Climate News 2025

Climate News 12.14.25

Seattle

The City Council will vote on the Comprehensive Plan on Tuesday, Dec 16 at 2pm. The Connected Communities Coalition is inviting people to come to City Hall in person to comment,  or, if you can't, to send an email to City Council.

Port of Seattle

Burien, Des Moines and SeaTac are suing the Port of Seattle over the proposed airport expansion (Seattle Times, paywall). They are challenging the findings of non-significance in the Environment Impact Statement. Seatac Airport had a record-breaking year in 2024, and is on track to break new records in number of passenger flights this year as well.

State

The State is facing huge budget deficits, and will likely have to make budget cuts. But could this also be the year that we get a state income tax? Sen Saldaña and Rep Scott have proposed a JumpStart-style payroll tax for the state (Seattle Times, paywall); this is like an income tax for high earners, but is applied to their employer and not them. Some legislators have been hinting that they may try for a straight income tax, as almost all other states already have.

Elsewhere

Economists released a report on how much climate change is costing the average American household right now (HeatMap, requires login), and found that costs range from $400 to $900 a year, depending on how much extreme weather is attributed to climate change. One big cost driver is increases in home insurance, and health impacts from wildfire smoke are also significant. The costs of climate mitigation and adaptation fall most heavily on the poor, but so do the impacts.

Trump is rolling back fuel efficiency requirements for new vehicles (NYTimes, paywall). The new plan "would require automakers to achieve an average of 34.5 miles per gallon for cars and light trucks in model year 2031, down from the standard of 50.4 miles per gallon set by the Biden administration." Trump's goal is to make gas cars cheaper, and this change will also reduce income for EV makers who previously made a significant amount of income from reselling fuel efficiency credits.

The EPA is delaying requirements for the oil and gas industry to limit emissions of methane (NYTimes, paywall), and may cancel these requirements altogether. Methane is a major pollutant, with about 80 times more warming impact than CO2. The new regulations were slated to begin this year, and are now delayed until 2027.

What the Air You Breathe May Be Doing to Your Brain (NYTimes, paywall). More evidence that air pollution, much of which comes from private vehicles, is causing significant negative impacts to human health, including dementia as well as heart disease.

Climate News 11.25.25

Seattle

City Council has passed the budget (Publicola). Climate spending was down overall, and the budget failed to address the large structural deficits in future years caused by one-time funds used to pay for ongoing expenses. This will be a big issue for the incoming mayor and for the city.

Mayor-elect Katie Wilson has appointed leaders for the transition team (Seattle Times, paywall), including people who are experienced in Seattle government, as well as people with experience in political organizing. "The five leaders — director Andrés Mantilla and co-chairs Brian Surratt, Tiffani McCoy, Karen Estevenin and Quynh Pham — include a progressive organizer for publicly owned housing, the first labor figure to back Wilson’s candidacy, an advocate for Little Saigon in the Chinatown International District, and two political alums of past mayoral administrations." Seattle Nice recently interviewed Mayor-elect Wilson on her immediate plans.

King County

The new Executive Girmay Zahilay has fired 100 of 133 executive-appointed commisions (Publicola). Some turnover was to be expected, but this looks like a break with the old order. A list of the positions affected was not available, so there's no way to know whether the director or other people in the Climate Office were laid off, but a job interest form on Zahilay's campaign website includes "Climate/Environment".

Sound Transit

Sound Transit is looking for ways to save money after cost estimates for the West Seattle and Ballard links lines went up. Currently on the chopping block: two infill stations  (The Urbanist), Graham St. in South Seattle and Boeing Access Road in Tukwila where costs are high compared to Pinehurst Station at 130th between Northgate and Shoreline which is further along and cheaper. Further, the Avalon Station on the West Seattle line may also be shelved.

State

A leak in the  Olympic Pipeline is causing major disruption in delivery of gasoline and jet fuel in Washington and Oregon (Seattle Times, paywall). Both states have issued emergency declarations to insure fuel delivery by other alternatives (e.g., truck or barge). Airlines are responding by having incoming flights come in more fully fueled, and in rarer cases, by making additional fueling stops. Both of these alternatives push up emissions, and are likely to also push up prices at the pump. In related news, the State just handed down a $3.8M fine for a leak in the same pipeline in 2023. The pipeline operators were negligent by using materials that degrade in the presence of fuel.

The Washington State Climate Office reported that September 2025 was the warmest September in the state since at least 1895 (Bluesky). Temperatures were +5.2ºF above normal statewide for the month. 

Elsewhere

Two LNG export facilities are being planned in British Columbia in Squamish and Delta (Vancouver Sun). Together, these two projects would increase production from 100,000 tons per year to 6 million in order to export 60 times as much LNG as they do now.  To serve these new export facilities, we would get about 200 more tankers per year in the Salish Sea.

Amtrak Breaks Ridership Records Nationally and in Pacific Northwest (The Urbanist). Amtrak ridership hit record highs, up overall by 5% nationwide since last year, and up 1.4% for Amtrak Cascades west coast service. Amtrak also did well in ticket sales, with a 10.4% increase over last year. Locally, Amtrak has invested in new trains which have high maximum speeds, but the tracks have to be upgraded to take full advantage of that.

London is raising the price of its congestion zone by 20% (The Guardian); vehicles will start paying from £15-18 per day to drive in central London. For the first time, EVs will have to pay as well, although they will get a discounted rate. The goal is to reduce traffic congestion; "the mayor, Sadiq Khan, said that without the shake-up, another 2,200 vehicles would be driving in the zone on an average weekday."

Climate News 11.11.25

Seattle

Election results are in (mostly). As of this writing, Katie Wilson has pulled ahead of Bruce Harrell in the Mayor's race, but a recount is possible. Results for the City Council are more clear. Dionne Foster will replace Sara Nelson, Eddie Lin will replace Mark Solomon, and Alexis Mercedes Rinck will continue on the Council. Eddie Lin will be seated almost immediately, because he is filling Tammy Morales's vacant seat. During the rest of this year, the Council will approve a budget, and consider other new legislation in Dec. In the new Year, the new Council will elect a new President, and may also reorganize the committee memberships and structure. One big task for next year: approving zoning changes for the Comprehensive Plan.

A new Better Bus Lanes coalition has formed, headlined by Councilmember Rinck. It calls for faster buses throughout the city, and specifically for:

• Two-way bus lanes on Denny Way from Queen Anne Avenue to Stewart St.

• Make  the temporary 24/7 bus lanes on Aurora Avenue permanent

• Expand bus reliability progress on Rainier Avenue 

The coalition includes Transportation Choices Coalition, Amalgamated Transit Union 587, Transit Riders Union, Aurora Reimagined Coalition, Fix the L8, and Central Seattle Greenways.

King County

Part of the County's new electrification plan is to put more emphasis on electric trolley-buses; the electric buses that run on overhead trolley lanes instead of requiring large batteries. The Urbanist reported recently on some of this work in Metro Plans Trolleybus Investments, with Long Implementation Timelines. Route 2 and Route 12 have historically run on electric trolleys, but these were suspended during work on RapidRide G along Madison. Route 2 has some overhead lines that need to be restored, and then electric trolleys can resume service in about a year. Route 12 has been rerouted along Pine St, and it needs new overhead lines installed there, which is not expected until 2029. And Route 48, which Metro and the City have been working towards electrification for the last 10 years, won't be ready until 2032. These long timelines for just 3 routes call into question how long until most Metro lines can be electrified.

State

The State is suing the Federal Government over the cancellation of a $7 billion program to help low income and disadvantaged households get solar panels (Seattle Times, paywall). The State was awarded $156 million of this money, as part of the Inflation Reduction Act. The Trump Administration has terminated the program and failed to provide the funds. Washington is joining with 23 other states to restore funding.

Elsewhere

The UN reports that global CO2 levels jumped a record amount to hit a new high, and as of 2024 we are now at 424ppm. The increase of 3.5 ppm in one year is the most since monitoring began in 1957. We know that people are continuing to burn fossil fuels at high levels, and that there have been high levels of emissions from forest fires, particularly in North America. The recent leap may also be due to the natural ecosystem reaching capacity and absorbing less carbon emissions than previously into the ocean and into growing plants. Emissions of methane and nitrous oxide, the two other main greenhouse gas pollutants, also grew by record levels in 2024.

California has enacted a Transit Oriented Development law that establishes state zoning standards around train stations and major bus stops to allow for midrise homes within a half mile of major transit stops, and allows local transit agencies to develop on land they own. This bill is similar to Washington's SB 5466 passed last session.

A report on the "Electrotech Revolution" from Ember Tech (Kingsmill Bond) summarizes the successes of clean energy: "Fossil demand has been flat for industrial energy since 2014, for buildings since 2018, for road transport since 2019, and may peak for electricity this year. Two-thirds of countries have already seen peak fossil demand in end-use sectors, and half the world has seen a peak in fossil fuels for electricity. China is the pivot nation in the global system, and fossil electricity demand in China is down 2% in the first half of 2025. If current trends continue in renewables deployment and electrification, fossil fuel demand will be in decline by 2030."

Massachusetts has a pilot program that allows 10 cities to require new buildings be all-electric, and they are considering allowing another 10 cities to join the pilot. Cities that have banned gas have been able to continue to build new housing at comparable levels to other cities.

Climate News 10.5.25

Seattle

New census data on commuting for 2024 shows that rates of people biking and walking are up sharply (Seattle Times, paywall). Biking to work is up 32%, walking to work is up 29%, and driving alone is up 7%. Correspondingly, in 2024 fewer people were working from home (down 13%) and fewer people were carpooling (down 21%) compared to 2023. Those numbers may be changing again for 2025, as Amazon and other workplaces went to requiring 5 days a week in the office at the start of 2025. A previous study notes that the number of cars in Seattle has held steady, while the population has increased. These two data trends point to a need to reassess traffic studies, which are used to estimate future usage when doing road design.

SDOT did a quick pivot this week; after announcing the removal of a new bus lane at 12th & E. Union, it said the bus lane would stay after hearing from residents who were opposed. The new bus lane was part of the work for RapidRide G, and will serve the Route 2 which runs from Madrona to upper Queen Anne. The bus lane had gone through a long approval process, but use of the bus lane was on hold waiting on installation of a pedestrian crossing light. Local business groups, opposed to the bus lane, lobbied for its removal. A letter writing campaign, led by the Transit Riders Union, sent over 400 letters of support to the Mayor and Council. (The Urbanist).

SDOT issued a report on the Seattle Transit Measure, which was renewed in 2020, and will come up for renewal again in 2026. It raises $50M each year through sales taxes, and the majority of the funds are spent on additional bus service hours, so that Seattle bus frequency is higher than the base Metro service levels. It also funds transit infrastructure, such as bus lanes and head start lights, and reduced fare programs.

