Climate Fast Facts: Arizona

Climate & Energy Resources

• Latest Climate Science (Union of Concerned Scientists)
• Global Warming & Arizona (National Wildlife Federation)
• Cost of Delay (Environmental Defense Fund)
• Meeting the International Clean Energy and Climate Change Challenges (The White House)

Jobs

Arizona’s clean energy economy has gotten off to a promising start. The state could gain 30,000 jobs and about $2.8 billion in investment revenue if $150 billion was invested in clean energy nationwide, and drop unemployment by 1.1 percent.

• Clean-Energy Investments Create Jobs in Arizona (Center for American Progress/PERI)
• Arizona: Green Prosperity and Poverty Reduction (Natural Resources Defense Council)
• Clean Energy and Climate Policies Lead to Economic Growth in Arizona (Environmental Entrepreneurs)

Opportunity

Arizona has the potential to be the centerpiece of our nation’s solar power generation. Committing to a 30 percent growth in solar in the United States would bring 2,122 jobs and over $1.7 billion in investments to Arizona. Under the ACES bill Arizona would receive $605 million for expanded energy efficiency investments, $86 million for natural gas efficiency investments.

• ACES Funding for Efficiency Investments- AZ (Environment Northeast)

• Charting a New Path for Arizona’s Electricity Generation and Use (National Wildlife Federation)
• The Clean Energy Economy: Arizona (Pew Center)
• Renewable Energy Works: Arizona

Cut Costs

The average family in Arizona would save $7.98 per month on their energy bills and a sizeable $18.40 per month on vehicle fuel costs if the American Clean Energy and Security Act was enacted.

• Climate Bill Cuts Electricity Bills (Natural Resources Defense Council)
• Climate-Protection Policies Cut Fuel Bills (Natural Resources Defense Council)
• Summary of Competitiveness Provisions in ACES (Center for Clean Air Policy)
• Clean Energy, Green Jobs: A National Renewable Electricity Standard Will Boost the Economy and Protect the Environment (Union of Concerned Scientists)

Climate Consequences

The Arizona climate has already warmed by approximately 3°F, a figure that could rise to 7°F with 15 percent less precipitation by 2060. Decreased snowpack at the source of the Colorado River, comprising 70 percent of the river’s flow, means dire consequences for the region’s most important source of water and hydroelectric power.

• Protecting Arizona’s Economy, Communities and Environment from Global Warming (The Wilderness Society)
• Global Climate Change Impacts on the U.S.: Southwest Assessment (Union of Concerned Scientists)
• Hotter Fields, Lower Yields: Global Warming's Impact on Agriculture (Environment America)

• Climate Change in the United States: The Prohibitive Costs of Inaction (Union of Concerned Scientists)

State Actions

While Congress debates climate and energy legislation on the Hill, Arizona has become one of the leaders in state climate legislation. Arizona has written a climate action plan, and is a member of the Western Climate Initiative’s cap-and-trade system. The state also has set renewable energy portfolio standard, public benefit funds for renewables and set a state emissions target of 2000 levels by 2020.

• Arizona Climate Action Plan
• Repower Arizona (Alliance for Climate Protection)
• State Action on Global Warming (Pew Center on Climate Change) (see maps on state actions)

Regulating Carbon Markets

• Five Reasons Why Trading Allowances Will Help Meet Our Climate Objectives (Natural Resources Defense Council)
• The Senate’s Role in Getting Carbon Market Regulation Right (Natural Resources Defense Council)

News & Opinion

• Renewable Energy Bill Will Help Bring Jobs to Yuma (Yuma Sun)