Tumwater reviews draft climate element, highlights state targets and local health disparities

City staff presented the Tumwater City Council with a draft update to the comprehensive plan’s climate element during the July 22 work session, outlining state requirements for greenhouse gas reduction and resilience planning and summarizing public feedback and a Climate Policy Advisory Team prioritization. Alyssa, city planning staff, led the presentation.

The draft addresses two state-required subelements. "We need to have overall greenhouse gas emissions, generated by land use and transportation, lowered to be consistent with Washington state statewide target of net 0 emissions by 2050," Alyssa said, describing the greenhouse gas emissions reduction subelement. She added that the plan must reduce per-capita vehicle miles traveled "without exporting that outside of our jurisdiction boundaries" and prioritize reductions that benefit overburdened communities.

The resilience subelement must "address natural…