Thinking globally, acting locally: Gig Harbor considers climate change responses

In an effort to combat the growing climate crisis, the city of Gig Harbor is seeking public input for a new Climate Action Plan.

A Climate Action Plan (CAP) is a strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prepare for current and future climate and weather impacts. A city’s plan can not only prepare residents for climate-induced changes, but also help slow the progress of these changes by implementing greenhouse gas reduction measures. CAPs also help to measure and track local greenhouse gas emissions.

While Washington is one of 33 states with a statewide CAP, a city-level plan will make sure Gig Harbor itself is resilient to climate change. In fact, the city made this plan a priority at the beginning of last year when it established a goal to “address climate change” and “adopt a climate and sustainability action plan” in its two-year strategic plan for 2022-2023.

In July, the city received a grant from the Washington State Department of Commerce to address climate change through three projects. The first involves education and outreach sessions with the city’s Climate Change Comprehensive Plan Amendment Committee. This committee is made up of internal and external stakeholders from a wide range of disciplines, including transportation and energy subject matter experts. The second project is to adopt an amendment that incorporates climate change into Gig Harbor’s Comprehensive Plan. And finally, the third project is to develop a CAP by the grant’s deadline of mid-June.

Gig Harbor’s CAP will outline results from an inventory of current community emissions, designate targets for emissions reduction and climate resiliency, and set strategies for how the city will meet these targets.

To ensure success in structuring the plan, the city has partnered with the Cascadia Consulting Group. Their mission is to use science to help shape meaningful, defensible, and durable solutions for governments, organizations, tribes, and institutions. In particular, they specialize in climate action and adaptation planning, greenhouse gas inventories, and climate vulnerability assessments, among other social and environmental consulting services.

And while Cascadia is helping to shape the framework, community participation is still an essential part of the CAP to better understand residents’ climate-related priorities and concerns.

“We want to really drill down on the things that are important to the community,” Roxanne Robles, a senior planner for the city, said during a February City Council study session.

The city will offer two modes of feedback. The first is a survey, available online from March 8-28. In the study session, Robles noted that Gig Harbor residents are well-informed on climate change and the survey will thoughtfully reflect that.

On March 22, the city will also host a virtual community workshop from 5:30-7 p.m. This workshop will focus on interactively gathering community feedback on the CAP. Interested residents are encouraged to sign up in advance for the workshop.

All feedback will be taken into consideration, as well as further plan refinement during city staff workshops (including an implementation workshop) and City Council meetings. The final plan is slated to be finalized and presented in June.

While CAPs are generally not legally enforceable, they do hold cities accountable for their eco-footprint and are a proactive way to bring about change. This is especially true if they are well thought out and the city and its community are willing to take action.

And these plans can work in tandem with a strong and growing economy. Fort Collins, Colorado leads as an example of this. After implementing a localized CAP, they achieved lowered emissions while simultaneously increasing their economy and population.

So, even if Gig Harborites are unsure if they want to participate, they absolutely should still give feedback this month. Climate change affects everyone. How much the temperature increases (or decreases) will be dependent, in part, on the actions we take right now to cut our greenhouse gas emissions, including chiming in on the city’s new Climate Action Plan.

Carly Vester has been writing an environmental column for The Peninsula Gateway since 2019. Her storytelling focuses on the intersection of people and the outdoors — from adventures across the west, to our environment and the rich history surrounding it. Her documentary films have screened internationally and her writing has been published locally and regionally.