opinion

Carbon limit opponents attack with bogus sources

Tom Jenney's My Turn denigrating the Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan, which sets the first-ever federal limits on carbon pollution from existing power plants, is baseless.

Jenney, in his March 22 essay, cites discredited sources to make his argument, represents an organization known to be heavily funded by the Koch Brothers and others who have a vested interest in fighting the Clean Power Plan, and ignores the facts on climate change, its impacts on Arizona, and the public health and economic benefits that will result from the EPA's plan.

He specifically references a National Economic Research Associates study that claims Arizona families could see their electricity bills increase due to the Clean Power Plan. This study was commissioned by fossil fuel interests such as the American Coalition for Clean Coal Energy, which has denied the science of climate change and has aired false ads attacking EPA carbon pollution standards.

Thus it comes as no surprise that the study, as cited by Jenney and other climate deniers, has been thoroughly debunked by multiple credible sources.

The Washington Post "Fact Checker" blog called out Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., chair of the Committee on Environment and Public Works, saying that it was "misleading" for him to cite the study's figures. The Union of Concerned Scientists similarly accused the study of falsely inflating costs of the Clean Power Plan.

If Jenney's use of bogus sources is not enough to make you question his argument against EPA's standards, he also works for Americans for Prosperity. The group is funded by the oil billionaire Koch Brothers, who have a financial incentive to oppose the Clean Power Plan.

It is no secret that oil is the heart of the Koch Brothers' business empire, and that it is therefore in their best economic interest for the U.S. to continue its dependence on carbon-based energy. Are these really the kind of people our state and country should be taking advice from?

Definitely not when it comes to climate change.

And especially not in Arizona and the Southwest, the nation's hottest and driest region. Climate change impacts extreme changes in weather, including severe and prolonged droughts, which will further stress previously overutilized water sources in many areas.

Our region is already parched and is expected to become even hotter and drier. The health, safety and economic implications of climate change in Arizona are too great to bear.

Doing nothing in the face of such danger is simply reckless. The Clean Power Plan offers a path to combat climate change and the threat it poses to us all, while also cutting electric bills by almost 10 percent in 2030, creating tens of thousands of jobs and helping transition us to a sustainable clean energy future.

Contrary to Jenney's op-ed, the Clean Power Plan is good not only for public health and the environment, but also for our economy. The benefits of the plan are proven to far outweigh National Economic Research Associates' falsely inflated cost predictions that ignore health savings of $93 billion overall, and energy efficiency investments that save money for consumers.

Jenney's argument should be taken with a grain of salt, or a lump of coal, for that matter.

Kris Mayes is a former chair of the Arizona Corporation Commission.