As ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ officials warned this week that there’s “very extreme†wildfire potential this year, the governor sidestepped a question of what role he believes climate change plays.
“I’ll leave it to others to talk about what effect climate change or change in the climate has had on that,’’ Gov. Doug Ducey said Thursday in response to the question at a press briefing.
“But it’s certainly the lack of precipitation, and precipitation during the customary months have affected … this condition greatly,†Ducey said.
He was referring to the wet weather last year that produced a lot of vegetation, and the predicted hot, dry spring and summer that will dry out that growth and create fire fuels, according to state fire management officials.
The Republican governor has a mixed record on the issue of climate change.
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In 2015, Ducey said that, after being briefed by experts, he was convinced the climate is changing.
“It’s going to get warmer here,’’ he said at the time. “What I am skeptical about is what human activity has to do with it.’’
By 2019 he was willing to put aside that skepticism. Ducey told Capitol Media Services then that it only makes sense that people and what they do are having an impact.
“Humans are part of the earth, the environment and the ecosystem,’’ he said. But the governor has shown no interest in changing ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ laws and regulations to reduce greenhouse gases.
In that 2019 interview, Ducey rejected the idea that California should adopt California-style limits on vehicle emissions that are tougher than those required by federal law. Manufacturers have since agreed with California to increase fuel efficiency to reduce all emissions, including greenhouse gases.
“I think you can have a growing economy economy and an improving environment,’’ Ducey said. “That’s what we’re having in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ versus what California’s having, which is a mass exodus.’’
On Thursday, his press aide C.J. Karamargin said Ducey’s view has not changed and that he remains opposed to tightening up vehicle emission standards despite the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency saying transportation is the largest source of greenhouse gases, exceeding electricity generation and industrial sources.
But Karamargin said the state is doing its part.
“ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ is committed to maintaining a diverse energy portfolio which directly impacts the issue,’’ he said. Karamargin also said the state is now home to many firms that can help address the issue, including Lucid Motors, which produces an all-electric vehicle in Casa Grande, and companies that manufacture the lithium-ion batteries necessary for such vehicles.
“If you look at the types of industries, the types of manufacturers we are pursuing and we are getting, there can be no doubt that Gov. Ducey has his eye on the future and the technologies that can address these issues,’’ he said.
