Today, the BlueGreen Alliance and the League of Conservation Voters held a press conference at Flagstaff High School featuring Flagstaff City Mayor Paul Deasy, a representative from the Office of Congressmember Tom O’Halleran, a school district facilities professional, community leaders, and advocates to call on Congress to act now to support a reconciliation budget bill that will fund the bold climate investments to help states, cities, and school districts expand clean energy to address the climate crisis.

Against a backdrop of a solar array that is helping to power Flagstaff High School as the District seeks to do its part to address climate change, and with grassroots community members holding signs that said “Climate Action Now,” the speakers outlined key reasons why passing a bold infrastructure package that centers climate, justice, and jobs will benefit the local community, as well as workers.

“As mayor, I’m proud of the work we’ve done to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and make our city more resilient, and stick with an ambitious plan to do more in the future,” said Deasy. “However, we can’t do it all alone, and that’s why it’s critical for our national leaders to pass the entire infrastructure package, including the necessary investments to truly tackle climate change. Funding to make all our public buildings more efficient, upgrade our grid, and create thousands of jobs for Arizonans is critical for our state and the City of Flagstaff.”

“We can tackle the challenges of climate change and a clean energy transition by investing broadly and fully in our infrastructure—that includes transformational investments for our communities,” said Kate French, Regional Field Organizer from the BlueGreen Alliance. “Congress has the opportunity to pass once-in-a-generation funding that will help all Arizona communities being hit with the effects of flooding and extreme weather, and dramatically scale clean, renewable energy. And if we implement high road labor standards and Buy American standards, we can create thousands of high-quality

“Making schools more energy efficient will not just provide good jobs for local Arizona workers, but it is also good for our climate and our health,” said Fabian Sandez, Regional Manager for the Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters. “We must make sure these are good jobs that allow people to build careers. They must come with prevailing wage provisions and registered apprentice programs that prepare the next generation of carpenters.”

“Arizona is being hit hard by the impacts of the climate crisis—extreme heat, weather, and drought, as well as larger wildfires, are just some of what we are experiencing,” said Sarah King with the Sierra Club Grand Canyon Chapter. “We also now have an important opportunity to help address the climate crisis and make major investments in clean energy and healthy schools in the budget reconciliation process, including retrofitting and electrifying schools and school buses and ensuring greater energy efficiency. We must, and our members of Congress must act now on climate for our children, our grandchildren, and all Arizonans.”

Watch the event here.
View the photos from the event here.