AZ Debate Guide Winning on Climate Change in Arizona Debates

AZ Debate Guide Winning On Climate Change In Arizona Debates

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CONTENTS

CONTENTS ...... 1 WHY CLIMATE ACTION IS A WINNING ISSUE IN ARIZONA ...... 2 CANDIDATE BACKGROUNDS ...... 3 CONFRONTING THE CRISIS ...... 4 GLOBAL LEADERSHIP ...... 7 EXTREME HEAT ...... 10 DROUGHTS AND WATER ...... 12 WILDFIRES ...... 16

AIR POLLUTION ...... 19 CLEAN ENERGY JOBS ...... 22 CLIMATE CHANGES TOUCHES EVERY ISSUE IN 2020 POLITICAL DEBATES ...... 26

Climate Power 2020 AZ Debate Guide 1

WHY CLIMATE ACTION IS A WINNING ISSUE IN ARIZONA

The politics of climate have changed and embracing bold climate action is a winning message. Climate change is a defining issue for key voting blocs – younger voters, voters of color, and suburban women strongly believe we need bold, climate action and a more just and equitable economy now. Voters also don’t buy the climate deniers’ lies about climate action and are tired of putting oil and gas CEOs profits ahead of working families.

The climate crisis is here. Scientists around the globe are warning us if we don’t heed the advice of experts and take action to address climate change, it may be too late to avoid catastrophic consequences. In Arizona, the impacts of climate change will mean hotter temperatures, increased drought, and more devastating climate-fueled extreme weather events such as wildfires. The state’s agriculture, it’s economy and people’s health will all be hurt:

• In the past decade, Arizona has experienced 11 billion dollar climate-related disasters responsible for $89.7 billion in damages.

• Currently, more than 200,000 people living in Arizona are especially vulnerable to extreme heat and by 2050, Phoenix is expected to be almost unlivable due to climate change.

• This year, the city of Phoenix saw its hottest summer on record, with July and August both breaking records for the hottest months.

• Phoenix’s air is among the worst polluted in the nation, and asthma rates in predominantly Latino and African-American South and West Phoenix zip codes are some of the highest in the country.

• Climate change will cost Arizona more than $17 billion annually by the year 2100, and Arizona is expected to suffer worse than the rest of the country under climate change, costing 8% of GDP in Maricopa County alone.

That is why it is critical to have a robust discussion about how we tackle the climate crisis and fight for environmental justice during this year’s debates. Strong majorities of Arizonans (and American voters) believe in climate change and are worried about its effects. Almost 60% of Arizonans believe Climate Power 2020 AZ Debate Guide 2

both the President and Congress should do more to address climate change, as do 71% of American voters.

CANDIDATE BACKGROUNDS

MARK KELLY Mark Kelly often harkens back to his experience as a NASA astronaut when talking about climate change and the importance of protecting the planet. Kelly’s campaign has focused on climate change from the get-go – with the former astronaut referencing climate-fueled drought in Arizona in his campaign launch video. In his campaign against incumbent Senator Martha McSally, Kelly has stressed not only his belief in climate science, but the need for those in power to return to trusting experts and data to solve the climate crisis. In interviews, Kelly often discusses the urgency of climate change and the need to divest from fossil fuels. To that end, he has called for bold investments in research and development, green technologies and renewable energy – including solar.

MARTHA MCSALLY Martha McSally was appointed to the Senate in 2019 to serve the remainder of John McCain’s term after being a member of the House of Representatives since 2015. McSally has a history of denying the science behind climate change, stating in the past that human action only “likely” contributes, and she has a clear record of inaction and supporting Trump’s rollbacks. Since assuming public office in 2015, McSally has voted to block the implementation of the Clean Power Plan, to undermine clean water and clean air protections, and against efforts to bolster Arizona’s clean energy economy. Furthermore, McSally has cowered away from acknowledging the link between weather events facing Arizona – including droughts, wildfires and extreme heat – and the climate crisis.

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CONFRONTING THE CRISIS

IF YOU SAY ONE THING The climate crisis is here, and it’s already hurting Arizonans’ economy, health, and security. We cannot afford to wait any longer to act.

