Arizona voters across the political spectrum continue to view air pollution and climate change as serious threats to their health and well-being, and they want policymakers to take meaningful action to address them, according to a new public-opinion poll by the American Lung Association.

For the fifth consecutive year, the statewide poll, conducted by the Global Strategy Group, revealed that a majority of Arizona voters support a shift away from polluting fossil fuels and toward renewable energy and zero-emission vehicles.

Across the political spectrum, and in all corners of the state, air pollution is considered a serious problem by 81% of Arizona voters. An overwhelming majority of survey respondents (77%) also said climate change is a serious problem. 

As a result, voters endorse clean energy, preferring solar (74%) and wind (56%), to fossil fuels like natural gas (28%) or coal (10%). When presented with a choice about whether to prioritize fossil fuels or advance policies that encourage a transition to clean energy, it isn’t even close — 77% chose clean energy.

The combustion of fossil fuels in our energy and transportation sectors generate unhealthy pollution that exacerbate respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, including increased asthma attacks, worsened COPD, heart attacks and strokes, and in extreme cases, premature death. 

Beyond improving health outcomes and mitigating climate impacts, voters believe a clean energy transition will strengthen the state’s economy and help keep money in the pocketbooks of Arizona’s families (71%).

As we begin 2025 with a new Legislative session – along with important energy decisions facing utility regulators at the Arizona Corporation Commission – the poll continues to underscore that policymakers have an incredible opportunity to align with Arizonans and improve the air we breathe, protect Arizonans’ health and save Arizona families money. 

The poll, released Dec. 17, comes on the heels of another sweltering, record-breaking summer. Ozone pollution is typically a summer phenomenon in Maricopa County, but this year, due to extended 100-plus-degree temperatures, ozone season stretched well into fall. In fact, the county broke federal ozone standards as late as Oct. 12, the first year that has happened since new air quality standards took effect in 2015. 

But it’s not just the hot weather that has many Arizonans concerned about the future. Many worry about the state’s water supplies, and believe a shift to wind and solar power sources will require less water and create less pollution. For example, clean energy like wind and solar is pollution-free and uses approximately 4% of the amount of water that fossil fuel plants do.

The poll also revealed voters’ thoughts about the responsibilities of Arizona’s power producers. Two-thirds call on utility companies to stop spending money on infrastructure expansion of methane gas, and instead to focus on clean energy.

And considering their own carbon footprints, a majority of Arizonans (78%) are enthusiastic about receiving assistance to make improvements to their homes and reduce energy consumption. 

They also support incentives to increase the affordability of electric vehicles, and bolster investments in that sector’s infrastructure. Broadly, many endorse transitioning school buses and other public fleets to pollution-free vehicles.

By any measure, clean energy is a win in Arizona.

JoAnna Strother is senior advocacy director for the American Lung Association.