Resolution 1518RESOLUTION NO. 1518
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
EDMONDS, WASHINGTON, ADOPTING THE 2023 CLIMATE
ACTION PLAN.
WHEREAS, the City of Edmonds recognizes that global climate change brings significant
risks to our community; and
WHEREAS, the city understands its responsibility to lead both within our own community
and the Puget Sound region; and
WHEREAS, in September 2006, the City of Edmonds formally expressed support for the
Kyoto Protocol, adopted the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, and joined the
International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives; and
WHEREAS, the city developed its first climate action plan in 2010 and an energy plan for
city operations in 2012; and
WHEREAS, in June 2017, Mayor Dave Earling signed onto the Mayors' National Climate
Action Agenda and the city council committed to achieve or exceed the goals established
in the 2016 Paris Climate Agreement locally; and
WHEREAS, the city also commissioned a greenhouse gas emissions inventory of 2017 to
better understand local emissions sources and form the baseline of a forthcoming update to
the climate action plan; and
WHEREAS, in late 2020, the city hired Environmental Science Associates (ESA) to
develop the city’s next climate action plan; and
WHEREAS, after hosting multiple open houses and workshops, administering surveys to
collect community feedback, and incorporating contributions from the Mayor's Climate
Protection Committee, the 2023 Climate Action Plan is ready for city council action; now
therefore,
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF EDMONDS, WASHINGTON,
HEREBY RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The 2023 Climate Action Plan specific to greenhouse gas level mitigation,
which is attached to this resolution as Attachment 1 and incorporated herein by this
reference as if fully set forth, is hereby adopted.
RESOLVED this 21st day of March, 2023.
ATTEST:
~SSEY
FILED WITH THE CITY CLERK:
PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL:
RESOLUTION NO.
CITY OF EDMONDS
March I 7 2023
March 21, 2023
1518
CITY OF
EDMONDS
CLIMATE ACTION PLAN2023
FEBRUARY 2023 DRAFT
ii CONTENTS
CITY OF EDMONDS CLIMATE ACTION PLAN / FEBRUARY 2023 DRAFT
SECTION 8
Lifestyles and
Consumption
SECTION 9
Tracking
Progress
53 59
SECTION 7
Environment
44
SECTION 3
Summary of
GHG Inventory
15
SECTION 1
A Call
to Action
SECTION 2
Introduction
Contents
5 9
iiiCONTENTS
CITY OF EDMONDS CLIMATE ACTION PLAN / FEBRUARY 2023 DRAFT
SECTION 9
References and
Source Material
63
SECTION 5
Buildings
and Energy
SECTION 6
Transportation
and Land Use
27 34
Section 4
Equity
18
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5OUR VISION FOR EDMONDS IN 2050
CITY OF EDMONDS CLIMATE ACTION PLAN / FEBRUARY 2023 DRAFT
Global climate change is already harming many
regions, including the Pacific Northwest. It is
expected to grow worse and become irreversible
unless human-generated greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions can be eliminated. To achieve the
future Edmonds has envisioned for itself in its
Comprehensive Plan, a community with a high
quality of life that is sustainable and equitable for all
residents, Edmonds recognizes that eliminating GHG
emissions is critical. This cannot be accomplished
without action at every level from national, state,
local, and individual. Edmonds passed resolutions,
developed a Climate Action Plan (CAP) in 2010, and
taken several steps toward implementing that plan.
However, the most important finding of this update
to Edmonds’ Climate Action Plan is that the Edmonds
community has not kept pace with its own goals for
reducing GHG emissions. Edmonds is not alone in
failing to do so – most nations also failed to achieve
the reductions agreed to in the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.
As a result, an even more ambitious rate of emissions
reduction must be achieved to avert the worst harm
from global climate change that is being driven
by GHG emission. The City took its first step with
adoption of Resolution 1453, which commits the
City to a science-based target of 1.5 degree Celsius
global temperature rise.1 To meet that target, the
Edmonds community must be carbon neutral by
2050. We have a long way to go, but, as this plan
shows, we have reason to hope we can get there.
Despite Edmonds’ stated commitment to
reduce GHG emission, per capita emissions
remained essentially the same in 2017 as they
were in 2000.
The concentration of carbon in the atmosphere,
a key indicator of GHG levels, has more than
doubled since the beginning of the Industrial
Revolution.