KEY MESSAGE We see it in the strange and severe weather that happens more frequently and causes more damage to our communities. This isn’t opinion – it's fact. It’s also fact that we are running out of time to act. Scientists, experts, and economists say that if we don't take steps now to combat climate change, the damage may be irreversible. But McSally is in denial – and that rejection of science and fact will doom our children to a future filled with droughts, flooding, food and water shortages, and more But Martha McSally’s climate inaction and denial is dooming our children to a future filled with droughts, flooding, food and water shortages, and more.

COMPARE RECORDS

• Mark Kelly believes in climate science. Kelly acknowledges the urgency of climate change and the need to divest from fossil fuels, and he has called for investments into research and development, green technologies and renewable energy.

• In campaign materials, Kelly has stressed the importance of consulting science and data in tackling the climate crisis: “science and data are at the root of most of the issues that we have to deal with – whether its health care or climate.”

• Kelly has called the climate crisis “a global emergency,” and “one of the most pressing issues of our time.”

• Kelly has criticized President Trump and the Republican-led Senate for failing to act on climate. At a campaign rally in February 2019, Kelly said: “The current administration and some people in Congress, they’ve been really bad for our planet, and they’ve been bad for our climate, and bad for the state of Arizona. If we don’t get our act together, Arizona’s

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gonna have more heat, more drought, and less economic development – that is clear.”

• Martha McSally repeatedly favored oil and gas interests over bold action to tackle the climate crisis. In 2018, McSally said “our environment and the earth’s climate are changing” and that “there is likely a human element to it,” but opposed what she deemed to be “crushing regulations” to address climate change.

• In a 2018 Senate debate, Martha McSally declined to address climate change when asked about the subject, instead pivoting to military issues.

• In 2018, Martha McSally pivoted to GOP talking points by advocating for “innovative new ideas and technologies” to “bring down utility costs and reshape the existing system” without “the heavy hand of government mandates.”

• Martha McSally voted twice to limit the input of science in EPA rulemaking, and once to limit to use of public health studies to inform EPA policies.

• In 2019, Martha McSally pushed for investments and developments in nuclear energy as a means to reduce carbon emissions as part of a “true all-of-the-above energy strategy.”

• Martha McSally declared climate change a non-issue to her constituents, insisting the issue “literally did not come up once” when talking to voters during her time in the Senate.

o Similarly, at a 2019 campaign stop, Martha McSally insisted the issue of uranium mining in northern Arizona was yet to be raised by her constituents. Abandoned uranium mines continue to threaten Arizonans’ health.

• Martha McSally’s 2020 campaign website does not mention climate change or environmental issues at all.

GET THE FACTS

• 67% of Arizonans believe in climate change, and 60% of the state’s residents are worried about climate change. Climate Power 2020 AZ Debate Guide 5

• 58% of Arizonans believe the President should do more to address climate change, 59% believe Congress should do more, and 54% believe their Governor should do more, and 55% believe their local officials should do more.

• In the past decade, Arizona has experienced 11 billion dollar climate-related disasters responsible for $89.7 billion in damages.

• Climate change will cost Arizona more than $17 billion annually by the year 2100.

• Arizona is expected to suffer worse than the rest of the country under climate change, costing 8% of GDP in Maricopa County alone.

• Outdoor recreation in Arizona supports 201,000 jobs and $21.2 billion in consumer spending. In 2018, tourism generated $24.4 billion in visitor spending and supported more than 192,000 jobs in the state.

• In 2019, agriculture generated $23.3 billion in revenue and employed 138,000 workers in Arizona.

• Climate change is projected to cause a 37% loss in crop yields in Arizona, including a 69% loss in cotton production.

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GLOBAL LEADERSHIP

IF YOU SAY ONE THING We have a basic responsibility to leave a better world for our children and grandchildren, but Martha McSally is standing on the sidelines while the U.S. cedes its role as a global leader on climate and clean energy.

KEY MESSAGE We have a responsibility to leave a better world for our children and grandchildren, but we’ve fallen behind and let other nations displace us. This threatens our economy and national security. There are ambitious investments we should make that will help us meet the scale of this challenge and lead the world in building an equitable, clean energy economy.

COMPARE RECORDS

• Martha McSally refused to take a position on Trump’s decision to rescind the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement.

• Martha McSally failed to sign on to International Climate Accountability Act legislation in the Senate, which would have required the U.S. to honor its commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement.

