The Transportation, Economy and Environment Committee approved the 2025 Strategic Climate Action Plan (SCAP) with a package of amendments that add new reporting requirements, studies and targeted actions for climate mitigation and resilience. The committee voted to forward the amended motion to full council by a recorded vote; Clerk roll call recorded four ayes, no noes, and one excused member for the item. The motion will be considered by the full council after the required notice period.

The approved striking amendment — drafted by Chair Deshaun Quinn and discussed at length in committee — attaches an updated SCAP and requests multiple follow-up reports and ordinances. Notable requests and deadlines included a funding strategy report identifying costs and sources for SCAP actions due October 1, 2026; an annual public-facing climate outcomes dashboard beginning January 31, 2027; a battery energy storage systems (BESS) siting and analysis report due December 31, 2026; an IT and AI environmental impact study due March 31, 2027; and a tree code update ordinance for urban unincorporated areas and rural towns due December 31, 2028. The striker also directed equity impact reports for proposed appliance and disclosure standards before implementation and requested the executive advocate for broader jurisdictional participation in countywide climate partnerships.

Public comment and community input shaped several changes. Dozens of speakers during public comment urged stronger language on tree canopy, aviation health and emissions reporting, and community-driven planning. Speakers included members of the Aviation Community Health Environment and Climate Advocates Coalition (testimony from Sandy Hunt, Eileen Lambert and others), Tree Action Seattle (Sandy Shetler), Climate Solutions (Deepa Sivarajan), local officials including Burien Deputy Mayor Sarah Moore, and others. Testimony covered concerns about aviation-related air pollution and health impacts under SeaTac flight paths, the need for data-driven tree canopy metrics, and stricter standards for sustainable aviation fuels.

Council staff and the executive briefed the committee on the SCAP’s new sections, including a “Sustainable and Resilient Frontline Communities” (SRFC) focus area with new actions and performance measures, a climate preparedness section that addresses sea-level rise, small-dam risk, wildfire risk in the wildland‑urban interface and extreme heat, and the addition of a County Climate and Workforce Strategy to link frontline communities to living-wage employment in clean‑energy and resilience sectors. Staff cautioned that many SRFC performance measures start at zero and will require new funding and data collection to meet 2030 goals.

The Chair’s striker also expanded climate advocacy language in the aviation section to promote accurate aircraft greenhouse gas reporting methodologies, called for lifecycle accounting standards for sustainable aviation fuels and hydrogen, and included a new action to advocate for improvements to ferry pricing and operations to reduce per‑person emissions. The motion accepted the executive’s extreme heat mitigation strategy as county policy (appendix E) and included requests for an extreme heat grant program ordinance if the executive chooses to implement such a program.

Discussion vs. decision: committee members emphasized the distinction between actions that are new policy commitments requiring resources and performance measures that will need staff and funding to implement. Executive staff confirmed they had met with several community groups to refine striker language on greenhouse gas and tree canopy measures; the executive supported some minor additional edits suggested by community groups.

Next steps: the motion as amended will go to full council for consideration after the required public notice period. The requested reports and code updates carry explicit deadlines in the amendment and will inform future budget and policy discussions.