1 See the Introduction for an explanation of this target.
2 See the Summary of GHG Inventory for further details.
“When the well is dry, we know the
worth of water.”
- Benjamin Franklin
Edmonds adopted its first Climate Action Plan in
2010. That plan set goals that seemed ambitious
but achievable: reduce emissions to 7% below 1990
levels by 2012 (per the Kyoto Protocol), 25% below
1990 levels by 2035, and 50% below 1990 levels by
2050 (per Washington State GHG goals in place at
the time). As a part of this current update, the City
conducted another inventory of GHG emissions in
2017.
The 2017 inventory found that Edmonds reduced
GHG emissions in some sectors but increased
emissions in others. The largest driver of these
increases is emissions from on-road transportation,
which increased 27% between 2000 and 2017.
In addition, natural gas consumption in buildings
increased by 25%.2 The inventory concluded that,
12 years after setting plans to begin reducing GHG
A Call To Action
6 OUR VISION FOR EDMONDS IN 2050
CITY OF EDMONDS CLIMATE ACTION PLAN / FEBRUARY 2023 DRAFT
emissions, per capita emissions in Edmonds have
remained essentially the same since 2000. However,
recent state legislation and changes in market
conditions suggest Edmonds can make progress in
the years ahead.
State legislation adopted in 2019 requires that
electricity in the state be carbon-neutral by 2030 and
carbon-free by 2045. Snohomish Public Utility District,
which provides Edmonds electricity, is well on the
way to meeting that goal. That means switching from
fossil fuels to electricity is the easiest way to reduce
GHG emissions. In addition, the automotive industry
is rapidly moving toward electric vehicles, with major
manufacturers planning to eliminate combustion
engine vehicles by 2030 or earlier. Together, these
two changes will move Edmonds closer to its goal
of being carbon neutral by 2050. Even with these
changes, the City of Edmonds and the Edmonds
community must do more.
3 See Strategies BE-3.
4 See Strategy TR-5.
5 See Strategy TR-1.
6 See Strategies TR-2.
7 See Strategy EN-3.
8 See Strategy BE-2.
9 See Strategy TR-5.
10 See Strategies TR-3 and TR-4.
The most effective steps the City can take
are:
1. Adopt regulations to require new multi-
family and commercial buildings to be 100%
electric by 2023.3
2. Require more charging infrastructure with
new development.4
3. Support mixed-use and transit-oriented
development in neighborhood commercial
centers.5
4. Coordinate with transit agencies to increase
service within Edmonds and improve access
to new light rail connections.6
5. Develop an action plan to adapt to sea level
rise in Edmonds.7
The most effective steps that individuals
and businesses in Edmonds can take are:
1. Replace fossil-fuel burning heating systems,
hot water heaters, and cooking equipment
powered with efficient electric appliances.8
2. Replace fossil fuel-burning vehicles with
electric vehicles.9
3. Reduce vehicle trips by using transit,
telecommuting, biking or walking.10
4. Conserve energy wherever possible,
especially energy from fossil fuels.
7OUR VISION FOR EDMONDS IN 2050
CITY OF EDMONDS CLIMATE ACTION PLAN / FEBRUARY 2023 DRAFT
This plan identifies actions that the City and
community can take to remain on target through
2035. Beyond 2035, even assuming widespread
adoption of electric vehicles, fossil fuels are likely
to remain in use for heating and other purposes
unless state energy regulations governing those fuels
change. One of the actions identified in the plan is
for the City to support those regulatory changes.
In addition, Edmonds and other communities will
have to seek additional ways to reduce consumption
of these fuels, and to sequester carbon in forests,
aquatic vegetation or through technologies that are
still in early stages of development.
carbon-free energy for their homes, businesses, and
travel, we can also lower their cost burden in the
long run, because today’s high efficiency appliances
and electric vehicles cost less to operate. Also, if
rental property owners convert to energy- efficient
appliances and fixtures, the energy cost burden
would be reduced for the future renter or tenant. As
John Doerr, a successful investor in technology put it,
“it is now cheaper to fix the planet than to ruin it.”
Finally, this plan examines some of the ways climate
change is likely to affect Edmonds. It identifies steps
we need to take to understand and prepare for
changes to rainfall and snowpack, summer heat and
drought, and sea level rise. Edmonds has only begun
to fully grasp what those changes could mean, but
they are likely to have a profound effect on the future
of our community.
