Environment

Regional climate mitigation plan moves forward

Cost of mitigation worries some local officials

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Lacey - Back in April 2018, the Lacey City Council signed an interlocal agreement with Thurston County, Olympia, and Tumwater to complete Phase 1 of a regional climate mitigation plan and come up with an emissions target. It recommended a 45% reduction of 2015 greenhouse gas levels by 2030 and an 85% reduction by 2050.

The Phase 2 planning process began last year, and the public was invited to comment on what should be done to reduce carbon emissions, according to Associate Planner Jessica Brandt, who presented the climate mitigation plan to city staff last week. The steering committee and advisory work group helped reduce a list of 300 recommendations to 72, Brandt said.

City documents state that the adopted emission reduction targets are achievable, but only with significant attention on many fronts. Existing state-wide policies and laws will significantly reduce future emissions, primarily through the Clean Energy Transition Act (CETA), which Governor Inslee signed last year. Under CETA, by 2045 Washington state’s electricity supply will come from green sources only.

 Building code revisions will also help reduce emission levels, as will more widespread use of electric vehicles and tougher fuel economy standards. “Electricity is our largest source of local emission and transportation is where local government action can affect the largest reductions,” said Brandt.

Lacey city staff voiced their concerns about not receiving accurate feedback from the community as the proposed plan focuses a lot on public engagement on online platforms. Staff conjectured that some members of the public would be reluctant to share their opinions online.

There were also concerns about cost. “An overwhelming majority of homes within the city limits of Lacey, Tumwater and Olympia use natural gas to heat their homes,” Councilmember Ed Kunkel told the JOLT. “Phasing out the use of natural gas for future infrastructure … will increase the cost of using natural gas in the short term, and property owners will have to convert their systems in the future to electric heating sources.”

At the meeting, Councilmember Lenny Greenstein pointed out that there is not enough affordable housing in the region “and a lot of things in the mitigation plan will drive up the housing prices.” Greenstein said that mitigation makes construction more expensive and that cost ends up making rents higher.            

climate, emissions, Lacey, greenhouse gases, natural gas

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