Tacoma wants to go green – in a big way.
City Council members embraced a report last week from the mayor’s Green Ribbon Climate Action Task Force outlining a plan to dramatically reduce carbon emissions over the next several decades.
If the plan is successful, Tacoma would produce 80 percent fewer carbon emissions in 2050 than it did in 1990 – despite projections for a population almost twice as large as today.
Mayor Bill Baarsma praised the group for its work and told an audience at the meeting to expect some kind of legislation soon following up on key proposals.
The recommendations include:
• Creating an Office of Sustainability at City Hall.
• Forming a “Tacoma Green Team” to work with other jurisdictions.
• Establishing a citizen oversight committee to hold officials accountable for carrying out the plan.
Not surprisingly, Councilman Jake Fey liked what he heard. Fey, who was recently appointed to Gov. Chris Gregoire’s Climate Action Team, is arguably the “greenest” member of the Tacoma City Council. For his day job, Fey directs the Energy Program at Washington State University, and he once headed an office for the City of Tacoma similar to the Office of Sustainability that’s being discussed.
Fey said Tacoma has an opportunity to become a leader in the emerging green economy, but the challenge will be to differentiate the city from others competing for the same businesses.
“Every city wants to be green,” he said.
Only Councilman Mike Lonergan questioned the goals. Lonergan, who noted the effort to concentrate population growth to urban areas, asked whether the 80 percent reduction in emissions by 2050 was per capita. “If it’s per capita, it seems like it’s in the realm of possibility,” Lonergan said.
But it’s not per capita, officials said. They want an actual 80 percent drop in carbon emissions, despite the larger population, said Alisa O’Hanlon the city staff representative on the task force.
The goal is reasonable, O’Hanlon said, in part because concentrating population will mean fewer residents are commuting long distances to work. Also, new technology “far beyond what we can imagine” will be developed in the coming decades, she said.
Jason Hagey: 253-597-8542
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