King County

The draft King County Metro budget proposes pushing bus electrification plans out by a few years, and thereby delaying a fiscal cliff. Electrification costs include refitting all the Metro bus bases for recharging, as well as replacing retiring diesel buses with battery electric. Costs for this are high, and the County was facing tradeoffs between maintaining services and electrifying. However, the fiscal problems are put off, not avoided, since even without electrification the County is facing rising costs and the need to expand service for a growing population. (The Urbanist).

State

Newsom signed California's recent renewal of their Cap-and-Trade bill into law, paving the way for linkage of Washington's carbon market with California and Quebec. An article in Politico interviews Reuven Carlyle, the prime sponsor of the Washington Cap-and-Invest bill on this topic.

Elsewhere

Basel instituted a car buyback program. Residents receive a $1900 credit they can use for public transit, bike share, or bike purchase in exchange for deregistering their car and promising to not use a car for 3 years.  The canton has allocated almost $1M, or enough for 400 participants. The campaign is intended to help achieve Basel’s climate protection target of “net zero by 2037”.

A borough in Montreal is now charging larger cars a bigger parking fee (Bloomberg). The weight thresholds are higher for electric or hybrid cars, and those with disabilities or low incomes pay the bottom rate no matter what they drive. As the average size of vehicles grow, there is less room for people to park, and research had shown this can be as much as 10-20% fewer parking spots depending on the size of the cars.

Climate News 9.23.25

Seattle

The City Council passed "phase 1" of the Comprehensive Plan, in a marathon three day session that included voting on over 100 different proposed amendments. The Plan that is passed is more or less compatible with the current status quo, with the biggest changes being a result of the State's new Middle Housing Bill which allows 4 to 6 plexes in previously single family zones. That was approved in a previous vote, this one was concerned with Neighborhood Centers and the Plan as a whole. The Council voted to reduce the size of proposed neighborhood centers in Fauntleroy (Saka), Morgan Junction (Saka), Madrona (Hollingsworth), and Ravenna (Rivera). Proposed shrinkages for Bryant and Wedgewood failed, as did an amendment from Rinck to restore all the neighborhood centers removed by Harrell. The Council decided to continue minimum parking mandates (so builders are required to add parking), but did decide to move forward sooner with compliance with the new state law capping parking mandates. The net effect of the amendments was to reduce the amount of growth that the Mayor had approved. (See articles from Publicola, The Urbanist, Seattle Times (paywall).

A personal note:

It feels like the Comp Plan process has been going on forever, and this is unlikely to be the end of it. No substantive issues have been settled; those who want more growth will try for it in future years, and those who want to prevent growth will gird up in opposition, and there is no plan for how or whether to protect trees growing on private land. It does seem clear to me that renters are now the majority, and over time they are unlikely to be satisfied to be stuck on arterials. This plan, once again, allows for a lot less housing than jobs, and whether either housing or jobs come is largely dependent on the economy.

The Council is showing a lot of district-wise thinking in how it is going forward. Amendments on shrinking neighborhood centers were brought forward by Councilmembers representing those districts, while other Councilmembers mostly didn't challenge their proposals. Over time, I have some concerns that this will lead to growth continuing to be concentrated in certain areas instead of being spread around the city, and thus creating deeper divides between neighborhoods.

The Mayor has released a draft budget for 2026. The City Council will take it up starting on Thursday with a presentation from the budget director. "The proposed budget allocates $17.2 million in payroll tax-supported funding to the Green New Deal... For 2026, the proposed budget increases the Environmental Justice Fund by $200,000, bringing the fund to $1,250,000 and supporting additional community grants. Other payroll tax-Green New Deal (GND) programming in OSE continues unchanged, including $8 million for Clean Buildings and the Building Emissions Performance Standards (BEPS) program, $800,000 for Clean Heat Program rebates for oil-to-electric heating conversions, $1,000,000 for Clean Energy Apprenticeships, $500,000 for Duwamish Valley Program Youth Leadership, and $600,000 for urban forestry, including $300,000 for greening industrial areas in the Duwamish Valley. Green New Deal funding in other City departments also continues unchanged for 2026, including $1.8 million in the Office of Housing (OH) oil-to-electric heating conversions for low-income households and $1.1 million in 2026 in FAS to cover debt service costs for Electric Vehicle charging station buildouts. Citywide climate initiatives are also supported by over $37 million in state and federal grants awarded since 2023."

King County

The Transportation, Economy and Environment Committee approved the update to the Strategic Climate Action Plan (SCAP), with some amendments to what the Executive had proposed. Some of the amendments include:

• "Supercharging" K4C, the County-Cities Climate Alliance

• Planning work for more transit funding, including looking at using the County authority to raise funds, and to look at a possible ballot measure for Metro Connects.

Region

Puget Sound Clean Air Agency (PSCAA) will be releasing its Draft Climate Plan for the central Puget Sound region in early October, and the plan will be available for public review and input here.  The process starts with a webinar on October 6th, and comments on the plan are due by Oct. 26.

Register here for the Oct. 6 kickoff workshop to get an overview of the plan and the comment process. Along with the state climate plan that had a comment period in July and August, this regional plan (https://pscleanair.gov/707/Comprehensive-Climate-Action-Plan-Online) is another opportunity to provide your feedback. (Thanks to Tim Gould for passing this along).

Elsewhere

The California state legislature has passed a slew of bills that are now awaiting signing by the Governor. These include:

• Transit-oriented development. Allow new apartment buildings up to seven stories within a walkable half-mile of many major train, light-rail, subway and high-frequency rapid bus stations — even if local zoning restrictions would otherwise ban such dense development. 

• Extend the Cap and Trade program to 2045. This one is a necessary step for linkage with Washington's carbon market, and includes some reforms.

• Expand oil drilling in Kern County. Blanket approval for drilling in Kern County and some rules around restarting pipelines. Aimed at reducing the cost of gasoline.

• Allow California to join regional electricity markets to allow it to sell excess electricity from solar to other states. This move could end up reducing the cost of electricity in Washington.

Climate News 9.5.25

Seattle

City Councilmembers have put forward amendments to the City's draft Comprehensive Plan. They will be hearing public comments on the amendments on Sept 12; remote testimony will begin at 9:30am, and in person testimony will begin at 3pm. For remote testimony, sign in here, starting at 8:30am. For in person testimony, sign in at the Council chambers in City Hall. There are over 100 proposed amendments (see here). Here are some supported by Futurewise:

• Amendment 34: Eight new neighborhood centers in Broadview, South Wedgwood,  Loyal Heights, Gasworks, Nickerson, Roanoke, Dawson, and Alki. 

• Amendments 60 + 63: Affordable Housing Density Bonuses (citywide and in low rise zones) 

• Amendment 86: Eliminating parking mandates near frequent transit

• Amendment 89: Allow all residential lots to use the stacked flat bonus and increases the bonus 

• Amendment 91: Trees and Density stacked flat bonus, which would boost up homes for stacked flats to retain trees or have a higher Green Factor

The City is now projecting a revenue shortfall of about $150M; this is an improvement over the previous projection from June which estimated a $240M shortfall. The change is a result in shifting the economic forecast from the pessimistic model to a baseline model, and the new numbers are what the Mayor and Council will use in planning the new two year budget (see article from Publicola). The Mayor is expected to release a draft budget later this month.

Sound Transit

Sound Transit is preparing to open an extension beyond Angle Lake to Federal Way on Dec. 6, including three new stations, Kent/Des Moines, Star Lake, and Federal Way Downtown.  The target date for connecting the East Link in Bellevue to Seattle is now April 25, 2026.

The Sound Transit Board is planning a major reset due to a $30-40 billion budget shortfall for ST3 projects, including the extensions to West Seattle and Ballard. Sound Transit will update its System Plan, Long Range Plan, and its Long Range Financial Plan, all by the end of next year. (see Urbanist article here). According to the Urbanist, "The work ahead represents what is likely to be the most important 18 months for Sound Transit since the early 2000s, when the fledgling regional transit system was rescued from the brink of financial ruin .. fundamental assumptions related to the buildout of the ST3 network are set to be put on the table, including the plan’s most expensive project — a new tunnel between SoDo and Interbay through Downtown Seattle as a part of Ballard Link".

State

Washington joined 18 other states to sue the Federal Government over funding cuts to grid resilience, energy efficiency and affordability programs. Previously, states would negotiate with the Federal Government over payments, and now the Feds are capping their assistance at 10%. According to Attorney General Nick Brown,  "At risk in Washington state is wildfire mitigation work, long-range planning efforts with utilities, infrastructure protection work and efficiency programs to cut costs for businesses, utilities and local governments" (Seattle Times, paywall).

The State Supreme Court announced it would rule on the constitutionality of Initiative 2066, which limited the State's ability to regulate methane (natural gas). King County Superior Court ruled that the initiative was too broad and violated the single-subject rule for initiatives, and the initiative's backers appealed the decision. The Supreme Court has not yet scheduled a hearing on I-2066. (Seattle Times, paywall).

An op-ed in the Seattle Times addressed the need for the State to coordinate planning for new transmission lines, in order to insure grid reliability and progress on electrification. This was a bill before the Legislature last session that was not approved; it will likely be renewed in the next session.

Elsewhere

Boston released a draft version of their new Climate Action Plan. Boston has been a leader on several fronts, especially flood protection on coastal waters. Buildings are almost two thirds of their total emissions, in contrast to Seattle where it's less than half. The plan list several policies Boston already does that Seattle could consider:

• Several bus routes are free to ride.

• All new affordable housing financed by the City must be all-electric and fossil-fuel free.

• All new buildings must be net zero upon opening.

Many of Boston's proposed new policies are ones Seattle is also considering, some that caught my eye include:

• Set up a stakeholder group to identify challenges and solutions for decarbonizing restaurants

• Incentives for affordable housing providers to switch from gas to electric stoves

• Explore a role for district energy solutions

Denver recently passed an initiative that makes the city responsible for maintaining sidewalks. Like Seattle and 77% of other American cities, Denver previously required the property owner to maintain the sidewalk, but never cited property owners for inadequate maintenance. Under the new plan, most property owners will pay $150 per year, and the city will use the money to repair and create new sidewalks where sidewalks are missing. Seattle is funding sidewalk maintenance from the Transportation Levy, and recently SDOT reported their progress in these slides.

Climate News 8.3.25

Seattle

The Council appointed Debra Juarez to replace Cathy Moore as Councilmember for District 5 in north Seattle. The vote was 8-1, with Councilmember Rinck voting for Nilu Jenks.  Juarez brings a wealth of experience having previously represented D5 before Moore. Juarez pledged to largely defer to Moore’s policy direction on the upcoming Seattle Comprehensive Plan votes; Moore wanted less growth and no new neighborhood centers for D5.

