A recent survey released by the American Lung Association in Arizona shows that concerns about air pollution and climate change remain high among voters in the state. According to the poll, 83% of respondents are worried about air quality, while 78% express concern over climate change. The majority, 78%, believe Arizona should adopt more clean energy policies to improve air quality and meet growing energy needs.
“Arizona has some of the worst air quality in the country, and voters overwhelmingly agree that lawmakers must act on climate change (68%),” said JoAnna Strother, senior director of Advocacy at the American Lung Association. “Clean energy can reduce harmful pollution, protect our health, and mitigate the effects of climate change.”
For six years, the American Lung Association has partnered with Global Strategy Group to conduct annual public opinion surveys on issues related to air, energy, and climate in Arizona. This year’s results indicate that voters want leaders to prioritize clean energy over building new gas plants. Clean energy is seen as better for the economy, electricity bills, and reliability.
“Arizonans want clean energy solutions to meet rising demand, but the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) continues approving several methane gas expansion projects. The ACC must be held accountable to voters and direct our utilities to invest more in wind and solar power,” Strother added.
The survey found that 76% of voters think the state should expand clean energy policies. Support for increased use of solar (75%) and wind (59%) spans across political lines. Respondents also believe these measures will save families money (75%) and boost job creation as well as strengthen the economy (74%).
Three out of five voters say Arizona’s utilities should stop spending on oil and gas infrastructure expansion and instead transition toward renewables like wind and solar along with greater efficiency efforts. Voters view lawmakers much more favorably when they support policies encouraging a shift toward clean energy—64% have a more favorable view compared to 11% less favorable.
“Arizona utilities need additional power generation capacity, but voters strongly back solar and wind plants over new gas facilities,” Strother said. “By a wide margin (75% versus 25%), Arizonans prefer clean energy projects.”
Voters believe building new clean energy projects is preferable for family health (82%), reducing air pollution (82%), and addressing climate change impacts (80%). Nearly three-quarters also think wind and solar will help keep electricity bills lower (71%), create quality jobs while strengthening the economy (71%), and improve grid reliability (67%).
“These numbers could not be clearer: Arizona voters overwhelmingly prefer new clean energy projects over new gas plants because they believe such projects are not only better for the environment but also a better choice for keeping electricity bills low, strengthening the state’s economy, and improving electric supply reliability,” said Andrew Baumann, partner at Global Strategy Group.
The analysis memo from Global Strategy Group is available online along with key findings.