This Plan provides a roadmap and a few indicator
metrics that will help the community know how we
are doing. It is a call to action. It is not too late to
address the climate crisis. The tools to do so have
never been better and they are improving steadily.
It will take effort on the part of the City, state and
federal governments, and individuals to make use of
those tools. It is time to get to work.
“I think calling it climate change is
rather limiting. I would rather call
it the everything change.”
- Margaret Atwood, author
This update also introduces the subject of equity in
the discussion of climate change. National studies
show that affluent households, those with incomes
above $120,000, produce GHG emissions that
are double those of households with and income
between $40,000 and $80,000. A large majority of
those emissions occur outside of the city limits, in
other communities and other nations. The median
income in Edmonds in 2020 was $91,499, placing
it in the 95th percentile for household income in
communities in the US. This means that the choices
we make in Edmonds, what we consume and how
much, have ripples far beyond Edmonds. It also
highlights the fact that many people in the US
consume less and therefore are responsible for fewer
GHG emissions than the average Edmonds resident.
It is incumbent on those of us causing the greatest
impact and with the greatest means to effect change
and lead the way in addressing the climate crisis. We
can learn from those who consume less and produce
fewer GHG emissions. In addition, by helping
those with limited means to convert to efficient and
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9INTRODUCTION
CITY OF EDMONDS CLIMATE ACTION PLAN / FEBRUARY 2023 DRAFT
For over a decade, Edmonds has been committed
to taking action to prevent the harms from climate
change caused by the accumulation of “greenhouses
gases”(GHGs) released by human activity. The
consequences for the world of ignoring climate
change are enormous. Sea level rise will immerse
cities and farmland occupied by millions of people,
causing erosion and flooding, including downtown
Edmonds as well as other areas around Puget
Sound. Drought and higher land temperatures
will destroy crops and forests, and place millions
more in danger of food and water shortages. Rising
ocean temperatures and acidity will affect marine
species on which much of the web of life depends,
and further disrupt human food supplies. The cost
of all of this will fall on future generations, much
of it disproportionately on those with the fewest
resources to adapt. Only with global action can these
effects of climate change be mitigated, and Edmonds
recognizes that it bears responsibility as citizens of
the world and stewards of our environment.
A subcommittee of the City of Edmonds’ Citizens
Committee on the US Mayors Climate Protection
Agreement convened in 2006, and in 2009 drafted
the first comprehensive plan for climate action,
using volunteer effort and with City staff support.
The City of Edmonds adopted a Climate Action Plan
in 2010 (2010 CAP), setting goals to substantially
reduce GHG emissions generated by the Edmonds
community, in accord with the US Mayors Climate
Protection Agreement.
The targets set by the 2010 CAP came from several
sources. Edmonds’ adoption of the US Mayors
Climate Protection Agreement stipulated that the City
reduce its GHG emissions to 7% below 1990 levels
by 2012, per the Kyoto Protocol. At the same time,
Washington State mandated that GHG emissions be
reduced to 1990 levels by 2020; 25% below 1990
What are GHGs and what
does MT CO2e mean?
Several gases contribute to the “greenhouse
effect” that is causing climate change. The most
common of these is carbon dioxide (CO2). CO2 is
emitted whenever carbon-containing fossil fuels are
used, such as for home heating or in automobiles.
Other GHGs include methane, nitrous oxide,
and several fluoride-containing gases, which are
released in resource extraction and transport, some
manufacturing processes, and operation of certain
equipment like refrigerators. These other gases may
have several times greater effect on the atmosphere
than CO2 does. To express the total quantity of GHGs
using a single unit of measure, GHGs are counted
in terms of metric tons (tonnes) of carbon dioxide
equivalent units, which is abbreviated as MT CO2e.
levels by 2035; and 50% below 1990 levels by 2050.
In addition, the United Nations’ Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has determined
that GHG emissions must be reduced to 80% below
1990 levels on a global scale by 2050 to arrest the
effects of climate change. Although these goals were
not entirely consistent, all were acknowledged in
Edmonds’ 2010 CAP.
Using the GHG inventory protocol in place in 2009
and the best available data for 1990, Edmonds’
communitywide GHG emissions in 1990 were
calculated to have been approximately 178,000 MT
CO2e. The estimated 2009 GHG emissions were
282,000 MT CO2e; therefore, the 2010 CAP stated
that by 2012, Edmonds’ GHG emissions must be
reduced by at least 41% to meet the Kyoto Protocol.
