Six years ago, we joined together to create the Utah Climate and Clean Air Compact, a commitment to keeping Utah healthy and thriving in the face of major challenges facing our communities, namely a changing climate and air quality. The compact honored our proud legacy of being responsible stewards who look hard problems in the eye and lead with collaborative solutions. That shared legacy has never mattered more than it does right now.
This summer is a reminder that our climate and air quality challenges remain urgent issues. Once again, we are facing wildfires, record-breaking heat and a winter with very little snow that not only hurts the ski and tourism industries but also threatens the water that our communities rely on.
Extreme heat is arriving earlier and staying longer, straining our grid on the very days we need it most. Wildfire seasons start earlier and go longer, fed by drought-stressed landscapes. And the Great Salt Lake continues to shrink, threatening the health of everyone downwind and the future of the economy we built around it. Our communities are calling for leadership at this moment, knowing that this moment calls for our best.
The good news is that many of the solutions to these challenges have major benefits for our health and our prosperity. For example, when we make our homes and buildings more energy efficient, we lower utility bills and make housing more affordable. When we build homegrown, fuel-free renewables like solar, geothermal and storage, we cut heat-trapping emissions to safeguard our vital snowpack while also locking in stable energy prices that are not at the mercy of price swings.
When we use water conservatively, we keep more water in our rivers and the Great Salt Lake. When we modernize our electricity grid with new transmission lines and grid-enhancing technologies, we make our electricity system more resilient and flexible in the face of wildfires. And when we choose cleaner vehicles and develop more walkable and bikeable communities, we clean the air while saving families money at the pump. Prosperity and environmental stewardship go hand in hand.
As we look around, there is real momentum to build on. Business leaders and faith organizations are working together to get more water back into our Great Salt Lake. Utah communities are bringing more renewables online through a locally driven Community Clean Energy Program.
Utah just brought online one of the largest solar and battery storage facilities in the West in Emery County, and we are poised to lead the country in developing next-generation geothermal resources in Beaver County. These are examples of exactly the kind of innovation and pragmatism that makes Utah so special.
We are making great strides, but the simple truth is that we are not moving fast enough. We must do more to bring down emissions, conserve our water resources and prepare our communities for more wildfires and unpredictable weather. Our next chapter as a state and as a country will be defined by how we meet this moment. Now is the time to speed up and scale up what we know works. That is why we are renewing our pledge to keep climate, water and air quality at the forefront of our decisions and to champion solutions that protect not only our economy but the prosperity and well-being of our communities, our children, and our grandchildren.
As the Climate and Clean Air Compact states, leadership on climate, air quality and the Great Salt Lake is not only a necessity, but also an opportunity to demonstrate that we have what it takes to solve these interrelated challenges. As we renew our pledge, we invite you to join us in tackling these challenges by joining the Climate and Clean Air Compact.
Let us act now, not later. Let us plan boldly, work together and move beyond partisanship to build a Utah that is stronger, healthier and more prosperous for this generation and for generations to come.