed some of the $600 million in investments it is making in Arizona including projects to support the booming West Valley.

One project completed last year is the $29.4 million expansion of the White Tanks Regional Water Treatment Plant in Surprise. The facility’s water output went from 20 million gallons per day to 33 million. The plant’s design incorporates a cutting-edge CoMag ballasted water clarification system, the first of its kind in Arizona.

EPCOR also recently constructed Luke 303, a $95 million water reclamation and wastewater treatment facility along the Loop 303 freeway near Luke Air Force Base.

Keeping up with the state’s growth is the company’s biggest challenge, Gysel said.

“It takes careful planning for infrastructure and water resources to support growth and stay ahead of growth,” he said. 

Looking ahead 

As the three water leaders look ahead, they said there will be more emphasis on conservation, using modern technology to efficiently treat and store wastewater, and efforts to find other water supplies such as desalination of ocean water or Arizona’s brackish groundwater that has a high salt content. The state water department also is conducting groundwater modeling in the Phoenix region to assess supply. 

Water transfers from wetter parts of the state also are an option. Last year, the Gila River Indian Community entered into a $97.5-million, 25-year agreement that allows homebuilders to buy water from the tribe to replenish groundwater in the state’s growing megaregion. 

Meanwhile, water officials and stakeholders are beginning work on the that will be renewed in 2026 to protect the mighty Colorado River, the most important water resource in the Southwest. 

“First and foremost, we need to protect what we have,” Buschatzke said. “Probably 20 percent of our Colorado River allocation comes to Central Arizona.”

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Arizona industry could be faced with a $250-million bill for air pollution that is mostly created by everyday drivers in the Phoenix metro region, said the director of the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), Misael Cabrera.

If the region cannot meet more stringent federal air quality standards by 2024, a new layer of costly regulatory controls will kick in. Businesses will pay the bulk, Cabrera said.Ěý

Meanwhile, that would do little to clean the air, he said, but it could cause significant harm to local economies.Ěý

“It’s not only our health that is at risk. If action is not taken to address problems with an outdated regulatory process, it could have major consequences for businesses and the economy in the region–and the state,” Cabrera said.Ěý

DEQ officials are calling on citizens and state lawmakers to help.

Air quality improving but not enough 

Air quality in the Phoenix metro area has actually improved in the past decade, even while population figures and GDP have exploded. Since 1990, air quality has improved more than 60 percent due to regulatory controls on industry in the Clean Air Act and better fuel economy for vehicles, according to DEQ data.Ěý 

Despite that progress, the region is now facing a bump from a “moderate” air quality rating to a “serious” rating if it cannot meet more stringent requirements put in place in 2015.Ěý

Industry no longer major air polluter 

Today, more than 50 percent of the harmful ozone in the Valley is created from man-made pollution from drivers. Only 8 percent comes from industry, DEQ data shows.Ěý 

As more cars have jumped on Valley roadways over the past decade, the Phoenix area has been unable to meet the attainment standard of 75 parts per billion (ppb) ozone.Ěý

More regulations will do little to clean air 

If the metro Phoenix is bumped up to the “serious” category, it is projected to create a $263 million annual economic burden in added regulatory controls, according to a DEQ analysis submitted to the state Legislature this month. Under the current “moderate” category, the economic burden is $107.9 million.Ěý

The added costs would land mostly on industry’s shoulders, Cabrera said. Any expanding or new businesses that would require certain types of air quality permits in the Valley would have to meet stricter regulatory requirements.Ěý 

More importantly, added controls will do little to improve air quality, he said. Tackling vehicle emissions is the true modern challenge.

“Industry is simply no longer the main source of emissions that contribute to ozone formation,” Cabrera said. “The vast majority of the regulatory tools are directed towards job creating businesses and not towards vehicles.” 

Calling on state lawmakers, citizens 

To prevent placing an unfair economic burden on businesses, DEQ staff are working with stakeholders to develop a comprehensive mitigation strategy.Ěý

The agency also is researching options to improve vehicle emissions testing and assistance for drivers whose vehicles do not meet emissions standards. An air quality omnibus bill, HB 2455,  before the state Legislature includes expansion of assistance programs.Ěý 

Vouchers for electric cars, help with vehicle repairs  

DEQ is calling on drivers to make a conscious effort to on driving, particularly during high traffic periods.Ěý

A number of DEQ programs offer incentives and tips for drivers to improve air quality including:

• Voluntary Vehicle Repair : This program provides financial assistance to owners of eligible vehicles after a failed emissions test. They can receive up to $550 for gasoline vehicles and $1,000 for heavy duty diesel vehicles. Customer vehicles must meet program requirements and customers must co-pay the first $150 toward repairs. Proposed legislation would expand the program to include more perks including waiving the $150 fee. Since 2018, more than 2700 vehicles have been repaired through the program, saving owners more than $1.3 million and eliminating more than 560 tons of emissions.
• Electric Vehicle : To help improve air quality in Phoenix and Tucson, ADEQ is collaborating with manufacturers that are providing rebates for the purchase of new electric vehicles. As part of this collaborative effort, Phoenix and Tucson drivers who paid for emissions testing in the last two years may qualify for a rebate up to $3,500 off a new Nissan LEAF. Buyers also may be eligible for a $7,500 federal tax credit.Ěý

Gov. Doug Ducey also is stepping up to help with increased funding for DEQ in his proposed fiscal 2021 budget. The money would pay for public awareness projects and expanded vehicle repair assistance programs.Ěý

To learn more about voluntary programs and incentives, go to:

For more information on simple steps drivers can take to improve air quality, go to: .Ěý

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