Pierce County sets ambitious goal for reduction of greenhouse gases by 2030
The Pierce County Council passed a plan to reduce countywide greenhouse gas emissions by 45 percent by 2030.
The 2030 Sustainability Plan created a to-do list for the county on policies and actions on transportation, energy and infrastructure, waste reduction and carbon sequestration.
For more than an hour, citizens and environmental groups told the council in public comments that they supported the sustainability plan.
The plan passed 6-1, with council member Amy Cruver, R-Eatonville, voting no.
The plan is intended to make it easier for developers and consumers to choose green options, said Council chairman and co-sponsor Derek Young, D-Gig Harbor.
“We need to align the market for people to choose the right thing without extraordinary sacrifices,” Young said.
Cosponsor Ryan Mello, D-Tacoma, agreed, saying the sustainability plan needed to push the market to more environmentally friendly options.
He used the example of apartment construction. Mello wants to require developers to include electric car charging stations in garages. That way, when residents are buying a new car, they might consider electric more than before.
“If the infrastructure is there, in their garage space and all other things being equal, they’ll think hard about going electric,” Mello said. “We have a role to play to force change in development standards because without that, infrastructure adoption does not happen.”
A cost to the county’s green plan has not been determined, Young said. In biennial budget adjustments, $460,000 was allocated to improve sustainability programs.
“We have critical infrastructure in the way of danger, and it would be more expensive for us to do nothing. The cost of climate change is hard to imagine,” he told The News Tribune.
The county had a 2020 Sustainability Plan. The last report on its progress in 2017 said nine of Pierce County’s 15 sustainability goals were considered to lag behind where they needed to be to reach 2020 benchmarks.
At one point in 2019, the Office of Sustainability folded when the sole employee left the position for another job in county government. The council passed a biennial budget that included more funding for the office later that year.
Currently, the Sustainability Division has 12 people working directly on sustainability, said Pierce County director of communications Libby Catalinich. Mello expects there will be more hires to address building and permitting changes.
“I think we are going to staff up even more and do what it takes to implement the plan,” he said.
The county’s goal isn’t attainable without fuel regulation, Mello said. He mentioned a critical piece is the Clean Fuel Standard, which is seeing its third revival in the state Legislature this session.
A fuel standard would regulate the amount of carbon in different fuels. Fuel producers like BP and Chevron would be encouraged to shift to blended biofuels and renewable natural gas and away from gasoline, diesel and propane through a credit system.
Transit
Transportation is the second largest contributor of greenhouse gas emissions in Pierce County, responsible for approximately 40 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions, according to Puget Sound Clean Air Agency data on greenhouse gas emission.
About 46 percent of Pierce County residents commute 30 minutes or more to work, according to University of Wisconsin’s Population Health Institute’s County Health Rankings.
The county looks to:
Establish mixed-use development parking and zoning regulations that support electric vehicle, trails, bike lanes, sidewalks, parking requirement reductions and car-sharing.
Incentivize major regional employers to establish satellite offices in Pierce County or incentivize teleworking to reduce traffic flow into King County.
Support an electric aviation program that includes charging stations and looks at the viability of an electric plane.
Significantly increase the amount of bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure with a focus on creating accessibility in the urban area and connections to cities.
Partner with electric utilities throughout the county to develop an electric vehicle infrastructure plan to facilitate the establishment of electric vehicle charging stations
Infrastructure
The energy and built environment sector represent 55 percent of Pierce County’s greenhouse gas emissions, the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency said.
The county wants to transition the electric grid toward 100 percent clean energy and shift to electric heating in homes, commercial and industrial buildings.
Infrastructure plans include:
Reviewing the development code for opportunities to increase building energy efficiency, expanding the use of clean and renewable energy and increase the installation of green infrastructure.
Developing tools that use electricity and establish incentives for the replacement of existing low efficiency energy systems.
Eliminating barriers and providing financial incentives to install renewable energy projects.
Other sections of the Sustainability Plan look to develop recycling campaigns for paper, metal, food waste; hold educational workshops; and create a county conservation plan that identifies potential lands and strategies for “carbon sequestration” and ecosystem services. Carbon sequestration is capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it long-term in plants, soils and the ocean.
This story was originally published March 31, 2021 at 11:21 AM.
