Opinion: Finding hope in Utah’s climate future

In the foothills of the Wasatch Mountains, on the east side of Salt Lake City, there’s a place that gives me — and anybody who visits it — hope.

It’s not a mountain or a stunning vista; it’s a museum exhibit. And unlike most exhibits, it doesn’t focus on the past, but rather on the future.

The Natural History Museum of Utah’s exhibit “A Climate of Hope” explores the profound impact climate change is already having on Utah. It acknowledges the anxiety and fear we experience as we deal with heat waves, intense storms, wildfires and droughts — and the uncertainty we have for our future.

But rather than invoking despair and dread, the exhibit’s message is literally in its name, and the same message I bring to audiences around the world: there is hope for the future.

This hope comes from action, but we must first choose to act.

This week, I’ll be sharing that same message as the keynote speaker at the Conservative Climate Summit.

Now in its third year, the summit — founded by Utah U.S. Rep. John Curtis — convenes lawmakers, scientists, policy advocates and everyday citizens to “explore conservative solutions for energy, economy, and agriculture to strengthen our national security.”

While billed as conservative, summit attendees come from across the political spectrum. Regardless of party or ideology, the hope for a better future is a goal we all share, and one I believe that, together, we can achieve.

Hope may sound rosy, even easy, but it’s not. Real hope requires hard work, determination and resolve. It’s a choice, one Utah can and must make.

As one of fastest-growing states in the country, Utah is at a crossroads. With increasing demand for energy and resources, Utahns must decide how they will power their future.

Utah aims to have 20% of its power come from clean energy by 2025. This is an easily attainable goal for a state so rich in wind, land and sun, and it’s one that the state where I live, Texas, passed long ago!

That goal has become much more achievable in recent years thanks to a pair of landmark laws that together mark the largest U.S. investment in climate action ever.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in 2021 and the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022 unlocked billions of dollars in tax breaks and other resources to allow states to create clean energy futures that make sense for them.

Utah has been no exception. The rPlus Appaloosa Solar project, a 200-megawatt array in southwest Utah, is now complete. It is one of the first in the nation to leverage a tax credit from the Inflation Reduction Act for its construction.

Utah also received $74.4 million in funding from the act to implement its Beehive Emissions Reduction Plan, a statewide initiative to support “locally driven solutions that reduce emissions, support communities, and advance clean energy,” according to the state’s Department of Environmental Quality.

Investments like these are not only good for people’s health and wellbeing by reducing pollution and investing in the local economy; they’re also job creators. In fact, every $1 million invested in clean energy and transportation helps create 8-11 well-paying jobs in Utah.

For many, the instinct to cling to the familiar can override the benefits of the new. But the path to a better future cannot be more of the same; that only fuels our despair for the future. Utah’s tremendous solar, geothermal and energy storage resources provide all that’s needed for an affordable, reliable and clean energy system now. By implementing these resources, we move one step closer to a better and more hopeful future.

It’s a future of job growth and safer, healthier communities, of stronger infrastructure, more resilient water supply, and a more secure world. These are the desires of all Americans, regardless of party, ideology or belief.

The challenges we face today seem daunting, even impossible to overcome. And it’s true, tackling the climate crisis will take hard work. It requires working together. It means embracing new approaches and policies. But only through that choice to act, to embrace a future of clean energy, will we discover what that museum exhibit seeks to inspire in us all: hope.

Katharine Hayhoe is an atmospheric scientist whose research focuses on understanding the impacts of climate change on people and the planet. She is the chief scientist for The Nature Conservancy. She is an endowed professor of public policy and public law at Texas Tech University and served as a lead author for the Second, Third, and Fourth U.S. National Climate Assessments.