Arizona’s rapid growth brings with it a rising demand for energy and a pivotal opportunity. We can meet our energy needs by expanding renewable power and investing in energy efficiency solutions that cost less, reduce pollution and protect public health.

Unfortunately, the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) is moving in the wrong direction. In recent months, the commission has approved several methane gas expansion projects, touting them as “cleaner” than coal while simultaneously weakening the renewable and efficiency standards that have long benefited Arizona families.

Let’s be clear: methane gas, often marketed as “natural” gas, is still a fossil fuel. It’s a significant source of air pollution and a powerful climate pollutant more than 80 times stronger than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. Its production and use release toxic chemicals like benzene and formaldehyde, as well as smog-forming pollutants that worsen asthma, heart disease and other chronic illnesses.

Arizona already faces some of the nation’s most severe air quality challenges. According to the American Lung Association’s State of the Air report, 84% of Arizonans live in counties with unhealthy air. Pollution contributes to asthma, heart disease, strokes and premature death. Vulnerable groups, including more than 127,000 children with asthma and nearly half a million adults with heart disease, are especially at risk.

By continuing to invest in methane gas infrastructure, the ACC is locking Arizona into a future of higher utility bills, dirtier air, and preventable health burdens. Families will not only face higher energy costs but also increased health care visits due to worsening air quality driving many deeper into unseen debt and economic instability. We must change course.

Along with Arizona’s robust economic growth and development, we must also consider our fragile health care system and the impact these decisions have on our current medical professionals and health care providers. Increased pollution and chronic disease place greater strain on hospitals, clinics and health care workers who are already navigating workforce shortages and rising patient demand. The health of our energy policy is directly tied to the health of our medical system and of every Arizonan.

Instead of doubling down on fossil fuels, Arizona should lead with bold investments in solar power, clean transportation and energy efficiency. The public is ready: A recent American Lung Association poll found that 74% of Arizona voters support expanding solar power, with strong majorities also backing wind energy and efficiency programs to reduce costs and pollution.

The ACC has a clear choice to make — listen to what Arizonans want — invest in cleaner energy and protect their health. Now is not the time to roll back critical clean air protections such as the Renewable Energy Standard and Tariff and Energy Efficiency Standards. These rules are clear examples of how utilities can invest in clean energy to improve air quality and reduce utility bills. Arizonans deserve solutions that reduce air pollution and protect our health. This means rejecting new gas plants and pipelines and instead expanding solar and wind projects for a strong clean energy future.    

With Arizona’s population now exceeding 7.5 million and projected to approach 8 million by 2030, our choices over the next five years and beyond will define our state’s trajectory. We can either lock in dependence on fossil fuels along with higher costs, worsening pollution, and growing health inequities or we can embrace clean, affordable, homegrown energy solutions that protect our communities, health care system and economy as we grow.

As Arizona grows, we must ensure that progress does not come at the expense of public health. Rising energy demand should inspire innovation, not pollution. The choices we make today will determine whether Arizona’s families breathe cleaner air and thrive or bear the cost of inaction through illness, debt and strain on our health care system.

It’s time to reject new gas plants and pipelines and build a cleaner, healthier future powered by solar, wind and efficiency. Arizona’s health and future depend on it.

Desire’e Hardge is CEO and executive director of Maricopa County Medical Society and editor-in-chief of the Arizona Physician magazine.