• In 2017, Mark Kelly immediately called Trump’s move to pull out of the Paris Climate Accord “irresponsible.”

• In a 2017 op-ed, Mark Kelly said President Trump had taken “a wrecking ball to years' worth of hard work and painstaking negotiations” in retreating from the Paris Climate Accord. Kelly warned the U.S.’s withdrawal meant “our planet's temperature will rise at a greater rate and our citizen's health will degrade.”

• In an October 2019 ad, Mark Kelly stated that America should be a global leader on climate change, and that inaction by President Trump and the Senate “is a price we will all have to pay in the years and generations to come”

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GET THE FACTS

• The U.S. is already falling behind as other nations, including China and countries in Europe, move forward on clean energy jobs of the future. China is already the world’s largest producer of solar panels, and last year European nations installed more solar infrastructure than the U.S.

• Electric vehicles represent the future of the auto industry (the backbone of the U.S. economy), which we can’t afford to cede to China (the world’s largest auto buyer), and Europe (the world leader in EV investment).

o Led by government climate policy, Europe attracted $71 billion in electric vehicles investment in 2019, outpacing China and the U.S.

o The Chinese government, which had already invested $60 billion into electric vehicles before the pandemic, is placing electric vehicles at the center of their coronavirus recovery package with extensions to tax breaks for electric vehicles and an investment in growing the number of charging stations by tenfold, all with an eye to increase electric vehicles from 5% of the market to 25% in the next 5 years.

o Researchers at CSIS warn that if China takes too much of a lead, it will threaten the U.S. ability to compete in the growing market.

• At the start of the Trump administration, exiting the Paris climate agreement was a high priority on the wish lists of coal baron Bob Murray and the oil billionaire Koch brothers.

• Trump cherry picked jobs data from a faulty study to justify leaving the Paris Agreement.

• Remaining in the Paris climate agreement would actually save the U.S. over half a trillion dollars annually, while doing nothing on climate change comes at an annual cost of $698.77 billion.

• Researchers found that honoring the Paris Agreement would create 24 million jobs around the world by 2030 by growing the renewables sector and related industries.

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o The study also found that if left unchecked, climate change will destroy jobs.

• Major employers, including GE, Disney, and Apple disagreed with Trump’s 2017 decision to withdraw the U.S. from the pact, arguing that staying in the agreement would create jobs by spurring investment, increasing American competitiveness in and access to international markets, encouraging innovation, and reducing business risk associated with climate change.

o In late 2019, they joined with the Chair of the International Committee of AFL-CIO in a letter re- asserting their support.

• At least 290 cities and counties, 10 states, and 2,275 businesses have said they are “still in” and pledged to stick to the goals of the Paris agreement.

o Cities like Phoenix, Tempe and Tucson are “still in.”

o 11 Arizona businesses are “still in.”

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EXTREME HEAT

IF YOU SAY ONE THING Arizona is extremely vulnerable to extreme heat caused by climate change – our leaders must acknowledge and act on the problem.

KEY MESSAGE Extreme heat in Arizona is exacerbated by climate change, and yields devastating impacts on public health, national security, and the state’s economy. This year, the city of Phoenix saw its hottest summer on record, with July and August both breaking records for the hottest months. Last year, Maricopa County saw a record number of heat-related deaths. Extreme heat affects all Arizonans – but places a particular burden on vulnerable communities including seniors.

COMPARE RECORDS

• Mark Kelly acknowledges that a warming climate endangers Arizona’s economy: “Left unchecked, climate change poses a threat to Arizona’s economy and our way of life. In 2018, Phoenix had 128 days over 100 degrees. A warming climate means twice as many days over 100 degrees in Phoenix, which endangers Arizona’s economy. Longer and more severe droughts will also restrict Arizona’s access to clean water and pose increased public health risks.”

• At a campaign rally in February 2019, Kelly said: “If we don’t get our act together, Arizona’s gonna have more heat, more drought, and less economic development – that is clear.”

• Martha McSally has been silent on the impact of extreme heat facing Arizona.

GET THE FACTS

• Arizona experiences an average of 50 extreme heat days annually, the second highest of any state in the nation, and by

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2050, the number of extreme heat days in the state is projected to jump to 80.