Introduction
10 INTRODUCTION
CITY OF EDMONDS CLIMATE ACTION PLAN / FEBRUARY 2023 DRAFT
1990 – Washington State passes the Growth
Management Act, requiring municipalities to
identify and protect their natural resources and
to plan their growth based on demographic
projects.
September 2006 – City Council adopted Res.
1129 and 1130, joining the US Mayors Climate
Protection Agreement and the International
Council for Local Environment Initiatives. This
formally expressed support for and committed
Edmonds to pursuing the United States’ goal
of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol – reducing annual
greenhouse gas emissions to 7% below 1990
levels by 2012.
2007 – Became an ENERGY STAR partner with
the EPA, employing the ENERGY STAR Portfolio
Manager to track energy usage monthly in 16
City buildings.
2008 – Parks and Recreation began using
Integrated Pest Management to reduce its
reliance on industrial chemical pesticides. Parks
now only uses natural, organic pesticides and
uses 60% less than before.
March 2008 – The State Legislature passed
ESSHB 2815 as part of the Governor’s Climate
Change Framework, which was later amended
in 2010 by SSB 6373 to align with the EPA’s
Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program. This
committed Washington to reduce emissions to
1990 levels by 2020, 25% below 1990 levels by
2035, and then 50% below 1990 levels by 2050.
April 2008 – Council adopted Resolutions 1168
and 1169, establishing the USGBC’s LEED
Silver standard for new facilities and joining the
Cascade Agenda to conserve working farms,
forests, and natural resources while creating
vibrant, livable communities in a strong regional
economy.
June 2009 – The City inventoried Edmonds’ 2000
and 2005 annual greenhouse gas emissions.
December 2009 – Included a Community
Sustainability Element in the Comprehensive Plan
Timeline of City and State Actions
2010-2011 – The City leverages a Federal Energy
Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant to
purchase hybrid- and battery-electric vehicles,
starting its ongoing vehicle electrification
transition.
February 2010 – Publication of the City of
Edmonds’ first Climate Change Action Plan,
created by a volunteer subcommittee of the
Committee on the US Mayors Climate Protection
Agreement. It relied on community input,
Edmonds’ draft 2008 Comprehensive Plan’s
Community Sustainability Element, and the 2008
Governor’s Climate Action Plan.
September 2010 – Council adopted Ordinance
3807, creating the Tree Board, now codified in
Chapter 10.95. This was later amended in 2016
with Ordinance 4034 in pursuit of maintaining
Edmonds’ Tree City USA status. Council tasked
the Tree Board with supporting Edmonds urban
forestry efforts to preserve existing trees, plant
more, and encourage stewardship among our
community.
August 2010 – Edmonds becomes the first city in
Washington to ban plastic single-use shopping
bags.
2011 – The City installed six Level 2 high-voltage
electric vehicle charging stations in public
spaces. These include the City Park, City Hall, the
Public Safety Building, and in the right-of-way at
Main St. and 6th Ave.
City hall receives Energy Star recognition from
the EPA for operating 20% more efficiently than
comparable structures across the country, and
reducing its power consumption by 5% since
2007.
January 2011 – Council amends Chapter 20.20 to
encourage limited businesses opportunities from
residents’ homes (Ord. 3840), later expanded to
include urban farming (Ord. 3889).
May 2011 – Community input and partnership
with Climate Solutions generated the New
Energy Cities Action Plan. This document
described immediate and future actions the
11INTRODUCTION
CITY OF EDMONDS CLIMATE ACTION PLAN / FEBRUARY 2023 DRAFT
City could take to improve efficiency and
conservation in Edmonds.
June 2011 – Council passes the Complete
Streets Ordinance (Ord. #3842), to make
investments in pedestrian, cyclist, and transit
during any changes to the streetscape.
October 2011 – The Frances Anderson
Center hosts the Edmonds Community Solar
Cooperative, a public-private partnership.
Capitalizing on Washington Solar Production
Incentives, the co-op enables investors in
Washington to fund this transition to solar
energy and receive annual dividends.
January 2012 – The City developed an
Energy Plan, documenting energy efficiency
accomplishments and highlighting potential
future investments. From 1999 to 2010, the
City reduced municipal energy consumption
by 15%.