Home prices in Seattle are up since last June by 2.2%. The median home price in Seattle is over $1 million, and greater Seattle has the third highest median home price of any city in the country at $766,725. Real estate experts see continuing high demand, and prices are limited only by people's ability to pay. Prices have been increasing even though more homes are coming onto the market because there is a lot of pent up demand from previous years, and the job market here continues to be strong.

Sound Transit

Sound Transit approved an updated timeline for the Federal Way Link Extension from Angle Lake, with a new opening date "as soon as winter 2025", and they reaffirmed the Crosslake Connection start time of "early 2026" to connect the east Link with Seattle across I-90. The Federal Way Extension will add three new stations serving Kent, Des Moines, Star Lake, and downtown Federal Way, with stops near Highline College, Star Lake, and South 320th Street.

State

For the first time, the Dept of Commerce has banned a company from participation in the Climate Commitment Act carbon market (Seattle Times, paywall). The company, Climate Care Innovations, was going to sell carbon offsets, and has refused to pay the fine and says it will sue the state.

Skagit County is working on electrifying the ferry to Guemes Island, and is running into community opposition. They received 58 comments, of which 1 was in favor of the change, and 57 were concerned about the battery catching fire, and reduced area for parking and other vehicle needs. Clearly there's a need for increased advocacy for local projects!

Elsewhere

A 'clean, healthy and sustainable environment' is a human right according to the International Court of Justice, the United Nation's highest court. Countries that fail to protect the planet from climate change could be in violation of international law, and nations that are harmed by climate change could be entitled to reparations. Activists could bring lawsuits against their own countries for failing to comply with the decision.

The US Interior Department released a new order saying it may no longer issue any permits to wind and solar projects on federal land unless the agency believes it will generate as much energy per acre as a coal, gas, or nuclear power plant. "Hypothetically, this could kill off any solar or wind project going through permitting that is sited on federal lands, because these facilities would technically be less energy dense than coal, gas, and nuclear plants." And it could apply to new transmission as well "Projects that begin on private land but must cross public land — such as transmission lines that connect solar and wind to other power lines carrying electricity to populated areas — require authorization from Interior’s Bureau of Land Management." [Politico, Heatmap (paywall)]

Letting People Move, a study from the Climate & Community Institute details the costs, monetarily, in health outcomes, in land use, in increased emissions, and in time, to our current transportation spending formulas, and advocates for moving spending from solutions based on roads and individual vehicles to rail and public transit generally.

Boston may be a good model for how cities can protect themselves from sea-level rise. It has set up an Office of Climate Resilience and has a dedicated reserve of $75m for climate resilience projects. Much of this is being used to protect the city from coastal flooding.

Climate extremes, food price spikes, and their wider societal risks, is a new report that analyses the extent to which extreme weather events have been responsible for rising food prices, and the impact that can have in destabilizing social systems. Here in the US, it highlights the drought in California which reduced farm revenue by $2B just in 2022. The graphic below shows major events since 2022 that caused food prices to rise:

Climate News 7.20.25

Seattle

City Council is in the process of appointing a new member to represent District 5. There are a number of candidates for the position, including Nilu Jenks and Debra Juarez. Council will go on summer break in mid-August and must make the appointment in the next week or so. Meanwhile, there have not been any recent meetings around the Comprehensive Plan or any proposed amendments, and it seems unlikely they would get through that before the summer recess.

County

The County Council is partway through a series of meetings to update the County's Strategic Climate Action Plan in the Transportation, Economy, and Environment Committee. But they will be on recess in August, and the September meeting has been cancelled, so likely they will take it up again after the budget is complete.

Port of Seattle

The Northwest Seaport Alliance announced an incentive program for zero-emission truck and charging deployment in the Seattle-Tacoma gateway. Using a $6.2M grant from WSDOT using CCA funds, the incentives will provide for 19 zero-emission trucks and charging infrastructure. The new charging site will be located near the new I-5 exit ramp just south of SeaTac Airport, and will have charging for 250 vehicles and overnight parking for 70. Zeem Solutions will build it out, and Zeem and its partners will provide a substantial share of the total expenditure. In addition to serving trucks, the Zeem site will serve other fleets operating light-, medium- and heavy-duty electric commercial vehicles. The charging site will break ground this fall, with the ZEVs expected on the road by 2026.  This work follows the release in April of the Decarbonizing Drayage Roadmap, which contains "nearly 70 recommendations aimed at making zero-emission trucks more available and affordable, building out the necessary charging and fueling infrastructure, and supporting the drayage trucking community through what will be a challenging transition" and was put together with input from drayage truck drivers.

State

The State released a draft version of the Comprehensive Climate Action Plan (CCAP). The plan is to serve "as a roadmap for reducing emissions and building a sustainable future." It has lists of current policies, and suggestions for new policies to reduce emissions. The Dept of Commerce will hold a webinar on it on July 28, at 2pm, and you can make public comment here.

Northwest energy and conservation groups filed a lawsuit asking the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to review a decision by Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) that would affect the transmission and cost of electric power across the entire Pacific Northwest. The groups filing the lawsuit say BPA’s decision to join Markets+, an energy trading market, will drive up energy bills for customers, weaken energy grid reliability and reduce access to clean energy. This is a climate issue because higher electricity prices will slow down electrification, and a justice issue because the added costs will get passed to ratepayers. The groups suing include Earthjustice, the Sierra Club, NW Energy Coalition, Idaho Conservation League, Montana Environmental Information Centers and Oregon Citizens' Utility Board.

Elsewhere

A report from an insurance broker notes that from January to June this year there were 19 different billion dollar weather disasters with total damages of $134B; most of these damages were from the LA wildfires. A European heatwave at the end of June caused at least 2308 deaths. About 65% of the deaths were a result of human-caused climate change increasing the heat by 1-4 degrees Celsius, which tripled the number of deaths.

The number of people cycling in Paris doubled in one year from 2022 to 2023. Since 2015, Paris has been investing in cycling infrastructure, and turning over space that was formerly for automobiles to pedestrians, cyclists and greenspace. In 2024 they made a $2B investment over four years to improve the cycling infrastructure.

Climate News 6.22.25

Seattle

The Council will be hearing public comment on the Comprehensive Plan on Monday, June 23. There will be two sessions, one at 9:30am for remote comments (signup here starting at 8:30am), one at 3pm for in-person comments (sign up at City Hall starting at 2pm). At the last of these general meetings, the Council was hearing comments just on the interim legislation for middle housing. At this hearing, the entire Plan is the subject. This may be the last big public meeting before the Council votes on it, which could be in August or early Sept. Here's some more info from the Complete Communities Coalition, including talking points to consider. They expect comments will be limited to 1 minute each.

King County

The Executive sent a draft Strategic Climate Action Plan (SCAP) to the Council for approval. The new plan is an update on the 2020 plan and includes nine new "flagship outcomes". The Council's Committee of Transportation, Economy, and Environment heard an initial briefing on it on June 17 (video here, see link to agenda item 8). They will do a series of briefings to cover the whole plan over the next few months, similar to the process they went through in 2020 for the previous SCAP. The Committee expects to vote on it in September, in time for the full Council to vote on it before taking up the budget in the fall.

State

The State will release a draft version of the Comprehensive Climate Action Plan (CCAP) and will hold a public comment period for it. There will be a webinar on June 30 to give an overview of the draft CCAP and explain the options for providing feedback (register here). The Plan "serves as a roadmap for reducing emissions and building a sustainable future. It evaluates current policies, incorporates community input, and recommends new strategies developed through broad collaboration with tribes, communities, businesses and experts." This will be the first update for CCAP in more than 10 years.

The Dept of Ecology is taking public comment on rulemaking for the Advanced Clean Trucks program. The Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) rule and the Heavy-Duty Low-NOx Omnibus (HDO) rule were adopted in Washington in 2021 and 2022 to tackle diesel pollution and climate emissions from trucks. These rules require truck and engine manufacturers to sell cleaner trucks. They were strengthened this year by the Legislature, and follow the lead of California. Meanwhile, the Trump Administration is attempting to end the right of California and other states to have stricter standards. Ecology will be holding a public meeting where they will take remote testimony on June 24 at 9am (register here), or June 25 at 5pm (register here). Written comments can be submitted through July 03, 2025 here.

Revenues from the latest auction of carbon allowances under the Climate Commitment Act (CCA) are back up to previous levels, from before I-2117 to reject the CCA was filed. Carbon allowances sold for an average of $51.22 each, and raised over $321 million, which puts the total for this year so far at $550 million. The State can spend the money on projects to reduce emissions and improve resilience and environmental justice. Prices now seem to have stabilized, which should make it a more predictable market going forward; although, if we go through with the merger with the California & Quebec allowance market, that could change things up again.

The Clean Energy Transition Institute and 2050 Institute released a paper on what it will take to decarbonize Washington's buildings: Clean Buildings Transition Framework for Washington.

Elsewhere

A recent study found that the best way to motivate people to take action on climate is to engage them to think about how climate change might affect them and the people they love in the future. Researchers randomly assigned participants to one of 17 different groups, and tried a different intervention in each group at the same time using the same methodology and results against a control group. “We found that guiding people to imagine the future of climate change, especially scenarios that involved oneself and close others, was the most effective way to motivate action.” The study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Another interesting study examines what happens if you decarbonize buildings a block at a time. Researchers from UC Berkeley got a grant which paid for all the people living on a block in East Oakland to upgrade their buildings to all-electric, including heating, hot water, stoves, and solar panels. The block is mix of single-family homes and small apartment buildings, and the residents were similarly diverse in backgrounds, professions, and incomes. 15 out of 25 property owners signed on, and they estimate that transforming the whole block at once, rather than one property at a time, saved about 10-20% of the total cost. EcoBlock: an Urban Block-Scale Decarbonization Retrofit describes it further in a webinar June 26 at 11am.

KUOW recently ran a week of climate stories, including this one: How Trump's fight with CA over climate policy impacts WA. It goes over issues like California's waiver that allows stricter standards on automobile emissions, which the Federal Government under Trump is trying to abolish.

An evaluation of New York City's congestion pricing is out, and shows that the benefits of congestion pricing spread out well beyond the tolled area in lower Manhattan, and extend to all the adjoining areas. Traffic delays in Manhattan are down by 25%; traffic delays for buses are down by 17% at the Lincoln tunnel and 48% at the Holland tunnel. "In Manhattan, the time lost to traffic jams decreased by 28.4% in 2025, earning 17 minutes back for every hour spent in traffic in 2024." In Manhattan north of the zone, as well as the adjoining areas in New Jersey, Westchester and Long Island "time lost to traffic jams decreased by 11.8%, earning back 7 minutes for every hour spent in traffic in 2024." This is in spite of earlier predictions that adjoining areas would see an increase in traffic.