• Currently, more than 200,000 people living in Arizona are especially vulnerable to extreme heat.

• In 2018, heat stress illness was responsible for nearly 3,000 emergency room visits in Arizona, and currently, more than 200,000 Arizonans are especially vulnerable to extreme heat.

o In 2019, Maricopa County saw a record of 197 heat- related deaths.

o Extreme heat in Arizona disproportionately impacts low-income communities without access to air conditioning, senior citizens, and individuals facing homelessness.

• Phoenix is the second fastest warming city in the U.S. This year, the city saw its hottest summer on record, with July and August both breaking records for the hottest months.

o This summer, Phoenix broke records for the number of 100-degree days, number of 90-degree nights, and a record of 43 excessive heat warnings.

o Extreme heat has been intensified by a lack of clouds, rain and storm activity due to a weaker-than-usual summer monsoon season. Weather Service noted that 2020 is in the running for the lowest number of lightning strikes during the monsoon season on record in Phoenix.

• By 2050, Phoenix is expected to be almost unlivable due to climate change.

• Military servicemembers at Arizona bases are at risk from extreme heat impacting their duties

o The Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma is projected to experience 117 days over 100 degrees.

o Luke Air Force Base is projected to experience 112 days over 100 degrees.

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o The Tucson International Airport Air Guard Station is projected to experience 76 days over 100 degrees.

DROUGHTS AND WATER

IF YOU SAY ONE THING The waterways Arizona relies on are increasingly fragile due to sustained drought periods exacerbated by climate change.

KEY MESSAGE Arizona is currently experiencing its 21st year of continuous long-term drought, and the waterways the state relies on are drying up at a staggering rate. On top of sustained drought conditions, Arizonans are dealing with groundwater polluted by toxic chemicals linked to severe health problems.

COMPARE RECORDS

• Mark Kelly’s campaign website recognizes the water challenges facing the state as “longer and more severe droughts will also restrict Arizona’s access to clean water and pose increased public health risks.”

• Mark Kelly has raised concerns about pollution from uranium mining contaminating Arizona’s water supply.

• At a campaign rally in February 2019, Kelly said: “If we don’t get our act together, Arizona’s gonna have more heat, more drought, and less economic development – that is clear.”

• Climate change and the state’s access to water was a topic in the 2018 Arizona Senate debate when Martha McSally faced Kyrsten Sinema:

o “Q: With climate change, number one do you believe that it is a man-made problem caused by humans? Number two, what are your plans in terms of combating climate

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change particularly with regard to water and possible water shortages?”

o McSally responded by touting her work for then- Senator Jon Kyl, before shifting to speak about the military and veterans in an attack against her opponents’ anti-war protests: “I can't believe this is last question, I mean we do have to address the issues of climate, and water is so important for Arizona. It's our lifeline. But I worked for Senator Jon Kyl when I was a legislative fellow as a major and it's so important that we follow his lead, and he is my mentor, to be able to move forward to address these really important issues - but we have to talk about the military we have to talk about our veterans.”

• As a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Martha McSally voted to undermine the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

• Martha McSally voted to undermine the environmental review process for water projects throughout the West.

• Martha McSally voted repeatedly to eliminate or weaken the Clean Water Rule, which protects drinking water sources for millions of Americans.

• Martha McSally has repeatedly sought to undermine federal water protections under the Clean Water Act.

o Martha McSally repeatedly submitted an appropriations language request to block the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from using appropriated funds for the WOTUS rule.

o In May 2018, Martha McSally voted in favor of an amendment to the Farm Bill which would have repealed the WOTUS Rule.

• Martha McSally applauded Trump’s rollback of the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule, which left many Arizona streams without crucial environmental protections.

o The Center for Biological Diversity said Arizona and New Mexico could lose protections for more than 95%

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of their water bodies under the new rule, and that the loss of protections puts more than 75 endangered species at risk, including Chiricahua leopard frogs and yellow-billed cuckoos.

GET THE FACTS

• Climate change is already affecting global patterns of drought, and such trends are expected to continue, with longer and more intense droughts predicted.

o Since 2012, Arizona has witnessed five drought events that caused a total of $22.1 billion in damages and 176 deaths.

• Arizona is technically in its 21st year of a continuous long-term drought. Climate change is expected to have a significant impact on the availability of water for crops and livestock.