May 2013 – Public Works began the
preliminary feasibility study of daylighting
Willow Creek, a tributary of Edmonds
Marsh, the only remaining saltmarsh in
our watershed. Wetlands serve a critical
ecological role in flood mitigation, relevant to
sea level rise.
July 2015 – The City joined the Safe Energy
Leadership Alliance to express concerns
to the Army Corps of Engineers about the
environmental impacts of the proposed
Tesoro Savage Petroleum Terminal in
Vancouver, WA. The terminal was ultimately
never built, reducing further investment in
fossil fuels.
May 2016 – Council adopts Ordinance 4026
to conserve natural resources and reduce
geologic risks as required by Washington’s
1990 Growth Management Act. Council
also passed Resolution 1357, adopting Zero
Waste and Beyond Waste as long-term goals.
March 2017 – The City purchased riparian
and wetland habitat surrounding Shell Creek
north of Yost Park.
June 2017 – Council adopts Ordinance 4072,
codifying the Edmonds Shoreline Master
Program in Title 24. This Master Program guides
and supports Edmonds’ responsibilities to the
Washington State Shoreline Management Act of
1971.
June 2017 – Mayor Earling signed onto the
Mayors’ National Climate Action Agenda
and Council adopted Res. 1389, committing
Edmonds to the goal of the Paris Agreement -
limiting the global average temperature increase
to within 1.5°C.
November 2017 – Council amends the code
to incorporate more low-impact development
standards, including shade tree requirements of
new parking lots (Ord. 4085).
January 2018 – The City challenged its
community to reduce their greenhouse
gas emissions through its Taming Bigfoot
competition, inspired by a similar effort in
Jefferson County on the Olympic Peninsula.
January 2019 – The City inventoried the 2017
annual greenhouse gas emissions of Edmonds to
update its progress and serve as the baseline for
the 2023 Climate Action Plan.
February 2019 – Council adopted reduced
residential parking standards in the Downtown
Business zones in Ordinance 4140.
July 2019 – The City adopted its Urban Forest
Management Plan to manage, enhance, and
expand Edmonds’ tree canopy coverage over
the next 20 years. The plan emphasizes trees on
public property and rights-of-way.
September 2019 – The City received the
Edmonds Marsh Baseline Monitoring Study from
its consultant, which established the health and
biodiversity of the Edmonds Marsh ecosystem.
This baseline is essential for monitoring the
Marsh.
September 2020 – The EPA awarded Edmonds’
wastewater treatment plant a 2020 Utility of the
Future Today for its efficiency improvements,
which reduce electricity consumption by 19%
and fuel oil consumption by 44%. Public Works
continues to pursue more efficient operations at
the treatment plant.
12 INTRODUCTION
CITY OF EDMONDS CLIMATE ACTION PLAN / FEBRUARY 2023 DRAFT
To meet the State-mandated reductions, GHG
emissions would need to be reduced 52% by 2035
and 68% by 2050, and this still would not be enough
to meet the IPCC target.
In 2017, responding to the Paris Agreement (signed
on Earth Day 2016) and advances in the science
and understanding of climate change, Edmonds
City Council passed Resolution 1389, starting the
process to produce this update to Edmonds’ CAP.
In 2018, consultants were hired to prepare a new
GHG inventory and to advise the City on updating its
Climate Action Plan.
Updating the Inventory
The first step in the updating the plan was to prepare
a new inventory of “local” GHG emissions, using best
available data and current inventory protocols. Local
emissions means emissions that are generated within
Edmonds or directly as a result of energy consumed
in Edmonds. This allows the most direct comparison
to the previous (2009) inventory. The inventory
uses data from 2017, the most complete year of
data available when the inventory was conducted
in 2018. The updated inventory also incorporates
“imported” emissions, those associated with goods
purchased and consumed in Edmonds but that were
produced elsewhere in the world. For example, the
emissions associated with growing food in California
and shipping it to Edmonds would be “imported”
emissions, since they did not occur within Edmonds.
Imported emissions are important to consider in
personal lifestyle choices, but are difficult to estimate
on a communitywide scale due to the lack of
available data and the complexity of accounting for
them.