US spending on climate change is close to $1 trillion,  or 3% of our GDP (original article here from Bloomberg but paywalled).  Most of this is from increases to home insurance premiums, but Hurricane Helene ($135B) and the LA fires ($65B) were  substantial as well. The cost of climate change is clearly not increasing at a linear rate, but something much more than economists expected even just 7 years ago. At this rate, spending money to decarbonize might make sense?

Climate News 5.16.25

Seattle

City Council is holding a meeting for public comment on the interim Comprehensive Plan legislation to come into compliance with the State's Middle Housing rules. The hearing on Monday, May 19 will be in two parts: remote comments at 9:30 am (Register here starting at 8:30am), in person comments start at 4pm at City Hall. Info here from the Connected Communities Coalition. They are recommending coming as early as you can and planning on a one minute comment. Click the link above for more info, but in short they are urging these points:

• Seattle’s Housing Crisis Demands Bold Action.

• Pass the Interim Ordinance Without Delay. 

• Finish the Job: Adopt the Full One Seattle Plan Before Summer Recess. 

Tree Action Seattle is saying: "We need developers to build up, not out, and leave space for trees."

Seattle Neighborhood Greenways is holding a free volunteer organizing symposium on Saturday May 17, 10am-1pm at Seattle Central College. It is "a half-day gathering designed to build skills, share knowledge, and spark collective action to make Seattle’s streets safer and more welcoming for everyone." Register here.

Seattle ranked as ninth worst city in the US for short term particle pollution by the American Lung Association, and approximately 10% of our population has asthma. Short term particle pollution is caused mostly by wildfires and transportation.

State

Washington and Oregon trail nearly all other states in adding new sources of renewable energy. In fact, Washington is 50th out of all 50 states. The culprit, according to ProPublica and Oregon Public Radio, is the Bonneville Power Administration, which owns most of the long-distance transmission lines that could take power from the sunny and windy east side to the more populated west side. "No major grid operator is as stingy as Bonneville in its approach to financing new transmission lines and substations needed to grow the power supply."  Oregon and Washington both proposed creating state-owned bonding authorities that can upgrade the grid, but neither bill passed this year.

Elsewhere

At an energy conference in Texas, the CEO of NextEra predicted a 55% increase in demand for electricity, and said that "costs for gas-fired power generation have more than tripled as demand has surged, making renewable energy cheaper and more available at the moment. The cost of building a gas-fired power facility has jumped from just $785 per kilowatt for some facilities in 2022 to up to $2,400 per kilowatt currently, he said." NextEra is the has the largest fleet of natural gas generators in the country, so if they are calling for more renewables, that is significant.

The Domino Effect: States Prioritize Affordable Transportation Choices over Traffic (Rocky Mountain Institute). This article describes how some states (Colorado, Minnesota, California) are reducing or keeping steady emission levels from transportation compared to pre-pandemic levels, even as populations have increased. Washington, however, is seeing increasing levels of GHG from transportation. The article doesn't say it, but our policy seems a little confused. On the one hand, we have the Climate Commitment Act which means more investment in alternatives to automobiles, but on the other hand the state transportation budget is heavily slanted to highway expansion.

Climate News 5.4.25

Seattle

City Council is holding hearings on interim Comprehensive Plan legislation to come into compliance with the State's Middle Housing rules; this will affect Neighborhood Residential zones. Council will hold a meeting where amendments are introduced on May 7.  May 19 is a second hearing for public comment, with a final vote planned for May 27. The hearing on May 19 will be in two parts: remote comments at 9:30 am (Register here), in person comments at 4pm at City Hall. Info here from the Connected Communities Coalition. 

The Council plans to pass the remainder of the Comprehensive Plan before the August break. There will be follow-on legislation, for example to update zoning to match the new Plan, which may be taken up sometime after the budget is passed in November.

The Mayor signed an Executive Order on Climate for Earth Day. It confirms previous reports that the City will update its Climate Action Plan, which is expected to be completed by Q3 2026. In addition, the City will:

• Provide a status report on the current Climate Plan by Q3 2025.

• Continue to develop plans for 3 low-pollution neighborhoods, including a "funding plan to inform the investment of $8M in Transportation Levy Funding by Q1 2026".

• Pursue renewal of the Seattle Transit Measure to ensure sustainable transportation options for Seattle residents and visitors beyond 2027. The Seattle Transit Measure was renewed in 2020, and provides extra bus service over and above what Metro funds for city bus routes. Some of this funding was diverted from bus service during the pandemic when it was difficult to hire drivers, and it is not clear what the present funding plan for it is.

• Implement Transportation Demand Management Strategies in conjunction with Revive I-5, a multi-year effort to rehabilitate Interstate 5 in Seattle.   The expectation is that funding for this would come from the State.

Commute Seattle released a report on its commute survey comparing how commuters were getting to work in 2024 vs 2022. It shows that fully remote work is down by 8%, while transit use is up by 3% and driving alone is up by 6%. Relative to 2019, driving alone is slightly higher than before, while transit use is still significantly below 2019 levels. Overall transit use has dropped even though the system has grown, with light rail to Lynnwood. Although we won't have official data on GHG levels for another 2 years, we should expect it will show an increase over 2022 levels, because transportation is the largest source of our emissions.

State

The Legislative Session ended on time, which was by no means a sure thing. The budget was a big sticking point, and finally settled with some of the deficit made up with new revenue and most of it with cuts. Some of the bills I've been following have already been signed by the Governor, but many more are still awaiting signature. The next chapter in this saga will be the June revenue projections, which may provide a hint about whether next year's supplemental budget will need to be a big restructuring or just an interim adjustment.

The State Transportation Budget was passed, and along with the Operating and Capital Budgets, is awaiting the Governor's signature. The Governor has the option of vetoing any part of the budget, using a line item veto. The budget was described by the Urbanist, Final State Budget Puts Highway Expansion Ahead of Basic Maintenance. It includes new revenue, including a 6 cent raise in the gas tax, and hikes in many different fees, plus a transfer from the General Fund. And much of this new revenue will be used to backfill deficits in the State's highway expansion program to finish out the Puget Sound Gateway, Spokane Corridor, I-405 & I-90 widening, as well as the I-5 Interstate Bridge . Spending on maintenance is about the same as before, even though our maintenance backlog keeps growing. The emphasis on highway expansion will likely add to our GHG emissions as it enables more development in car-dependent areas. Here's the spending breakdown by percentage, courtesy of Ryan Packer:

Highway capacity (expansion) projects: 36% 

Ferries: 14% 

Maintenance & preservation: 13% 

Fish passage: 9% 

Local grants: 8% 

Public transit: 6.3% 

Transportation operations: 3.5% 

Rail: 3.3% 

Aviation: 1.3%

Climate News 4.16.25

Seattle

The latest revenue forecast for Seattle projects a loss of $241M over the next two years (Publicola), compared to the previous projections and what was used for making the budget. This includes a $50M shortfall in the General Fund, and a $142.3M reduction in the Payroll Tax. They also report that large employers seem to be moving jobs out of the city in order to avoid the payroll tax. This poses a big problem for the entire budget, which is dependent on the payroll tax, but in particular also for the Green New Deal and affordable housing funding which all comes from the payroll tax. This is in addition to the shortfalls previously projected for 2027  ($78M) and 2028 ($158M). Furthermore, many city social services are funded in part with Federal grants, which are being cut. This adds up to a big money crunch.

State

We're bumping up against the end of the Legislative Session. April 16 was the cutoff for bills to pass both chambers. Bills that were passed in the same form in the House and Senate (with no amendments) go straight to the Governor's office for signature, but all bills that were passed with different amendments in the two chambers will require concurrence. The budget bills, for example, are all in concurrence. This means that the two chambers negotiate over wording they can agree on, and the bill will then have to go back to be voted again in final form. A special session to finalize budget items remains a possibility, but otherwise the Legislature's work will wrap up on April 27. Here's where the bills I've been tracking are at now:

This bill been signed into law by the Governor:

• GMA Compliance (HB 1135). Closes a loophole that allows cities and counties to avoid compliance with new provisions of the Growth Management Act for housing affordability and climate change in local comprehensive plans. Lead by Futurewise.

These bills have passed both chambers, and has been sent to the Governor for signature:

• Adjust Building codes for Sustainable and Affordable Housing (HB 1183). Requires a variety of tweaks to city building codes to make it easier to build affordable and sustainable housing and to retrofit buildings to be more sustainable. Lead by Sightline Institute.

• Digital Right to Repair (HB 1483).  Requires manufacturers of digital electronic products to make repair information, parts and tools available so small businesses can repair these items. Lead by Zero Waste Washington.

• Monitoring PFAS in Biosolids (SB 5033). Calls for the state to measure the forever chemicals in wastewater treatment facilities that generate biosolids. Lead by Zero Waste Washington.

• GMA Housing Element (HB 5148). Strengthens the affordable housing provisions of the Growth Management Act.

• Reforming Parking Minimums  (SB 5184). Caps the minimum parking requirements that cities and counties can require for developers. Parking mandates for construction require large chunks of land to be covered in asphalt instead of being used for more housing and more green space/trees. This bill sets limits on how much parking can be required, thus reducing the cost of building new housing. Washington State Senate Approves Sweeping Parking Reform Bill (The Urbanist). Lead by Sightline Institute.

• Legalize Shared Streets (SB 5595). Allow cities to designate neighborhood streets where cars, bikes, and pedestrians share the same space, but speed limits are low and pedestrians are the priority. 

• Including Riders on Transit Boards  (HB 1418). Most transit systems in the state are overseen by a board made up of elected leaders from the cities and counties covered by a Public Transportation Benefit Area (PTBA). This bill would encourage those boards to include two members who are regular users of the transit system. The bill would also require meetings to be accessible by public transit. Lead by Disability Rights Washington.

These bills have passed both chambers, and require concurrence:

• Lot Splitting (HB 1096). Allow most lots to be split to allow starter homes. Lead by Signline Institute.

• Upgrade the Clean Fuels Program (HB 1409). Accelerates the carbon intensity reduction requirements for transportation fuels under the Clean Fuels Program (CFP) and establishes penalties and other enforcement powers specific to the CFP (more info here). Lead by Climate Solutions.

• Hydrofluorocarbons  (HB 1462). Reduces hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants that are potent greenhouse gases, promoting more climate-friendly alternatives and refrigerant recovery and reuse. Lead by Zero Waste Washington.