• By 2050, the severity of summer drought is projected to more than triple in Arizona, the second highest increase behind Washington state.

• Changes in water flow from the Colorado River threatens Arizona’s water supply.

o As much as 20% of the Colorado River could dry up by 2050, and climate change triggered a 17 to 50% reduction in Colorado River flows from 2000 to 2014.

• Climate change is projected to cause a 37% loss in crop yields in Arizona, including a 69% loss in cotton production.

o Increasing droughts and higher temperatures threaten Arizona’s top agricultural products: cattle, dairy, and vegetables.

o Livestock operations could also be impaired by fire, the lack of water, and changes in the landscape from grassland to woody shrubs more typical of a desert. Reduced availability of water would also create challenges for irrigated farms, which account for two- thirds of the water used in the state.

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o Drought also threatens Arizona’s citrus crops - which have already seen record low harvests in recent years.

• In 2019, agriculture generated $23.3 billion in revenue and employed 138,000 workers in Arizona.

• Drought poses a particular challenge for Arizona’s Tribal communities:

o Rising temperatures and increasing drought are likely to decrease the availability of certain fish, game, and wild plants on which the Navajo and other tribes have relied for generations.

o Water may be less available for domestic consumption, especially for those who are not served by either municipal systems or reliable wells, which includes about 30% of the people on the Navajo Nation.

• Toxic chemicals have polluted the groundwater of a large swath of Phoenix for decades.

o The plume of contaminated groundwater is part of a larger polluted zone across central and west Phoenix, areas that are predominately home to Latino and African-American populations.

o Chemicals linked to cancers, lymphoma, and other health problems have shown to be released as groundwater flows into the city’s canal system, and tests of groundwater show some wells containing TCE and PCE chemicals at levels above safe drinking water standards.

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WILDFIRES

IF YOU SAY ONE THING Martha McSally can’t claim to care about wildfires when she refuses to acknowledge climate change drives extreme heat and drier conditions that fuels the fires.

KEY MESSAGE Arizona is no stranger to the damage and destruction caused by wildfires. Climate change is increasing the size, severity and frequency of wildfires – yet Martha McSally remains silent on the link between wildfires and climate change while voting against funding relief for Western states impacted by wildfires.

COMPARE RECORDS

• In 2019, McSally voted against a $19 billion disaster aid bill, which included money for wildfire relief for the Western U.S.

o McSally said she opposed the bi-partisan funding effort due to immigration, stating that Arizonans shouldn’t be funding support to those affected by disasters “while we’re not getting funding for our own disaster here.”

o The legislation included $720 million for the U.S. Forest Service to repay money spent fighting 2018 wildfires. In 2018, 165,356 acres of land were burned in 2,000 fires across Arizona.

• Martha McSally recently spoke about increased human traffic on public lands spurring wildfires… but remained silent on the link between wildfires and climate change.

• Martha McSally has touted her efforts with forest conservation and management, while ignoring the role that drought and extreme heat events play in sparking wildfires.

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• Mark Kelly acknowledges the direct link between climate change and increased wildfire events, and has called for action to protect the planet from climate change.

• Mark Kelly de-bunked President Trump’s bizarre argument tying California wildfires to then-Governor Brown blocking “vast amount of water coming from the North.” Kelly tweeted: “This is the largest wildfire in California history, and it has nothing to do with water supply and everything to do with climate change. Your Administration’s environmental policies will only make matters worse.”

GET THE FACTS

• A Northern Arizona University study found that Arizona and New Mexico wildfires increased by almost 20,000 acres annually since the mid-eighties.

• 384,942 acres of land burned in Arizona in 2019 – and this year’s Bighorn fire has already forced evacuations around Tucson.

o In June 2020, four fires were burning over 50,000 acres across the state.

o The cost of one wildfire that burned through the Coconino National Forest in Flagstaff in 2019 expected to top $13 million.

• In the past decade, Arizona has witnessed six wildfires that caused a total of $28 billion in damages and 108 deaths. In the Summer and Fall of 2019 alone, Western Wildfires caused $1.2 billion in damages and ten deaths.

• 1.5 million acres of Arizona pine forest have burned in the last 20 years, and climate change and drought have made the fires more costly and frequent.

