Tacoma staff report 18% community greenhouse gas decline since 2019; transportation and industrial changes cited

City of Tacoma staff told the Infrastructure Planning and Sustainability Committee on April 9 that the city’s updated community greenhouse gas inventory shows an 18% decline from 2019 levels and that municipal emissions dropped about 16% over the past four years.

Kristi Lynette of the city’s strategic priorities team said the 2023 inventory shows the community is "18% lower than we were in 2020 as a community" on greenhouse gases; the presentation used 2019 as a baseline in narrative comparisons. Staff attributed most of the community decline to lower vehicle miles traveled in the transportation sector, with smaller contributions from an uptake in electric vehicles and improved vehicle fuel efficiency. Lynette also reported a municipal emissions decrease tied to city fleet and facilities work and said a public dashboard with inventory detail should be available via the city website before the end of the month.

Why it matters

The inventory and the draft update to the Climate Action Plan establish the city’s near-term priorities for reducing emissions and building resilience. Committee members said the slide showing the relative contribution of each sector—transportation, buildings, industry and municipal operations—helped clarify where reductions can be most effective and where the city should focus resources.

Key facts from the briefing

- Community greenhouse gas emissions: staff reported an 18% decline compared with the 2019/2020 baseline as shown in the 2023 inventory presentation. - Municipal emissions: staff reported a 16% reduction for city-controlled emissions (fleet and facilities) over the last four years. - Transportation: staff said most of the community reductions are tied to declines in vehicle miles traveled; electrification and fuel-efficiency gains played a smaller role. - Industry: staff noted that industrial emissions fell in part because WestRock, a local industrial facility, curtailed operations in late 2023; 2024 data show further reductions in industrial emissions. - Inventory cadence: staff said the city performs a greenhouse-gas inventory roughly every four to five years; the current update used 2023 data.

Near-term actions and public outreach

Lynette presented a draft set of near-term, mid-term and long-term actions aligned to seven climate objectives, and staff asked the committee for feedback on those draft actions. Near-term items include prioritized actions that staff and city departments plan to pursue first, while long-term items remain for future resourcing or partnership work. Committee members asked staff to make the plan more digestible to the public and suggested highlighting a smaller set of visible, relatable priorities when communicating to residents.

Staff also outlined an outreach schedule: a multi-jurisdictional workshop with the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency and Pierce County was planned for the week following the meeting, community feedback was solicited through the end of April via an online survey, and staff expected to return with a final action update and a joint study session with the Tacoma Public Utilities board in May. Lynette said staff aim to bring a resolution adopting the updated near-term actions to council in June.

Additional items

Lynette flagged several timely programs and events: the state’s e-bike rebate application period opened the day of the meeting (two-week application window; income-qualified vouchers $1,200, non-income-qualified $300, with a lottery-based award), an April 22 celebration for newly installed EV chargers, and the South Sound Sustainability Expo on April 26. She also said a Tableau dashboard with the inventory detail would be posted on the city website before the end of the month.

Committee reaction and next steps

Members praised staff for the visual presentation of inventory results and asked for clearer public-facing messaging that highlights a short list of priorities the public can see and assess. Committee members also suggested staff clarify how long-term actions would move into near-term implementation and recommended an iterative cadence for updating actions and tracking progress. Staff said they anticipate returning in about three years for the next three-year action update and will publish an annual progress report on Earth Day that tracks each action’s status.