November 26, 2019

The Honorable The Honorable Martha McSally 317 Hart Senate Office Building 404 Russell Senate Office Building , DC 20510 Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Tom O’Halleran (AZ-1) The Honorable (AZ-2) 324 Cannon HOB 309 Cannon HOB Washington, DC 20515 Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ-3) The Honorable (AZ-4) 1511 Longworth HOB 2057 Rayburn HOB Washington, DC 20515 Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable (AZ-5) The Honorable (AZ-6) 1318 Longworth HOB 1526 Longworth HOB Washington, DC 20515 Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable (AZ-7) The Honorable (AZ-8) 1131 Longworth HOB 1113 Longworth HOB Washington, DC 20515 Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable (AZ-9) 128 Cannon HOB Washington, DC 20515

Dear Congressional Delegation;

As Mayor and Mayor-elect of the two largest cities in Arizona, we are united in our request that the not skirt its responsibilities to combat climate change. Although Phoenix and Tucson are aggressively pursuing increased sustainability measures, our cities are still confronting the impacts of climate change.

The Paris Climate Agreement is a vital international accord that protects our planet, our country, and our local communities. We call upon our Arizona congressional representatives to support efforts to ensure the United States remains a part of the Paris Climate Agreement. Legislation in Congress such as HR 9 and S 1743, should become law. Thank you to those of you who supported the passage of HR9 and thank you to Senator Sinema for co-sponsoring S1743. We encourage the rest of the delegation to get on board to support this effort.

In December 2015, the U.S. played a key role in securing a historic commitment among nearly 200 countries to combat climate change. The Paris Climate Agreement is data-driven and objectively asserts that, as a nation, and as global citizens, we must address greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and set goals to adapt to a changing climate.

In 2017, the Trump Administration noted the intent to pull the United States out of the Paris Agreement. Earlier this month, the Trump Administration began the one-year process to officially withdraw the United States from this agreement, undermining the United States’ historic role as a leader on global issues.

As local elected officials, our respective cities have environmental policies in place to adapt and address climate change including mitigating heat islands, improving air quality, and providing increased shade coverage. We are also preparing training of first responders as demands change, modifying our transportation systems with a focus on increased electrification, and developing new positions to create increased capacity for innovation and adaptation.

Phoenix and Tucson already feel the impacts of climate change. We experience record heat, extended drought, and increased air pollution. Our temperatures are already higher than average by 3.23 degrees.

As our Congressional representatives, we ask that you support the residents of our cities and state to ensure the United States meet its commitment under the Paris Agreement. As mayors we commit to continue to do our part to address the contributing causes and impacts of climate change and we implore you to support us in this effort.

Sincerely,

______Kate Gallego Regina Romero Mayor of the City of Phoenix Mayor-elect of the City of Tucson