• Transit-Oriented Development (HB 1491). Requires local zoning standards to allow greater density near transit across the state with some of it required to be affordable. Lead by Futurewise.

• Composting Bill (HB 1497). Improves the management and composting of food and yard waste to divert it from the landfill and avoid methane gas generation. It will help reduce wasted food, create cleaner compost, and provide more equitable service to multifamily residents. 

• Encouraging the deployment of low carbon thermal energy networks (HB 1514)

• Sewage Spills Right to Know (HB 1670). Lead by Environmental Priorities Coalition.

• Establishing Priorities for Intercity Passenger Rail (HB 1837). Establishes priority targets to increase the frequency and speed and improve the reliability of the Amtrak Cascades route between Seattle and Vancouver, BC and Portland, OR. Lead by Climate Rail Alliance.

• Recycling Reform Act (SB 5284). Creates a producer responsibility program to reduce unnecessary packaging and paper products. Specific incentives are built in to reduce plastic packaging. Lead by Zero Waste Washington.

• Right to Repair Mobility Devices (SB 5680). Requires manufacturers of powered wheelchairs and similar devices to make repair information, parts and tools available to independent repair businesses and owners.

Washington prepares to defend climate policies against Trump's latest order (Seattle Times, paywall). Trump issued an executive order directing the Justice Department to block state and local level climate laws. The State has announced they will defend our laws in court. Most commentators think Trump's effort won't go anyway because of established precedent that limits Federal interference in state's laws.

Sales of EVs and hybrids are far below the State's goal; they made up just 21.7% percent of all new vehicles, quite a bit below the 35% which is legally mandated next year. This means that EV makers, in particular Tesla which makes 46% of all new EVs sold in Washington, can make lots of money from gas car dealers which have to buy offset credits from EV dealers. EV purchases from out of state aren't counted toward the goal.

The Trump Administration is looking to cancel funding for four out of seven of the Clean Hydrogen Hubs, including the one here in Washington. It was expected to get up to $1B in funding.

Elsewhere

Major nations agree on first-ever global fee on greenhouse gases. The International Maritime Association will impose a minimum fee of $100 for every ton of GHG emitted by ships above a certain threshold, in what is the first global text on emissions. It estimates that it will raise $11-$13B annually from the fees, and the money will be invested in fuels and technologies necessary for carbon-free shipping. The thresholds will get stricter over time, with a goal of net zero by 2050. The agreement is expected to be ratified in October and go into effect in 2027. The US was "noticeably absent" from the agreement. Shipping emissions are currently estimated to be 3% of the total global emissions.

Paris has dramatically reduced its air pollution by restricting car traffic, and increasing space for bikes and pedestrians. Levels of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) have dropped by 55%. 'This was attributed to “regulations and public policies,” including steps to limit traffic and ban the most polluting vehicles."' Last month Paris voted for a referendum to turn an additional 500 streets over to pedestrians, and a year before that they increased parking fees for SUVs, to make it 3 times more than for smaller cars.

A Federal judge ruled that the $20B in Federal grants for a green bank cannot be scrapped. The green bank was established as part of the Inflation Reduction Act. The EPA is appealing the ruling.

Stockholm has a new electric hydrofoil foot-ferry that is the fastest electric passenger vessel in the world. It can "cruise comfortably at 25 knots (about 29 mph). Apparently the new boat has a 30% increase in ridership over the previous diesel boat. The Legislature failed to pass the Mosquito fleet bill that would have enabled more ferry connections across the Sound, but if it passes next year, maybe we can get one?

Climate News 4.6.25

Seattle

Thousands of people protested the Trump administration at the Hands Off rally in Seattle Center. KUOW estimated 25,000 attended. Lots of excellent signs and costumes,  lots of good energy.

Puget Sound Regional Council

State

The Legislature has passed an Operating Budget and a Transportation Budget; these are currently headed for reconciliation. Both budgets include some new progressive revenue, and also some cuts. The Transportation Budget includes a bipartisan increase to the gas tax, as well as proposals for taxes on luxury vehicles. The next big deadline is April 8, by which time bills must have been approved by the fiscal committees in the opposite chamber. Here's a run down on some of the climate-related bills:

This bill has passed both chambers, and has been sent to the Governor for signature:

• GMA Compliance (HB 1135). Closes a loophole that allows cities and counties to avoid compliance with new provisions of the Growth Management Act for housing affordability and climate change in local comprehensive plans. Lead by Futurewise.

This bill is scheduled for a floor vote in the opposite chamber:

• Lot Splitting (HB 1096). Allow most lots to be split to allow starter homes. Lead by Signline Institute. It is in the Senate, and received overwhelming support from both parties in the House.

These bills are waiting to be scheduled for a floor vote in the opposite chamber:

• Digital Right to Repair (HB 1483).  Requires manufacturers of digital electronic products to make repair information, parts and tools available so small businesses can repair these items. Extending the life of computers, tablets and cellphones, and appliances reduces the burden on manufacturing new products – therefore also decreasing greenhouse gas emissions and mining. Companion bill to SB 5423, which is waiting to be scheduled for a floor vote in the Senate. Lead by Zero Waste Washington.

• Right to Repair Mobility Devices (SB 5680). Requires manufacturers of powered wheelchairs and similar devices to make repair information, parts and tools available to independent repair businesses and owners.

• Reforming Parking Minimums  (SB 5184). Caps the minimum parking requirements that cities and counties can require for developers. Parking mandates for construction require large chunks of land to be covered in asphalt instead of being used for more housing and more green space/trees. This bill sets limits on how much parking can be required, thus reducing the cost of building new housing. This bill had the support of both parties, and passed the Senate 40-8. Washington State Senate Approves Sweeping Parking Reform Bill (The Urbanist). Lead by Sightline Institute.

• Including Riders on Transit Boards  (HB 1418). Most transit systems in the state are overseen by a board made up of elected leaders from the cities and counties covered by a Public Transportation Benefit Area (PTBA). This bill would encourage those boards to include two members who are regular users of the transit system. The bill would also require meetings to be accessible by public transit. Lead by Disability Rights Washington.

• Monitoring PFAS in Biosolids (SB 5033). Calls for the state to measure the forever chemicals in wastewater treatment facilities that generate biosolids. Lead by Zero Waste Washington.

These bills have been scheduled for a vote in the fiscal committee of the opposite chamber:

• Adjust Building codes for Sustainable and Affordable Housing (HB 1183). Requires a variety of tweaks to city building codes to make it easier to build affordable and sustainable housing and to retrofit buildings to be more sustainable. Lead by Sightline Institute.

• Sewage Spills Right to Know (HB 1670). Lead by Environmental Priorities Coalition.

• Safe Streets for Active Transportation (SB 5581). Strengthens requirements for complete streets and shared use paths.

• Legalize Shared Streets (SB 5595). Allow cities to designate neighborhood streets where cars, bikes, and pedestrians share the same space, but speed limits are low and pedestrians are the priority. 

• Transit-Oriented Development (HB 1491). Requires local zoning standards to allow greater density near transit across the state with some of it required to be affordable. There are different standards depending on distance from transit and type of transit. Near train stations the minimum zoning is higher and covers a greater area, but near bus rapid transit stations the minimum is lower and covers a smaller area. Lead by Futurewise.

• Encouraging the deployment of low carbon thermal energy networks (HB 1514)

• Establishing Priorities for Intercity Passenger Rail (HB 1837). Establishes priority targets to increase the frequency and speed and improve the reliability of the Amtrak Cascades route between Seattle and Vancouver, BC and Portland, OR.Lead by Climate Rail Alliance.

• Composting Bill (HB 1497). Improves the management and composting of food and yard waste to divert it from the landfill and avoid methane gas generation. It will help reduce wasted food, create cleaner compost, and provide more equitable service to multifamily residents. 

• Recycling Reform Act (SB 5284). Creates a producer responsibility program to reduce unnecessary packaging and paper products. Specific incentives are built in to reduce plastic packaging. This bill will bring consistent and accessible recycling to all state residents. Lead by Zero Waste Washington.

• Upgrade the Clean Fuels Program (HB 1409). Accelerates the carbon intensity reduction requirements for transportation fuels under the Clean Fuels Program (CFP) and establishes penalties and other enforcement powers specific to the CFP (more info here). Lead by Climate Solutions.

• Hydrofluorocarbons  (HB 1462). Reduces hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants that are potent greenhouse gases, promoting more climate-friendly alternatives and refrigerant recovery and reuse. Lead by Zero Waste Washington.

• GMA Housing Element (HB 5148). Strengthens the affordable housing provisions of the Growth Management Act.

• Transmission Authority & Streamlined Transmission Upgrades (SB 5466). This bill requires the state to make a detailed roadmap for getting the transmission we need, creates a transmission authority to oversee the process, even building it when utilities won't, and streamlines permitting upgrades to existing transmission infrastructure. Lead by Climate Solutions.

These bills need to be scheduled for a vote in the fiscal committee of the opposite chamber by April 8:

• Mosquito Fleet Act (HB 1923).  Encourages passenger-only ferry initiatives in waterside communities, especially those underserved by Washington State Ferries.

Elsewhere

Climate Crisis On Track to Destroy Capitalism, warns top insurer (Guardian). Insurance companies are raising alarms over insurance payouts from severe weather.  Without insurance, banks will not loan or invest money.

Climate News 3.16.25

Seattle

The Stand Up for Science rally drew thousands of people to protest the administration's cutbacks on research (Seattle Times, paywall). The Seattle rally was one of a nationwide set of rallies. There are also rallies every Friday at noon at the Jackson Federal Building in support of Federal workers.

Hearings on the bulk of the Comprehensive Plan are on hold while six lawsuits are going forward challenging the Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed new Plan. However, in the meantime the city will proceed with zoning changes to bring the city into compliance with the State's new Middle Housing rules. These changes must be completed by May 30, or State rules will take over on June 30. The Select Committee on the Comprehensive Plan will meet twice a month through the end of May on the middle housing changes.

Car-ownership rate hits a record low in Seattle, as 20.3% of Seattle households are car-free (Seattle Times, paywall). This makes Seattle, behind San Francisco, the second most car-free city in the western US, and 9th most in the country. About 1 in 3 households who rent were car-free, while only 5% of homeowners were car-free. Since 2017, the number of people in Seattle has grown, while the number of cars has stayed roughly the same.

In 2024, 81% of home heating systems installed in Seattle were heat pumps, as reported by the Office of Sustainability and Environment.

King County

Population in the County grew by 1.9% in 2024, the highest rate since 2015, according to the latest Census Report findings. Population numbers for 2023 were also revised upwards. King County’s population now stands at 2.34 million. Perhaps relatedly, median home prices in Seattle went up by 4%, and on the Eastside by 14.4% while other parts of the County had decreases.