While the inventory of 2017 emissions showed a
slight increase in communitywide GHG, a direct
comparison of inventories could not be made
because of changes in the inventory protocols since
2009. Results of the GHG inventory are summarized
in Section 4 of the CAP, and the full inventory is
included in Appendix A.
Setting a Science-Based
Target
Advances in the scientific understanding of climate
change have improved our ability to predict
outcomes under various scenarios of global
response to and mitigation for global warming. For
example, we now can predict that an unmitigated
global temperature increase would translate to
summer temperatures in Edmonds that are 11°F
higher than they were historically.
Better science has enabled better methods of
targeting the level of response needed, referred to
as science-based targets. See Appedix B for a fuller
discussion of science-based targets.
A science-based climate target sets a rate of climate
action1 that is aligned with keeping average global
temperature increases below a specified level (such
as 2°C) compared to pre-industrial temperatures.2
A science-based target is based on the physical
characteristics of the earth’s atmosphere and how
atmospheric changes are expected to affect the
biosphere. A science-based target represents
an overarching global target that humanity can
collectively work toward. Maintaining temperature
increases below a 2°C threshold will allow the
majority, but not all, of the global population to avoid
the worst social, economic, and environmental effects
of climate change.3 A target of 2°C is considered
the “guardrail” target by numerous international
organizations, including the United Nations.3 As a
point of reference, the average temperature of the
earth is approximately 1.2°C (2.0°F) higher4 today
than at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.
Figure 1 shows the GHG reduction paths necessary
to achieve these various outcomes. See Appendix B
for a memorandum on setting a science-based target
for the City of Edmonds.
In 2020, the Edmonds City Council adopted a
science-based target of 1.5°C with Resolution
1453. This is the aspirational target set in the Paris
Agreement and would substantially reduce many
1 Climate actions include reducing fossil fuel and other man-made sources of GHG emissions, as well as implementing negative emissions
strategies. Negative emissions strategies provide more time to decarbonize.
2 A 2°C target is roughly aligned with an atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration of 450 parts per million (ppm).
3 United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Fifth Assessment Report (IPCC AR5).
4 World Meteorological Organization Press Release: Provisional WMO Statement on the Status of the Global Climate in 2016.
13INTRODUCTION
CITY OF EDMONDS CLIMATE ACTION PLAN / FEBRUARY 2023 DRAFT
of the worst potential effects that would occur if
warming is allowed to rise by 2°C. Achieving the
1.5°C target means eliminating or offsetting all
GHG emissions by 2050. Setting this target allows
Edmonds to compare its progress to a fixed and
measurable goal over the coming decades.
Assessing Edmonds’
Policies
The City and community of Edmonds have been
working toward many goals that will reduce or limit
the growth of GHG emissions. Some of these goals
were set because of climate change, while others
were set because of other priorities, like housing
affordability, resource conservation, and maintaining
a high quality of life in Edmonds. Many of these goals
are being implemented by incremental changes that
will take decades to have a measurable effect. As part
of this CAP Update, the City’s consultants reviewed
climate action plans of 21 other cities and tabulated
almost 300 policies and strategies that will help
Edmonds meet its GHG emissions target.
The consultants also developed a GHG tracking tool,
a spreadsheet to create projections of GHG emission
reductions, and the ability to adjust assumptions
about the success of some of the most effective
strategies. This tool helps to understand what the
most effective strategies for Edmonds would be, and
will allow periodic updates on progress toward these
benchmark strategies, without the need to complete a
full GHG inventory.
A baseline or “business-as-usual” (BAU) assumption of
the GHG tracking tool is that GHG emissions will grow
in direct proportion to population and employment
growth in Edmonds (Figure 2). An adjusted BAU
baseline takes into account the effects expected
from various state and federal regulations that are
designed to reduce future energy consumption and
fossil fuel use in energy production, compared to
past patterns. This includes stricter federal vehicle
fuel mileage standards and state requirements
for renewable electrical energy. Enacted in 2019,
Washington State’s Clean Energy Transformation Act
requires electricity to become carbon-neutral and
eventually carbon-free over the next 25 years. That
means that a substantial portion of Edmonds’ annual
carbon footprint will be eliminated, putting the target
of carbon-neutrality by 2050 within reach.
The initial iteration of the GHG tracking tool showed
how much of a gap there could be between the
science-based target and what could be achieved
with the strategies that are already part of Edmonds
plans.
Figure 1: Estimated
increase in global
temperature based
on UN forecast
modeling.
