The Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) in Arizona just passed a bold climate action plan—and the effort was spearheaded by student activists.
In a 3-2 vote Tuesday night, the TUSD board adopted a plan to cut its emissions in half by 2030 and to reach net-zero emissions by 2040. To do that, it will audit its greenhouse gas emissions (including Scope 1, 2, and 3) within one year; electrify its entire bus fleet by 2040 (while also incentivizing staff and students to walk, bike, or take public transit); fully electrify all its buildings by 2035; offer plant-based meal options daily by 2028; and reach net-zero food waste by 2040 (as well as phase out single-use plastics in its food service).
The climate plan also mandates that 95% of TUSD facilities have designated cooling room by 2027, as well as monitor all indoor and outdoor temperatures across campuses, as part of an Extreme Heat Preparedness Plan to adapt to Arizona’s rising temperatures; and that the district reduce its water use 25% by 2035, by implementing rainwater harvesting and drought-tolerant landscaping.
Finally, it includes a climate education component, requiring that the district commit to a climate curriculum for all grade levels by 2027. (TUSD has about 47,000 students across grades K through 12.) For high school students, that climate education will focus on sustainability and environmental science; younger students will participate in hands-on learning through projects like school gardens.
The full resolution even includes commitments to electrify lawn mowers and leaf blowers, a pledge to consider installing battery storage, and a requirement to reach 100% clean energy usage by 2035.
The plan was researched and drafted by the Arizona Youth Climate Coalition (AZYCC), a youth-led organization that fights for climate action and climate justice across the state. Members of that group, ranging in age from 13 to 20 years old, have been working on the TUSD climate plan for the past year and a half. They started writing the resolution, and reaching out to the board, in July 2023. Of AZYCC’s 90 student members, about 15 worked on this resolution, 9 of whom were current TUSD students or graduates.
“This victory isn’t just for our school district—it’s a beacon of hope for young people everywhere fighting for their future,” Ojas Sanghi, the Tucson colead of the Arizona Youth Climate Coalition, said in a statement. “We’ve shown that students have the power to lead the charge on climate action and create meaningful, systemic change.”
The climate resolution is one of the boldest for a school district in the country. But it isn’t totally alone; other school districts have taken up climate plans in recent years.
Portland Public Schools in Oregon, for example, passed a policy in 2022 requiring the district to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2040 through actions like electrifying its bus fleet, modernizing buildings, and adding greenery to school grounds, and also mandated the district prioritize plant-based meals. In 2019, the Los Angeles Unified School District committed to achieving 100% renewable energy for its electricity needs by 2030, and for things like transportation and heating by 2040. Schools across the country have also been implementing more climate education, including such colleges as Arizona State University, which now requires all undergrads to take a sustainability course.
While the Arizona Youth Climate Coalition’s plan did pass, it was contentious. The meeting on Tuesday saw about an hour of debate, including over the plan’s costs. AZYCC estimates it’ll take about $900 million to implement, though during the meeting they said they would get a third-party consultant to do a more in-depth analysis.
Though the cost of climate mitigation and adaptation can be high, it’s not as expensive as the cost of doing nothing. According to one estimate, climate change could cost the world $38 trillion a year by 2049. For an American born in 2024, climate change could cost them $500,000 to $1 million, because the climate crisis will affect energy infrastructure, damage housing, disrupt food systems, and more. Arizona is already seeing climate impacts directly; Phoenix experienced 100 days of 100-plus-degree temperatures this past summer, and the state has been battling water shortages for decades.
The schools are also struggling in the face of climate change. High temperatures in particular are stressing school infrastructure; thousands of school buildings need upgrades. And that’s affecting students’ abilities to learn.
Students also overwhelmingly care about climate change—and are increasingly pushing for action. “This plan was researched, written, and defended by teenagers, from start to finish,” Tanish Doshi, outreach director of the Arizona Youth Climate Coalition, said in a statement. “I can’t overstate what it means to see the plan pass. This victory shows that young people have power and that adults are waking up to the immediate, extreme threat of the climate crisis.”