Sound Transit

Trump Officials are Delaying Approval for the West Seattle Link. Federal Transit Administration (FTA) approval was expected in Feb., but will be delayed 30 to 60 days. This delay is separate from any decision to award FTA funding.

Sound Transit has picked a new CEO, but it is delaying an announcement on who they picked while they negotiate contract terms. The Board was considering 5 applicants, including Dow Constantine, the outgoing King County Executive, and 4 other unnamed applicants. Rumors are that they've picked Constantine. Pay is $450,000 to $650,000. There has been a lot of controversy over the secrecy shrouding the process, where candidates were not made public . Although Constantine has a lot of history as a Sound Transit Board Chair, he does not have experience leading a large transit system.

Puget Sound

The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency is creating a Comprehensive Climate Action Plan, which will guide regional efforts to significantly reduce climate pollution and create healthier, safer communities by reducing hazardous air pollution.  They are seeking community input to "help inform how actions that reduce climate pollution within our neighborhoods can best be designed and implemented." See here for more information. Workshops will be held as follows:

• Snohomish County: March 13, 2025 from 5:30p - 7:30 PM (doors open at 5), Everett Community College.

• Kitsap County: March 20, 2025 from 5:30p - 7:30 PM (doors open at 5), Norm Dicks Government Center.

• King County: April 3, 2025 from 5:30p - 7:30 PM (doors open at 5), El Centro De La Raza- Centilia Cultural Center,  in Seattle, near the Beacon Hill Light Rail Station.

• Pierce County: April 15, 2025 from 5:30p - 7:30 PM (doors open at 5), Clover Park Technical College.

The Puget Sound Regional Council is encouraging people to comment on a new project that would redirect funding from Metro to the SR-520 Rest of the West & bridge replacement and the Roanoke Lid. Under the new plan, $1,864,761 in funding from Metro's delayed Atlantic Base Trolley Power System Replacement would be transferred to help move the Portage Bay project forward. Comments are open through March 27. 

State

The Legislative Session is now at the halfway point. Bills that have passed their "chamber of origin" (either House or Senate) are now be sent over to the opposite chamber to work their way through the same weeding out process:  they must be approved by a policy committee, then if there are fiscal implications, by a fiscal committee, before going forward to the chamber floor for a vote. Bills that didn't pass in their chamber of origin will no longer be considered unless they are deemed necessary in order to implement the budget. So, here's where some of the climate and environmental bills stand now:

These bills need approval by a fiscal committee by April 8:

• Including Riders on Transit Boards  (HB 1418). Most transit systems in the state are overseen by a board made up of elected leaders from the cities and counties covered by a Public Transportation Benefit Area (PTBA). This bill would encourage those boards to include two members who are regular users of the transit system. The bill would also require meetings to be accessible by public transit. Lead by Disability Rights Washington.

• Establishing Priorities for Intercity Passenger Rail (HB 1837). Establishes priority targets to increase the frequency and speed and improve the reliability of the Amtrak Cascades route between Seattle and Vancouver, BC and Portland, OR.Lead by Climate Rail Alliance.

• Mosquito Fleet Act (HB 1923).  Encourages passenger-only ferry initiatives in waterside communities, especially those underserved by Washington State Ferries.

• Legalize Shared Streets (SB 5595). Allow cities to designate neighborhood streets where cars, bikes, and pedestrians share the same space, but speed limits are low and pedestrians are the priority. 

• Safe Streets for Active Transportation (SB 5581). Strengthens requirements for complete streets and shared use paths.

These bills need approval by a policy committee by April 2, and have been scheduled for a vote:

• GMA Compliance (HB 1135). Closes a loophole that allows cities and counties to avoid compliance with new provisions of the Growth Management Act for housing affordability and climate change in local comprehensive plans. Lead by Futurewise.

• Lot Splitting (HB 1096). Allow most lots to be split to allow starter homes. Lead by Signline Institute.

• Transit-Oriented Development (HB 1491). Requires local zoning standards to allow greater density near transit across the state with some of it required to be affordable. There are different standards depending on distance from transit and type of transit. Near train stations the minimum zoning is higher and covers a greater area, but near bus rapid transit stations the minimum is lower and covers a smaller area. Lead by Futurewise.

• Sewage Spills Right to Know (HB 1670). Lead by Environmental Priorities Coalition.

• Reforming Parking Minimums  (SB 5184). Caps the minimum parking requirements that cities and counties can require for developers. Parking mandates for construction require large chunks of land to be covered in asphalt instead of being used for more housing and more green space/trees. This bill sets limits on how much parking can be required, thus reducing the cost of building new housing. This bill had the support of both parties, and passed the Senate 40-8. Washington State Senate Approves Sweeping Parking Reform Bill (The Urbanist). Lead by Sightline Institute.

These bills need approval by a policy committee by April 2, and have public hearings scheduled:

• Adjust Building codes for Sustainable and Affordable Housing (HB 1183). Requires a variety of tweaks to city building codes to make it easier to build affordable and sustainable housing and to retrofit buildings to be more sustainable. Lead by Sightline Institute.

• Upgrade the Clean Fuels Program (HB 1409). Accelerates the carbon intensity reduction requirements for transportation fuels under the Clean Fuels Program (CFP) and establishes penalties and other enforcement powers specific to the CFP (more info here). Lead by Climate Solutions.

• Hydrofluorocarbons  (HB 1462). Reduces hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants that are potent greenhouse gases, promoting more climate-friendly alternatives and refrigerant recovery and reuse. Lead by Zero Waste Washington.

• Monitoring PFAS in Biosolids (SB 5033). Calls for the state to measure the forever chemicals in wastewater treatment facilities that generate biosolids. Lead by Zero Waste Washington.

• Recycling Reform Act (SB 5284). Creates a producer responsibility program to reduce unnecessary packaging and paper products. Specific incentives are built in to reduce plastic packaging. This bill will bring consistent and accessible recycling to all state residents. Lead by Zero Waste Washington.

• Transmission Authority & Streamlined Transmission Upgrades (SB 5466). This bill requires the state to make a detailed roadmap for getting the transmission we need, creates a transmission authority to oversee the process, even building it when utilities won't, and streamlines permitting upgrades to existing transmission infrastructure. Lead by Climate Solutions.

• GMA Housing Element (HB 5148). Strengthens the affordable housing provisions of the Growth Management Act.

• Right to Repair Mobility Devices (SB 5680). Requires manufacturers of powered wheelchairs and similar devices to make repair information, parts and tools available to independent repair businesses and owners.

These bills need approval by a policy committee by April 2, and do not yet have public hearings scheduled:

• Digital Right to Repair (HB 1483).  Requires manufacturers of digital electronic products to make repair information, parts and tools available so small businesses can repair these items. Extending the life of computers, tablets and cellphones, and appliances reduces the burden on manufacturing new products – therefore also decreasing greenhouse gas emissions and mining. Companion bill to SB 5423, which is waiting to be scheduled for a floor vote in the Senate. Lead by Zero Waste Washington.

• Encouraging the deployment of low carbon thermal energy networks (HB 1514). Thermal energy networks (TENs) are heating services provided by shared geothermal heat pumps, and they are a possible pathway for transitioning buildings off fossil gas while also transitioning the gas companies themselves. Lead by Sightline Institute.

• Increasing Transmission Capacity (HB 1819). Increases transmission capacity on existing rights of way. Requires electric utilities with more than 25,000 customers to evaluate where reconductoring. Directs the UTC to allow an incentive rate of return on electric utility investments in reconductoring and grid-enhancing technologies (GETS) for 15 years and to adopt additional incentives to encourage increased deployment of transmission improvements. Lead by Climate Solutions.

And now, the Roll of the Fallen. These bills did not pass their chamber of origin before the cutoff. They will not be considered further this session:

• Home Energy Score (HB 1015). This bill establishes a method for making energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions labeling of existing residential buildings available to homebuyers. Lead by People for Climate Action.

• Legalizing Neighborhood Stores and Cafes (HB 1175). Requires cities to allow neighborhood stores and cafes in residential zones (think corner stores, mini markets, small neighborhood cafes).  Lead by Sightline Institute.

• Cumulative Risk Burden (CURB) Act (HB 1303). Addresses the disproportionate impact of new and existing pollution on overburdened communities. Led by Front & Centered.

Elsewhere

Bonneville Power announced plans to join Southwest energy market. "Bonneville Power Administration officials announced in a draft policy proposal released Wednesday that they intend to leave the California-controlled “real-time” market they’ve participated in since 2022 and join a new “day-ahead” energy market based out of Little Rock, Arkansas."

The U.S. power grid added more capacity from solar energy in 2024 than from any other source in a single year in more than two decades.

U.S. DOT Orders Review of All Grants Related to Green Infrastructure and Bikes. USDOT is reviewing all grants, and will stop action on all discretionary grants, including those already awarded, that have to do with bikes, climate, or green infrastructure. So far they have not announced plans to target transit.

Climate News 3.2.2025

Seattle

Adonis Duckworth, Eddie Lin, and Takayo Minikami Ederer have formally announced candidacies for the District 2 Council position. Adonis Duckworth is a long-time SDOT planner who is now in an interim position as transportation advisor for the Mayor. According to the Seattle Medium, he wants to address  "public safety, affordability, housing, and transportation challenges." Eddie Lin is an assistant attorney in the Seattle City Attorney's Office where he works on housing programs. According to the South Seattle Emerald, he wants to make the city more affordable and "wants to address economic inequality and supports creating progressive revenue strategies, increasing the Jumpstart payroll tax, and is in favor of a local capital gains tax." Takayo Ederer runs a family business in commercial and real estate investment, teaches karate, and is a former member of the US National Karate Team. Her main priorities are public safety and homelessness, and she wants more police and more shelter beds.

And in other Seattle races, there are now 6 candidates for Mayor, including Bruce Harrell,  while Rinck and Nelson are currently unopposed in their races to retain their at large city council seats.

State

The State passed another major cutoff date at the end of last week; bills that have been referred to a fiscal committee must have passed the committee or are considered dead, unless they are necessary to implement the budget. Most bills I am following passed their fiscal committee, but many underwent alteration to reduce cost. The next major cutoff is March 12, by which time bills must have been passed by their chamber of origin. Here's where things stand now for some of the climate and environmental bills:

These bills have been passed by their Chamber of Origin, and referred to a policy committee in the opposite chamber:

• Reforming Parking Minimums  (SB 5184). Caps the minimum parking requirements that cities and counties can require for developers. Parking mandates for construction require large chunks of land to be covered in asphalt instead of being used for more housing and more green space/trees. This bill sets limits on how much parking can be required, thus reducing the cost of building new housing. This bill had the support of both parties, and passed the Senate 40-8. Washington State Senate Approves Sweeping Parking Reform Bill (The Urbanist). Lead by Sightline Institute.