• By 2050, Arizona is projected to see 115 days with high wildfire potential, second only to California.

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• Almost 2.9 million Arizonans, 45% of the state’s population, are currently at elevated risk of wildfire.

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AIR POLLUTION

IF YOU SAY ONE THING Air pollution presents severe threats to the health of Arizonans, and increased levels of air pollution has been linked to higher death rates from COVID-19.

KEY MESSAGE Arizona has some of the worst air quality among the states, with Phoenix’s air ranking among the worst polluted in the nation. Martha McSally has failed to stand up for Arizonans and is making the air they breathe worse by voting repeatedly to gut protections and supporting Trump’s attacks on clean air.

COMPARE RECORDS

• Martha McSally has consistently voted against clean air protections, including voting to block safeguards against air pollution from mercury, arsenic, and chromium.

• Martha McSally voted to block the EPA from setting limits on methane pollution.

• Martha McSally voted to attack smog protections and the Clean Air Act.

• Martha McSally voted to slash funding for environmental protections and to undo protections for clean air.

• Martha McSally voted four times to block the Clean Power Plan from being implemented, and once to repeal it.

• Martha McSally voted to support the Trump administration on the Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule, also known as the “Dirty Power Scam,” that seeks to extend the lifetime of dirty coal plants.

• Mark Kelly vowed to ensure Arizonans have clean air and clean water as a U.S. Senator.

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GET THE FACTS

• In 2019, five Arizona counties received an “F” grade for the number of days of unhealthy ozone levels, and two counties also received F grades for particle pollution.

• Phoenix’s air is among the worst polluted in the nation.

• A 2020 American Lung Association report found Phoenix & Tucson “heavily impacted by unhealthy ozone and particle pollution” and that Phoenix’s air quality is deteriorating.

• Poorer and predominately minority areas of South and West Phoenix have worse air quality than other areas of the city. South and West Phoenix is home to the city’s railroads, major highways, sky harbor airport, and industrial factories.

• Residents in Phoenix’s heavily polluted neighborhoods in the South and West of the city are primarily Latino or African-American, and asthma rates in South and West Phoenix zip codes are some of the highest in the country.

• Communities of color in Arizona that experience worse air quality could be at a higher risk from COVID-19, as air pollution has been linked with higher death rates from the novel virus.

• Cars make up the biggest source of ozone-forming pollutants in Arizona.

• Trump’s clean cars rollback will not only cost Arizonans over $404 million per year, but it would lead to the state exceeding ozone limits under the Clean Air Act.

o Arizona’s Department of Environmental Quality opposed Trump’s plan to rollback clean car standards.

o High ozone concentrations could place the state in nonattainment status, which would threaten federal infrastructure projects.

o In February 2020, the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry warned that if the state failed to meet air quality standards by 2024, industry will pay a hefty regulatory price because of auto emissions. Climate Power 2020 AZ Debate Guide 20

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CLEAN ENERGY JOBS

IF YOU SAY ONE THING Clean energy means good-paying jobs for Arizonans, but Martha McSally is undermining climate action and our opportunity to build a clean energy future.

KEY MESSAGE As one of the nation’s leading producers of renewable energy, the clear energy industry presents an enormous economic opportunity for Arizona. Despite the state being home to three of the sunniest cities in the U.S., Martha McSally has repeatedly undermined efforts to grow Arizona’s clean energy economy while protecting the dirty fossil fuels industry. Arizona’s leadership must understand the benefits of transitioning to a renewable economy.

COMPARE RECORDS

• In a 2017 op-ed, Mark Kelly criticized President Trump’s rollback of the EPA’s Clean Power Plan, noting that the move meant “our planet’s temperature will rise at a greater rate and our citizen’s health will degrade.”

• Mark Kelly said Arizona should move towards using renewable energy, particularly solar, and has called for massive investments in renewable energy technologies to make the industry more competitive and to accelerate the transition to a renewable economy.

• In response to jobs losses from the COVID-19 pandemic, Mark Kelly called for investments in science and technology job training.

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• In an interview with Arizona Central’s ‘The Gaggle’ podcast, Kelly spoke about harnessing the state’s sunny weather to create good jobs In the solar industry: “That’s gonna be good for the climate, it also could be really good for the economy here. I mean we’ve got 350 days of sunshine every year – it could be great jobs for Arizonans, we have to start focusing on this now.”

