Olympia moves closer to joining Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan

The Olympia City Council last night approved the first reading of the interlocal agreement that would support a regionally coordinated implementation of the Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan (TCMP).

The proposed agreement, established between Thurston County, Lacey, Olympia, and Tumwater, aims to maintain a framework for ongoing implementation of the TCMP and achieve the following goals:

• Maintain momentum for local climate action
• Develop efficient regional solutions for reducing sources of greenhouse gases in ways that support all partner jurisdictions.
• Provide accountability on progress toward achieving regional climate targets.
• Build public awareness of climate mitigation activities across the region.

According to Dr. Pamela Braff, Olympia’s Climate Program director, these partners have been working together since 2018, adopting shared goals for greenhouse gas reduction and developing a plan for achieving those goals.

In the past, they had to sign a new agreement to continue to work together, which Braff said was "a bit of work."

Braff said this agreement would cover from 2023 to December 31, 2030.

"It is truly a long agreement,” commented Braff. “2030 was selected because it coincides with our first shared emissions reduction goal, which is to reduce emissions by 45% below 2015 levels, by 2030."

The partners will develop a two-year work plan and a budget for implementing projects.

The new approach is similar to how the Sea Level Rise Response Collaborative works together. It involves groups with corresponding roles in the TCMP collaborative. These groups include jurisdiction staff, which will meet regularly to coordinate actions; the executive committee, which will meet four times a year to review the progress of emission targets; and the community advisory workgroup, which will provide community perspectives and feedback on regional and jurisdictional actions.

The participants anticipate holding an annual retreat to assess progress and make necessary adjustments to meet their goals, Braff said.

At a Thurston Climate Executive Committee meeting in July, Braff proposed a budget of $190,000 for the first 15 months, with each jurisdiction party contributing an equal share of funds for the greenhouse inventory, future TCMP updates, and administrative support.