City of Tempe's fight to protect the community against climate change gets national recognition
Tempe, Arizona: Elected Officials to Protect America (EOPA) and the Climate Action Campaign visited Tempe last week to congratulate the City of Tempe for work being done to protect the community from the dangers of the climate crisis.
Tempe’s climate action plan and equitable climate goals receive city, state and federal funding from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).
“Shade is a vital component for the infrastructure of cities exposed to extreme heat like Tempe. Mayor Corey Woods and local leadership have ensured the city’s climate action plan is protecting people from the dangers of excessive heat as the city advances clean energy deployment with climate resiliency. With weatherization, homes and business owners will witness monthly utility costs go down while their quality of life goes up. Tempe is truly a model city for the Southwest,” said Christian Brock, CEO of Elected Officials to Protect America and Air Force veteran.
EOPA officials said that Tempe is revolutionizing its infrastructure to support urban cooling and safer streets while transforming homes with weatherization to ensure residents are protected during days of extreme heat.
“Housing affordability is an issue Tempe has been tackling from all angles. We know with the added risk of extreme heat, utility bills skyrocket. We are doing everything we can to protect our vulnerable residents from extreme heat. Federal funding is critically helping our efforts. When we retrofit mobile homes with weatherization upgrades, lives will be saved, utility bills will go down and we will protect the environment by decreasing carbon emissions,” said Mayor Corey Woods.
“Additionally, our tree canopy program will cool our city streets with expanded shaded areas and create jobs. And with a $12.5 million Department of Transportation grant, we are revolutionizing our infrastructure for nearly 4 miles of road into an urban-friendly street for pedestrians, bicycles, and vehicles.”
In addition to reducing pollution across the community, the IRA benefits residents most in need of cleaner air, with justice being a focus for the federal government. Tempe received an IRA Energy Efficiency Block Grant from the Department of Energy for $236,000 to weatherize mobile homes in three mobile home parks in the city.
“Tempe and the Phoenix metro area experienced the hottest summer on record. Summer 2024 broke last year’s previous record of 55 days over 110 degrees by 15 days, with 70 days over 110 degrees. With extreme heat comes degraded quality of life and the risk of life-threatening heat stress and illness,” said ASU professor Dr. Paul Coseo.
“Our co-created heat action research supports Tempe as we’re working together to ensure everyone is healthy and safe by redesigning cooler urban landscapes. Federal funding from the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill helps turn these evidence-based heat action approaches for a more sustainable, resilient, and livable urban environment into a reality.”
Heat is the leading weather-related cause of mortalities in the United States. Last year, 645 people in Maricopa County died from the heat, spiking from 425 in 2022. The city’s high temperatures are exacerbated by the urban heat island effect, in which the cement and concrete absorb heat during the day, trapping it. When night comes the city is prevented from cooling off which increases the intensity of the heat during peak hours. Fortunately, Tempe’s existing weatherization and emergency home repair programs are in demand. But tragically there were 156 indoor heat-related deaths in Maricopa County.
A US Department of Agriculture Urban and Community Forest IRA grant was awarded to Tempe for more than $800,000 to establish a new residential-focused program to provide education and resources, to support tree shade expansion.
“Tempe is a leader in sustainability with our comprehensive climate agenda that is transforming our city into an inclusive livable workable environment that combats extreme heat. We’ve successfully received Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure grants to help us lift up everyone so they can breathe cleaner air, no matter where they live," said Councilmember Jennifer Adams.
“We are redesigning and retrofitting our workplaces and homes to be powered by renewable energy to lower our carbon emissions and utility bills, while improving our quality of life. By working together as a community, we will hit our goal of a 25% tree and shade canopy, which will cool our city and allow our children opportunities to be outside. It’s an honor to work with my colleagues on these issues, and we’re grateful to have the federal funds.”
Councilmember Adams is a strong advocate for the Trees for Tempe program, which includes a "treebate" program, a cost match program for desert plants and more.
"Extreme heat affects families in many ways, including kids not being able to have recess outside for several months of the year. And for kids who need to bike and walk to school, it can be dangerously hot to do so. For those who want to bike, walk or use mobility devices to get around, lack of shade and lack of infrastructure prevents them from doing so. In too many places in Tempe, active transportation is scary and dangerous,” said Kendra Flory, co-founder of the Broadmor Bike Bus.
“We need intentional projects like the work planned for Baseline Road that supports both safety and urban cooling. The Broadmor Bike Bus was started two years ago to advocate for solutions like this, and we are very happy to see this type of work being done in Tempe."