These bills have been approved by their committees and have been scheduled for a floor vote in their chamber of origin:

• Digital Right to Repair (HB 1483).  Requires manufacturers of digital electronic products to make repair information, parts and tools available so small businesses can repair these items. Extending the life of computers, tablets and cellphones, and appliances reduces the burden on manufacturing new products – therefore also decreasing greenhouse gas emissions and mining. Companion bill to SB 5423, which is waiting to be scheduled for a floor vote in the Senate. Lead by Zero Waste Washington.

• GMA Compliance (HB 1135). Closes a loophole that allows cities and counties to avoid compliance with new provisions of the Growth Management Act for housing affordability and climate change in local comprehensive plans. Lead by Futurewise.

• Including Riders on Transit Boards  (HB 1418). Most transit systems in the state are overseen by a board made up of elected leaders from the cities and counties covered by a Public Transportation Benefit Area (PTBA). This bill would encourage those boards to include two members who are regular users of the transit system, one of whom is a representative of a community based organization. The bill would also require meetings to be held at times and places reasonably accessible by public transit, allowing both the transit riding board members and transit riding public to attend and participate. Lead by Disability Rights Washington.

• Sewage Containing Spills (HB 1670). Lead by Environmental Priorities Coalition.

• Increasing Transmission Capacity (HB 1819). Increases transmission capacity on existing rights of way. Requires electric utilities with more than 25,000 customers to evaluate where reconductoring. Directs the UTC to allow an incentive rate of return on electric utility investments in reconductoring and grid-enhancing technologies (GETS) for 15 years and to adopt additional incentives to encourage increased deployment of transmission improvements. Lead by Climate Solutions.

These bills are waiting to be scheduled for a floor vote in their chamber of origin:

• Home Energy Score (HB 1015). This bill establishes a method for making energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions labeling of existing residential buildings available to homebuyers. Lead by People for Climate Action.

• Hydrofluorocarbons  (HB 1462). Reduces hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants that are potent greenhouse gases, promoting more climate-friendly alternatives and refrigerant recovery and reuse. Lead by Zero Waste Washington.

• Monitoring PFAS in Biosolids (SB 5033). Calls for the state to measure the forever chemicals in wastewater treatment facilities that generate biosolids. Lead by Zero Waste Washington.

• Recycling Reform Act (SB 5284/HB 1150). Creates a producer responsibility program to reduce unnecessary packaging and paper products. Specific incentives are built in to reduce plastic packaging. This bill will bring consistent and accessible recycling to all state residents. Lead by Zero Waste Washington.

• Digital Right to Repair (SB 5423).  Requires manufacturers of digital electronic products to make repair information, parts and tools available so small businesses can repair these items. Extending the life of computers, tablets and cellphones, and appliances reduces the burden on manufacturing new products – therefore also decreasing greenhouse gas emissions and mining. Companion bill to HB 1483, which is scheduled for a floor vote in the house. Lead by Zero Waste Washington.

• Transmission Authority & Streamlined Transmission Upgrades (SB 5466). This bill requires the state to make a detailed roadmap for getting the transmission we need, creates a transmission authority to oversee the process, even building it when utilities won't, and streamlines permitting upgrades to existing transmission infrastructure. Lead by Climate Solutions.

• Safe Streets for Active Transportation (SB 5581). Strengthens requirements for complete streets and shared use paths.

• Legalizing Neighborhood Stores and Cafes (HB 1175). Requires cities to allow neighborhood stores and cafes in residential zones (think corner stores, mini markets, small neighborhood cafes).  Lead by Sightline Institute.

• Adjusting Building codes to support Sustainable and Affordable Housing (HB 1183). Requires a variety of tweaks to city building codes to make it easier to build affordable and sustainable housing and to retrofit buildings to be more sustainable. Lead by Sightline Institute.

• Cumulative Risk Burden (CURB) Act (HB 1303). Addresses the disproportionate impact of new and existing pollution on overburdened communities. Led by Front & Centered.

• Transit-Oriented Development (HB 1491). Requires local zoning standards to allow greater density near transit across the state with some of it required to be affordable. There are different standards depending on distance from transit and type of transit. Near train stations the minimum zoning is higher and covers a greater area, but near bus rapid transit stations the minimum is lower and covers a smaller area. Lead by Futurewise.

• Encouraging the deployment of low carbon thermal energy networks (HB 1514). Thermal energy networks (TENs) are heating services provided by shared geothermal heat pumps, and they are a possible pathway for transitioning buildings off fossil gas while also transitioning the gas companies themselves. The UTC may allow electric companies to offer discounts to a TENs company if they offer a TEN service that is more efficient than electrical service. The UTC may also require gas companies to plan for TENs on an annual basis, and electrical companies must now plan for TENs as part of their regular planning process. And the UTC must report to the Legislature by 2027 as to whether there are interoperability standards that are ready for adoption. The Dept. of Commerce will offer grants to local jurisdictions for TENs planning and TENs mapping. TENs companies will be regulated by the UTC, as gas and electric companies are now. Lead by Sightline Institute.

• Establishing Priorities for Intercity Passenger Rail (HB 1837). Lead by Climate Rail Alliance.

Elsewhere

If you are looking for climate-related material taken off the Federal websites, some of it has been uploaded to the Climate Program Portal which is serving as a clearinghouse.

California's new fuel standard has been rejected by the CA Office of Administrative Law because it lacks clarity in the rulemaking (KQED). The California Air Resources Board will review the order and plans to resubmit. Substantial changes would require a public comment period. The low carbon fuels program offers financial incentives to companies to produce cleaner transportation fuels.

Climate News 2.23.25

Seattle

The Mayor gave his State of the City address.  He announced plans to update the City's Climate Action Plan. He pledged to expedite the West Seattle/Ballard link lines by as much as one year by creating a city office of Waterfront, Civic Projects & Sound Transit, to "orchestrate up to 50 staff in supporting project design and engineering, station area planning, and more".  He cited the recent terror attacks on crowds by people in cars and said that we need to move to make Pike Place Market a pedestrian area with facilities for deliveries and drop-offs for disabled people. The City will streamline the building permit process, speeding it by 50% to make it easier and cheaper to build new housing. And the Mayor will send the Fort Lawton affordable housing project to Council for approval.

State

The Legislative Session just passed its first major cutoff date, after which bills that were not passed by their policy committee in their chamber of origin may no longer proceed. Many bills have been passed, and now advance to their fiscal committee. Passing fiscal committee, always a difficult barrier, is expected to be more difficult this year because of the budget shortfall. The next deadline is Feb 28, by which bills must have passed the fiscal committee. Here's how things stand now, with some of the climate and environmental bills:

These bills have been passed by their Chamber of Origin:

• Reforming Parking Minimums  (SB 5184). Caps the minimum parking requirements that cities and counties can require for developers. Parking mandates for construction require large chunks of land to be covered in asphalt instead of being used for more housing and more green space/trees. This bill sets limits on how much parking can be required, thus reducing the cost of building new housing. This bill had the support of both parties, and passed the Senate 40-8. Washington State Senate Approves Sweeping Parking Reform Bill (The Urbanist).

These bills have been approved by their committees and have been scheduled for a floor vote in their chamber of origin:

• Digital Right to Repair (HB 1483).  Requires manufacturers of digital electronic products to make repair information, parts and tools available so small businesses can repair these items. Extending the life of computers, tablets and cellphones, and appliances reduces the burden on manufacturing new products – therefore also decreasing greenhouse gas emissions and mining.

These bills have been approved by their committees and are waiting to be scheduled for a floor vote in their chamber of origin:

• Home Energy Score (HB 1015). This bill establishes a method for making energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions labeling of existing residential buildings available to homebuyers. 

• GMA Compliance (HB 1135). Over the past four years, the Growth Management Act has added new requirements for housing affordability and climate change in local comprehensive plans. This bill would close a loophole that allows cities and counties to avoid compliance with these provisions.

• Including Riders on Transit Boards  (HB 1418). Most transit systems in the state are overseen by a board made up of elected leaders from the cities and counties covered by a Public Transportation Benefit Area (PTBA). This bill would encourage those boards to include two members who are regular users of the transit system, one of whom is a representative of a community based organization. The bill would also require meetings to be held at times and places reasonably accessible by public transit, allowing both the transit riding board members and transit riding public to attend and participate. 

These bills have been scheduled for a vote in their fiscal committee:

• Encouraging the deployment of low carbon thermal energy networks (HB 1514). Thermal energy networks (TENs) are heating services provided by shared geothermal heat pumps, and they are a possible pathway for transitioning buildings off fossil gas while also transitioning the gas companies themselves. The UTC may allow electric companies to offer discounts to a TENs company if they offer a TEN service that is more efficient than electrical service. The UTC may also require gas companies to plan for TENs on an annual basis, and electrical companies must now plan for TENs as part of their regular planning process. And the UTC must report to the Legislature by 2027 as to whether there are interoperability standards that are ready for adoption. The Dept. of Commerce will offer grants to local jurisdictions for TENs planning and TENs mapping. TENs companies will be regulated by the UTC, as gas and electric companies are now.

• Sewage Containing Spills (HB 1670).

These bills have had a public hearing in their fiscal committee but need to be scheduled for a vote in the committee to progress:

• Cumulative Risk Burden (CURB) Act (HB 1303). Addresses the disproportionate impact of new and existing pollution on overburdened communities.

• Establishing Priorities for Intercity Passenger Rail (HB 1837).

• Road Usage Charge (HB 1921/SB 5726). Gradually phase in a flat per-mile road usage fee in place of the current gas tax. This would apply to EVs and plug-in hybrids first as a voluntary program in place of the current flat EV car tab fee, and then become mandatory. ICE vehicles would be phased in over time, starting with higher efficiency vehicles. This may be NTIB in which case it  could survive beyond the cutoff. 

• Improving Shortline Freight Rail (SB 5063).

• GMA Housing Element (HB 5148). Strengthens the affordable housing provisions of the Growth Management Act.

• Safe Streets for Active Transportation (SB 5581). Strengthens requirements for complete streets and shared use paths.

These bills have a public hearing scheduled in their fiscal committee:

• Transit-Oriented Development (HB 1491). Requires local zoning standards to allow greater density near transit across the state with some of it required to be affordable. There are different standards depending on distance from transit and type of transit. Near train stations the minimum zoning is higher and covers a greater area, but near bus rapid transit stations the minimum is lower and covers a smaller area. 