• Martha McSally voted four times to block the Clean Power Plan from being implemented, and once to repeal it. McSally claimed the Clean Power Plan would cause “blackouts, higher rates, and the loss of good-paying jobs.”

• While serving in the U.S. House of Representatives, McSally voted repeatedly against efforts to grow Arizona’s clean energy economy.

GET THE FACTS

• Martha McSally has received over $712,422 in campaign contributions from the oil and gas industry, supported tax breaks that gave the industry $25 billion and let Chevron pay nothing in federal income taxes.

• The Clean Power Plan would have created 560,000 new clean energy jobs.

• Arizona was ranked 19th in the nation for clean energy employment in 2019, with the sector employing 62,106 workers.

• In 2019, Arizona was ranked 6th in the nation for solar jobs.

• In 2019, Arizona had 9,262 solar jobs, but only 5,577 jobs in oil and gas.

• In 2019, Arizona was home to over 7,777 direct jobs in the solar industry and 1,001 to 2,000 direct jobs in the wind industry.

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• Arizona is home to three of the five sunniest cities in the U.S., and 90% of Arizona rooftops are viable to hold solar installations.

• From 2001 to 2017, rural renewable energy development in Arizona created $9.4 billion in economic output, 17,971 jobs and $16.7 million in tax revenue.

• Hourly wages for clean energy jobs exceed national averages by 8 to 19%, the clean energy economy offers more opportunities for low and middle-skilled workers than the national economy, and educational barriers to entry are lower in clean energy jobs, even in high paying positions.

• Most clean energy jobs are local by nature, and clean energy companies support a range of secondary jobs in their local areas.

• Wind energy is cheaper than natural gas, and in 2018, the sector alone paid $1 billion to state and local governments and private landowners in tax and lease payments, and supported a supply chain of 500 factories in 42 states employing 24,000 workers.

• Clean energy companies hire a greater percentage of veterans than the national average, with veterans filling around 10% of the nation’s advanced clean energy jobs. Clean energy also employs more veterans than the oil and gas industry.

• The renewable energy sector is more diverse than the workforce overall: it is less white, employs more workers who identify as Hispanic or Latinx, and employs 3 to 5 times more workers who identify as two or more races than the national average.

• Clean energy jobs provide a long-proven path to stability and reintegration for formerly incarcerated citizens, who were unemployed at a rate of 27% in 2018 and face over 45,000 barriers to reintegration.

• Electric vehicles represent the future of the auto industry (the backbone of the U.S. economy), which we can’t afford to cede

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to China (the world’s largest auto buyer), and Europe (the world leader in EV investment).

• Led by government climate policy, Europe attracted $71 billion in electric vehicles investment in 2019, outpacing China and the U.S.

• The Chinese government, which had already invested $60 billion into electric vehicles before the pandemic, is placing electric vehicles at the center of their coronavirus recovery package with extensions to tax breaks for electric vehicles and an investment in growing the number of charging stations by tenfold, all with an eye to increase electric vehicles from 5% of the market to 25% in the next 5 years.

• Researchers at CSIS warn that if China takes too much of a lead, it will threaten the U.S. ability to compete in the growing market.

• The U.S. hit 1 million electric vehicles sales in 2018.

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CLIMATE CHANGES TOUCHES EVERY ISSUE IN 2020 POLITICAL DEBATES

THE ECONOMY Ignoring the climate crisis will harm Arizona’s economy.

• Climate change will cost Arizona $17,368,290,000 annually by the year 2100.

• Arizona is expected to suffer worse than the rest of the country under climate change, costing 8% of GDP in Maricopa County alone.

• In 2019, agriculture generated $23.3 billion in revenue and employed 138,000 workers in Arizona.

• Climate change is projected to cause a 37% loss in crop yields in Arizona, including a 69% loss in cotton production.

Investing in clean energy future means good jobs for Arizona.

• Arizona was ranked 19th in the nation for clean energy employment in 2019, with the sector employing 62,106 workers.

• Arizona is home to three of the five sunniest cities in the U.S.

• In 2019, Arizona was home to over 7,777 jobs in the solar industry and 1,001 to 2,000 direct jobs in the wind industry.

