VetsForward Joins the 2025 Environmental Legislative Priorities Release in Support of Climate, Conservation, and Justice
Phoenix, AZ - Today, more than 35 organizations, including Sierra Club - Grand Canyon Chapter, Arizona Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders for Equity (AZ AANHPI for Equity), Arizona Youth Climate Coalition, Arizona Interfaith Power and Light (AZIPL), Chispa Arizona, Vote Solar, and other environmental, faith, and Indigenous groups presented the 2025 Environmental Priorities for the Arizona Legislature and Governor. The priorities represent a positive vision on climate and clean energy, water, environmental justice, land protection, and democracy, among other issues, plus include key defensive actions as well. The groups are asking legislators to hold the line against weakening protections for water, public health, lands, and more, plus to resist measures to make it more difficult for people to vote or vote early. The priorities ask for needed changes to address climate change and extreme heat, environmental justice, and to limit the depletion of precious water resources.
“Each year we face record breaking temperatures and heat-related deaths continue to rise,” said Chispa Arizona’s Advocacy and Political Director Vania Guevara. “We will collaborate with our elected leadership at every level to work towards having cleaner air and heat mitigation efforts to ensure a future where Arizonans don’t face extreme heat for longer periods of time in the years ahead.”
“It is important for our communities to be civically engaged with local and state governments, as they shape the policy that impacts our present and future climate adaptation and resilience” said Alondra Morales Sanchez, Climate Justice Coordinator, AZ AANHPI For Equity. “As co-habitants of this space, it is our right to advocate and co-govern for a future where we can all thrive.”
“Over my years in climate organizing, I have seen positive changes in the community in response to climate wins: everything from cooling centers helping people beat the heat to school district action inspiring the next generation's passion for sustainability,” said Shaela Patel, Organizer of the Phoenix Team for Arizona Youth Climate Coalition (AZYCC). “The Arizona Youth Climate Coalition sees that impactful drive for change in these 2025 Environmental Priorities."
The priorities include specific requests for the Legislature and Governor to act to address climate change and provide clean affordable energy, ensure more sustainable water policies that protect groundwater and rivers, maximize the health of all Arizonans, address the environmental injustice that burdens those most vulnerable in our communities, and ensure easy access to democratic processes.
“Faith communities are actively grappling with Arizona’s ‘new normal’: the excessive heat that is affecting all of us, but especially the most vulnerable,” said Melanie Beikman, Director for Arizona Interfaith Power and Light. “Many congregations are stepping in to protect vulnerable people from extreme heat with cooling centers. Faith institutions are often the first to help when households can’t cover utility bills. And congregational leaders join the voices that speak out about environmental injustices affecting their members and their neighbors.”
“The most important thing we can do about combating our climate crisis is to talk about climate,” said Nile Bunger, Climate Justice Director with AZ AANHPI For Equity. “It is vital that we acknowledge the racial injustices that are intertwined in our climate crisis, and it is critical we do not leave out our Pacific Island communities and other BIPOC communities from these conversations. Our Pacific Islands emit some of the lowest amount of global emissions yet have some of the most horrific climate related disaster hits. My dream is that one day we will all be able to live in a world that has learned to fully embrace the Indigenous peoples and practices of this Earth; in hopes that we will be able to come together as one and to eliminate the hierarchy that continuously keeps our BIPOC, lower income/unhoused, disabled, and queer folks on the back burner.”
“It is essential that the Arizona Legislature and Governor Hobbs do everything possible to help address climate change and help our communities deal with its impacts, including the extreme heat that kills hundreds of Arizonans every year, and conserving our precious water resources,” said Sandy Bahr, Director for Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon (Arizona) Chapter. “Delay and obstruction harm our health and opportunities for future generations, plus cost us dearly economically. We simply cannot afford to wait to tackle these important issues.”
The 2025 Environmental Priorities for the Arizona Legislature and Governor can be found here.
The recording of the news conference can be found here.
The following organizations have signed on to the priorities to date: Arizona Alliance for Retired Americans, Arizona Climate Action Coalition, Arizona Faith Network, Arizona Heritage Alliance, Arizona Interfaith Power and Light, Arizona Youth Climate Coalition, AZ AANHPI For Equity Brophy Student Climate Coalition, Chispa Arizona ,Climate Cabinet Action Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection, Community Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Earth Justice Ministry of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Phoenix, Elders Climate Action - AZ, Flagstaff Arts and Leadership Academy Environmental Coalition, Grace St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Great Old Broads for Wilderness - Northern Arizona Wild Broadband, Great Old Broads for Wilderness - Sonoran Broadband, Great Old Broads for Wilderness - Tucson Broadband, Great Old Broads for Wilderness - Yavapai-Prescott Broadband, Mi Familia Vota, Moms Clean Air Force - Arizona, Mountain Mamas, Our Voice Our Vote, Arizona Physicians for Social Responsibility AZ Chapter, Rural Arizona Action, Rural Arizona Engagement, Sierra Club - Grand Canyon Chapter, Sustainable Tucson, Sustainable Water Network Third Act Arizona, Tó Nizhóní Ání, Valley Unitarian Universalist-Environmental Action Team, Vets Forward, Vote Solar, Western Watersheds Project, Yuma Audubon Society.
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