• Monitoring PFAS in Biosolids (SB 5033). Calls for the state to measure the forever chemicals in wastewater treatment facilities that generate biosolids.

These bills need to be scheduled for a public hearing in their fiscal committees in order to progress. Given the remaining time, these are likely to not progress:

• Anesthetics/greenhouse gases (HB 5236).

• Washington Coal Act (HB 5236). Calls for the State to divest from coal in its pension funds.

Now we get the Roll of the Fallen. These bills failed to pass their policy committees before the cutoff, and are dead unless they get declared as NTIB (necessary to implement the budget):

• Community Solar (HB 5515)

• Reducing Pollution via Cleaner Ship Fuel (HB 1652)

• Allow Direct Sales of EVs (HB 1721). Allows direct sales of EVs without going through a dealer. Currently there is an exception for Tesla, but other car companies may only sell through a dealer.

• Endorsing a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty (HB 4003). A Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty is a proposed international mechanism grounded in three pillars: no new fossil fuel expansion, an equitable phase out of coal, oil, and gas to limit warming as much as possible, and a global just transition to renewable energy for all. 

Climate News 2.16.25

Seattle

Social housing Prop 1A passed with a 25% margin over the Council's counterproposal, Prop 1B. The measure is expected to raise about $50M per year that can be used to build or buy multi-family buildings for mixed-income tenants. The buildings will be either built or retrofitted to be extremely energy efficient, which will reduce emissions from them. Social housing is now also being considered at both King County and the State in order to help address the housing crisis.

The Seattle Department of Transportation announced the first set of projects to be funded from the Transportation Levy that was passed in November. Safety related projects are getting front-loaded, especially pedestrian safety projects. The Levy Oversight Committee is seeking new members, applications are due by Feb 28.

Mayor Bruce Harrell is running for re-election this year, and so far he has two challengers. Ry Armstrong, who ran for City Council in 2023 in D3 and is the Co-Executive Director of Sustainable Seattle. The priorities listed on their website include building more housing, investing in safety, respecting worker's rights and affordable childcare for all. Rachael Savage is running as a Republican, and wants to improve public safety, clean up streets, and solve problems of addiction.

Port of Seattle

The 32nd LD, the 37th LD and the state Environment and Climate Caucus have all passed resolutions calling for a full Environmental Impact Statement report for the SeaTac Airport's Sustainable Airport Master Plan (SAMP)  to expand the airport in order to fully understand the health and climate impacts of the expansion.

State

The Legislative Session is about to hit its first big deadline on Feb 21: bills that have not been approved by their policy committee by then will not proceed further. The finance committees will then have a week to consider all the bills with fiscal implications that passed the policy committees and figure out which ones can be funded. As of now, here's a snapshot of where some of the environmental bills are at, starting with the farthest along so far:

These bills have been approved by their committees and have been scheduled for a floor vote in their chamber of origin:

• Reforming Parking Minimums in Zoning Codes (SB 5184). Parking mandates for construction require large chunks of land to be covered in asphalt instead of being used for more housing and more green space/trees. Reducing these requirements would decrease the cost of building new housing.

These bills have been approved by their committees and are waiting to be scheduled for a floor vote in their chamber of origin:

• Home Energy Score (HB 1015). This bill establishes a method for making energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions labeling of existing residential buildings available to homebuyers. 

• Including Riders on Transit Boards  (HB 1418).

• Digital Right to Repair (HB 1483).

These bills are waiting on approval in the fiscal committees:

• Establishing Priorities for Intercity Passenger Rail (HB 1837).

• Road Usage Charge (HB 1921). Gradually phase in a flat per-mile road usage fee in place of the current gas tax.

• Improving Shortline Freight Rail (SB 5063)

• Safe Streets for Active Transportation (SB 5581). Strengthens requirements for complete streets and shared use paths.

• Cumulative Risk Burden (CURB) Act (HB 1303). Addresses the disproportionate impact of new and existing pollution on overburdened communities.

• Hydrofluorocarbons  (HB 1462). Reduces hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants that are potent greenhouse gases, promoting more climate-friendly alternatives and refrigerant recovery and reuse. 

• Composting Bill (HB 1497). Improves the management and composting of food and yard waste to divert it from the landfill and avoid methane gas generation. It will help reduce wasted food, create cleaner compost, and provide more equitable service to multifamily residents. 

• Encouraging the deployment of low carbon thermal energy networks (HB 1514)

• GMA Housing Element (HB 5148). Strengthens the affordable housing provisions of the Growth Management Act.

• Anesthetics/greenhouse gases (HB 5236).

These bills have passed their policy committee but not yet been reassigned:

• Transit-Oriented Development (HB 1491). Requires local zoning standards to allow greater density near transit across the state with some of it required to be affordable. There are different standards depending on distance from transit and type of transit. Near train stations the minimum zoning is higher and covers a greater area, but near bus rapid transit stations the minimum is lower and covers a smaller area. 

• Textile Producer Responsibility Act (HB 1420).

• Sewage Containing Spills (HB 1670)

These bills have been scheduled for a vote in the policy committee:

• Allow Direct Sales of EVs (HB 1721). Allows direct sales of EVs without going through a dealer. Currently there is an exception for Tesla, but other car companies may only sell through a dealer.

These bills have a hearing scheduled in the policy committees, but no vote scheduled yet and are in danger of being dropped:

• Endorsing a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty (HB 4003). A Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty is a proposed international mechanism grounded in three pillars: no new fossil fuel expansion, an equitable phase out of coal, oil, and gas to limit warming as much as possible, and a global just transition to renewable energy for all. 

These bills have not been scheduled for a hearing in their policy committee and will very likely not continue:

• Community Solar (HB 5515)

Elsewhere

Recent global temperature surge intensified by record-low planetary albedo, according to a new paper published in Science. The last two years have seen record high temperatures, distinctly higher than all previous years. Scientists now think they may know why: as the Earth warms there is less low-level cloud cover to reflect the heat back into space. This poses a huge danger because it may be the start of a feedback loop.

Climate News 1/26/2025

Seattle

City Council appointed Mark Solomon as the new Councilmember for District 2, by a vote of 5-3 in a runoff with Adonis Duckworth. Mark Solomon is a Crime Prevention Specialist with the Seattle Police Department. His letter of application listing his qualifications and priorities is here.

Mayor Harrell has reorganized his staff. Former Deputy Mayor Adiam Emery will take over from Greg Spotts when he leaves in Feb., and Jessyn Farrell, who was director of the Office of Sustainability and Environment, will take over as deputy mayor of  transportation, parks, and climate action. Michelle Caulfield, who was previously interim OSE director, will be interim director again. The City will undertake a national search for a new OSE director.

King County

King County Metro won an $80M Federal grant to expand RapidRide service to Renton, Kent, and Auburn, with service expected to start in 2027. The new route, RapidRide I, is expected to enhance Route 160, formerly Route 169 and 180 between Auburn Station and downtown Renton. 

King County Executive Dow Constantine has nominated three candidates to fill the open seat on County Council left by Dave Upthegrove (Seattle Times, paywall), who was elected as the State Lands Commissioner. The three are: "Karen Keiser, a former longtime state senator from Des Moines; Julia Patterson, a former County Council member and state legislator from SeaTac; and De’Sean Quinn, a current Tukwila City Council member." The district includes parts of the the cities of Renton, SeaTac, Normandy Park, Des Moines and Kent. County Council will vote on which one of the three will take the empty seat as County Councilmember on an interim basis until elections in November. The appointment must be made by 60 days from Jan. 15, when Upthegrove resigned.

State

The Legislative Session is a few weeks into a long session. Many, many bills have been filed, many bills have had hearings, and a few bills have already been voted on in committee. You can sign up for 350 Washington's Civic Action Team to receive alerts on climate bills as they reach critical juncture points and need help to proceed. Futurewise sends alerts on land use bills, you can sign up here. The Environmental Priorities Coalition is having their lobby day on Feb 6. More info and sign up here. 

Sen Joe Nguyen took a new position under Bob Ferguson as Director of the Department of Commerce. Sharon Shewmake has taken his place as chair of the Senate Environment, Energy and Technology Committee. Emily Alvarado has taken his position as Senator of the 34th, and Brianna Thomas, formerly legislative aide to Lorena González, has taken Emily Alvarado's spot as Representative in the 34th.

The Washington Policy Center, a conservative think tank, has filed a lawsuit against the State over delays in reporting greenhouse gas emissions (Seattle Times, paywall). A state law requires the State to report every two years, and the State is only just now releasing data covering 2021 (amazingly, this is only one month late). "The report showed that overall greenhouse gas emissions dipped 13.8% in 2020 during the pandemic but rose 8.8% in 2021, largely driven by the transportation sector."

Puget Sound Energy has permission from the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission to raise electricity rates by 18.6% and fossil gas rates by 12.6% over a two year period "PSE has said to comply with the clean energy laws, it will need to shift away from natural gas and coal, which made up nearly half of its electricity generation in 2023, and acquire an unprecedented amount of renewable power by 2030." The UTC approved some rate hikes to cover PSE's expenses for following clean energy codes, but declined to fund accelerating depreciation of PSE's fossil gas infrastructure. Likewise, PSE did not get approval for raising rates to provide more incentives for heat pumps. The passage of I-2066 took both of these options off the table. Seattle City Light is also raising electrical rates, but by much less: the percentage will vary for different customers but no customer will see a rise greater than 7%.

Elsewhere

Carbon Dioxide Levels Rose by a Record Amount Last Year, according to Yale Environment 360. "The figure exceeds the most pessimistic predictions of the U.K. Met Office, which says that even record-high emissions from fossil fuels cannot fully explain the surge in carbon dioxide." At least some of the increased emissions are from "natural" sources like wildfires and droughts. 

A new paper published in Nature describes how we can expect storms in the Pacific Northwest to get much worse with climate change. They find that by 2100, atmospheric rivers striking the Pacific Northwest could be not only quite a bit stronger, but could triple the amount of storm surge compared to current storms, assuming continued high greenhouse gas emissions.

In Oregon, No More Freeways is suing Metro, the regional government agency over the recently updated transportation plan, claiming that the plan doesn't live up to the aggressive climate goals mandated by the state. The plan fails to decrease driving, and it has incorrect assumptions in its modelling as well as two conflicting sets of data it relies on to show that it meets standards.

Adoption of heat pumps nationwide is growing, and is taking market share from gas furnaces. It has been a long, steady growth pattern over years. "Last year, nine states — California, Colorado, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and Rhode Island — raised the stakes by pledging that heat pumps will make up at least 65% of residential heating and cooling equipment sales by the end of the decade"

Climate News from 2024