Title
Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan Project Briefing
Recommended Action
Information only. No action required.
Report
Issue:
Whether to receive a briefing on the Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan.
Staff Contact:
Rich Hoey, P.E., Public Works Director, 360.753.8495
Susan Clark, Engineering and Planning Supervisor, Public Works Water Resources, 360.753.8321
Presenter:
Susan Clark, Engineering and Planning Supervisor
Background and Analysis:
Regional Climate Mitigation Planning
In April 2018, Thurston County, Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater and Thurston Regional Planning Council (TRPC) signed an Interlocal Agreement to complete Phase I of a regional Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan, with TRPC leading the effort. Phase I work resulted in the following regional greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets:
• 45% below 2015 levels by 2030
• 85% below 2015 levels by 2050
In November 2018, Olympia and the other regional jurisdictions approved a Phase II Interlocal Agreement addressing the development of the Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan.
Regional planning process accomplishments include:
• Steering Committee formed and 12 meetings held (Councilmembers Parshley and Cooper represent Olympia)
• Climate Advisory Workgroup formed and six meetings held
• Public Engagement Strategy approved and initial community outreach completed
• Completed review of the Thurston County Community-wide Greenhouse Gas Inventory
• Development of 300+ potential community-wide climate actions
• Approval of climate action screening criteria by the Steering Committee
• Screening of the 300+ community-wide climate actions across five different sectors (Buildings and Energy; Transportation and Land Use; Water and Waste; Agriculture and Forestry, and; Cross-cutting).
• Steering Committee narrowed the list of 300+ community-wide actions to 71 actions to be analyzed in more detail by the consultant.
• Completed an emissions target analysis which shows that the greenhouse gas emission reduction targets while ambitious, are achievable.
• Publication of a Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan Public Review Draft (Draft Plan) and establishment of a public comment period (ending October 15)
Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan Public Review Draft
The Draft Plan lays out a road map for continuing regional collaboration on reducing local greenhouse gas emissions. It is intended to provide Olympia and its project partners with a suite of solid strategies that will guide next steps, not lock the jurisdictions into specific actions that may not make sense as the details are worked out.
The framework for reducing local greenhouse gas emissions presented in the Draft Plan includes:
• Greening our grid
• Shifting energy sources
• Living lighter
• Storing carbon
• Building local capacity
Each action included in the Draft Plan will require additional work to understand its feasibility, cost and impacts as implementation is considered. As a first step in this work, the project partners have grouped each action into the following general implementation approaches:
• Legislative agenda
• Regionally coordinated
• Individual jurisdiction
• Supporting partner
The Draft Plan can be found on the Thurston Regional Planning Council website (link listed in attachments).
Next Steps
The next steps in the climate mitigation planning process include:
• Steering Committee review of public comment
• Steering Committee approval
• Completion of a Phase III Interlocal Agreement addressing implementation
• Individual jurisdiction review and approval
Neighborhood/Community Interests (if known):
During mitigation planning outreach activities and at mitigation planning meetings, various stakeholders and community members have voiced general support for the planning process and taking action to reduce the region’s greenhouse gas emissions. As the planning process has progressed, stakeholders and community members have begun to express support for specific actions, including those that address energy efficiencies in existing buildings, promote solar and electric vehicles and address transit and growth strategies to move neighborhoods closer to workplaces. Recent input has focused on observations associated with similarities between the current COVID-19 situation and the climate crisis; the need to begin implementation immediately; and, concerns with equity and systemwide sustainability and the high reliance on carbon sequestration to meet the regional greenhouse gas reduction targets.
Options: None at this time. Briefing only.
Financial Impact: None at this time. Implementation of the strategies and actions included in the finalized Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan will likely require resources for additional staff and/or consultant support.
Attachment:
Link to Draft Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan