Local Arizona leaders advocate for heat solutions

Arizona leaders are joining forces to address the number one climate issue impacting local families: extreme heat.

Leaders from the City of Phoenix are set to host a national conference on handling heat-related issues. The event is called The 122-Degree Conference, and it’s scheduled for December with the goal of finding solutions to heat effects on health, housing and energy costs.

Taylor Pineda, Vice President of Community Engagement and Impact for Arizona Community Foundation, joined “Arizona Horizon” to discuss how Phoenix could become a global model for heat resilience.

Pineda said The 122-Degree Conference is about mobilizing the community to address issues of extreme heat.

“We know issues of extreme heat impact everyone, and these issues are prevalent across our entire state. We have wonderful community leaders working in nonprofits as well as tribal communities and municipalities all trying to tackle issues, but what we’re finding is that there lacks cohesion in how we’re looking at addressing this,” Pineda said.

Pineda added the convenience of gathering all these individuals to collaborate on exceptional projects and translating them into reality lies in sharing knowledge, resources and aligning investments to scale the solutions. She also added it is a national collaboration.

“There are desert climates across the entire world. How do we look at practices, whether it be the European Union or colleagues in Mexico, that have addressed urban planning in Mexico City?” Pineda asked.

Another topic they’ll discuss is food insecurity. Penida said they can’t just look at it; they need to address how to make food provisions more manageable while ensuring sustainable agriculture and systems for our communities.

“I want to see people from all different walks of life in Arizona, whether it be municipalities, local grassroots, large, incredible institutions, thinking about collective impact and collective solutions, not just from one vantage point but a community-driven perspective,” Pineda said.