• From 2001 to 2017, rural renewable energy development in Arizona created $9.4 billion in economic output, 17,971 jobs and $16.7 million in tax revenue.

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HEALTH CARE Climate change and fossil fuel pollutants give people pre-existing conditions and make them more vulnerable to COVID-19.

• New research on air pollution has found that burning fossil fuel causes 230,000 premature deaths in the US every year.

• Scientists and health experts from 35 academic institutions and United Nations agencies said that children will suffer from a rise in infectious diseases, malnutrition and air pollution if global warming continues on the current trajectory.

• The American Lung Association warns that pollution from vehicle exhaust and power plants can cause lung cancer, heart disease, and asthma attacks.

o Residents in Phoenix’s heavily polluted neighborhoods in the South and West of the city are primarily Latino or African-American, and asthma rates in South and West Phoenix zip codes are some of the highest in the country.

• Soot air pollution (PM2.5) causes severe health problems and it increased by 5.5% on average across the country between 2016 and 2018, after decreasing nearly 25% over the previous seven years.

o Soot air pollution (PM2.5) from power plants and vehicle exhaust has been linked to higher death rates from COVID-19

NATIONAL SECURITY Climate change is a national security threat, both abroad and right here at home.

• National security experts and the Department of Defense have published reports warning that climate change puts our national security at risk by destabilizing conflict zones.

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• Our ability to respond to conflicts is also being impacted. A 2019 report from the Department of Defense found that climate change is already threatening mission-critical bases.

o Military servicemembers at three Arizona bases (Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma, Luke Air Force Base, and Tucson International Airport Air Guard Station) are at risk from extreme heat impacting their duties

FOREIGN POLICY & TRADE The U.S. risks falling behind on emerging clean energy industries while the rest of the world is making investments in their future.

• The U.S. is already falling behind to China and Europe. In 2017, nearly half of the world’s new renewable energy investment came from China, and the nation is the world’s largest producer of solar panels, wind turbines, batteries and electric vehicles. In 2019, the U.S. added 13 GW of solar installations, while Europe added 16.7 and the previous year, China added 44 GW.

o Led by government climate policy, Europe attracted $71 billion in electric vehicles investment in 2019, outpacing China and the U.S.

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o Researchers at CSIS warn that if China takes too much of a lead, it will threaten the U.S. ability to compete in the growing market.

IMMIGRATION Unchecked climate change will only increase pressure on our borders.

• As John Podesta wrote for Brookings, “unprecedented” storms will lead to large scale migration due to resource scarcity, increased frequency of extreme weather, intensifying competition for food and water, increased frequency of disease outbreaks and stress on the US borders due to the severe effects of climate change in parts of Central America.

• Poverty and violence in Central America are major factors driving migration to the United States.

o Most of the Central American migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border seeking asylum come from rural areas of Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador which are highly susceptible to the effects of climate change.

o As climate change deepens poverty and food insecurity in this area, experts say it is likely that the United States will continue to see a rise in the number of families and unaccompanied minors seeking asylum.

• Drought and disasters driven by climate change will continue to exacerbate poor economic conditions that leave people in desperate situations with no options.

• A recent scientific paper predicts that the parts of the globe that best support human life and crops will shift more in the next 50 years than they have in the last 6,000 years, sparking mass migrations as people move to escape heat, hunger, and political chaos.

• As many as 1.2 billion people around the world could be displaced by 2050, according to projections in the Ecological Threat Register.

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JUSTICE & CIVIL RIGHTS Environmental justice is racial justice.

• In 2019, five Arizona counties (Yuma, Gila, Maricopa, Pima and Pinal) received an “F” grade for the number of days of unhealthy ozone levels, and two counties (Maricopa and Pinal) also received F grades for particle pollution.

• Phoenix’s air is among the worst polluted in the nation.

• Ozone has been linked to asthma, and Black children are four times more likely to be admitted to the hospital and ten times more likely to die from asthma.

• Residents in Phoenix’s heavily polluted neighborhoods in the South and West of the city are primarily Latino or African- American, and asthma rates in South and West Phoenix zip codes are some of the highest in the country.

• Communities of color in Arizona continue to fight against toxic groundwater, air pollution, and proposals to build a copper mine on sacred tribal grounds.

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