Title
Climate Program Update
Recommended Action
Committee Recommendation:
Not referred to a committee.
City Manager Recommendation:
Receive an update on the Olympia Climate Program.
Report
Issue:
Whether to receive an update on Olympia's Climate Program.
Staff Contact:
Pamela Braff, PhD, Director of Climate Programs, Office of Community Vitality, 360.753.8249
Presenter(s):
Pamela Braff, PhD, Director of Climate Programs
Background and Analysis:
Established in 2021, the City of Olympia's Climate Program is responsible for leading and coordinating the implementation of the Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan, the Olympia Sea Level Rise Response Plan, and other actions necessary to achieve the City's climate goals. This includes developing programs, plans, and policies to reduce local greenhouse gas emissions (climate mitigation) and prepare for the current and future effects of climate change (climate adaptation).
The Climate Program works across all city departments and with regional partners to advance Olympia's climate goals. Two major regional partnerships include the Thurston Climate Mitigation Collaborative (TCMC) and the Olympia Sea Level Rise Response Collaborative (SLR Collaborative).
Thurston Climate Mitigation Collaborative
Thurston County and the cities of Olympia, Lacey, and Tumwater have been working together since 2018 to reduce regional greenhouse emissions. In 2018, the four partner jurisdictions began working together to develop a regional climate mitigation strategy; and adopted shared targets to reduce locally generated greenhouse gas emissions 45% below 2015 levels by 2030 and 85% below 2015 levels by 2050. In 2020, the partners finalized the Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan (TCMP), a regional framework to significantly reduce local greenhouse gas emissions. The TCMP includes more than 20 strategies and 70 actions to reduce local contributions to climate change.
In 2023, the jurisdiction partners updated the TCMP implementation s...
Click here for full text