14 INTRODUCTION
CITY OF EDMONDS CLIMATE ACTION PLAN / FEBRUARY 2023 DRAFT
Public Outreach
Throughout the process of this CAP Update, the
Mayor and City staff have sought input from the
Mayor’s Climate Protection Committee, and briefed
the City Council. An open house was held in early
2019 to present results of the inventory and take
input on strategies the City should consider in
the future. The inventory was posted on the City
website to allow citizen review. The City’s consultants
also prepared a paper on what other similar cities
are doing to reduce their communitywide GHG
emissions.
In late 2020 and early 2021, the gap revealed in the
initial iteration of the GHG tracking tool was shared
with the community. The City wanted to hear how
Edmonds residents feel about the effects of climate
change, and how they want to address the gap.
What is a carbon footprint?
The GHG emissions associated with a particular
entity (individual, household, business, or
community) are sometimes referred to as a
“carbon footprint.” A carbon footprint usually
refers to emissions during a specific time period,
such as a year.
Figure 2: Emissions
Comparison: BAU
Forecast, Target
Emissions, and
Planned Reductions
Edmonds residents were invited to provide input on
priorities and new strategies through a workshop
conducted online in March 2021, and through a
survey that was distributed both online and through
a random mailing. The results of the survey and
workshop are included in Appendix C.
The survey results indicate that a solid majority of
Edmonds residents consider the effects of climate
change to be concerning, with the highest concerns
being wildfire threat, threat to species and habitat,
and decreased air quality. One concern that
emerged from the workshop feedback was about
social equity, recognizing that the effects of climate
change fall disproportionately on people of limited
means. As a result, a new section on equity has been
added to the CAP.
In 2022, the plan was refined and presented again to
the community in two workshops. Public comment on
the strategies and actions has been considered and
incorporated into the current plan − see Appendix C
for a summary of the comments received. Among the
comments received were questions about the cost
of taking the proposed actions to address climate
change. The plan does not include an estimate of
implementation costs to the City or to its residents
and businesses, nor does it estimate the cost to its
residents and businesses of inaction. Any program
that requires funding through the City would require
budget approval, and costs will be considered at
15INTRODUCTION
CITY OF EDMONDS CLIMATE ACTION PLAN / FEBRUARY 2023 DRAFT
that time. Similarly, regulatory actions considered
under this plan could have short- and long-term cost
implications, and those will be considered. What this
plan does recognize is that the global cost of doing
nothing to address human-caused climate change is
likely to be greater than the cost of taking action to
limit climate action.
Mitigation and Adaptation
Climate change is a dynamic process in which effects
from the past two centuries of carbon emissions
will be felt for decades to come. Efforts to reduce
or limit these effects by eliminating sources of GHG
emissions are broadly categorized as mitigation.
This includes steps like switching to electric vehicles
or reducing energy used for heating. Changes
made in response to the effects of climate change
are considered adaptation. This includes steps
like ensuring the stormwater system is capable
of handling more intense storms and will operate
even with sea level rise. Adaptation to climate
change will be needed, even under the best-case
scenarios of GHG emission elimination. Mitigation
measures address the underlying problem of
climate change by slowing or stopping the rise in
emissions. Adaptation is needed to help people and
governments withstand and minimize the ravages of
climate change that are already here or will be soon.
In the sections that follow, actions are identified
with the following symbols that indicate the relative
degree of effectiveness of the action at reducing
GHG emissions.
Some measures may be highly effective but the City
may have limited influence over them, such as those
dependent on state or federal legislation. Other
measures are much more within the City’s influence,
such as zoning or local infrastructure planning. Both
types are included because some important steps
can only be accomplished through state or federal
action. In some cases, voluntary actions by individuals
on a large scale, such as the choice of what car to
purchase.
What is in this Plan
This plan focuses on the most important steps
Edmonds can take to address climate change. It
begins with a section on equity because addressing
climate change (or not doing so) has widely varying
implications for individuals of different socio-
economic backgrounds. The equity section sets the
stage for how we move forward together. The next
section summarizes the GHG inventory to provide a
sense of the scale of the problem of GHG emissions,
and where they come from. The CAP then lays out
a set of strategies for addressing climate change,
along with specifics for how those strategies will
be pursued. Sections on Buildings and Energy,
Transportation and Land Use, and Lifestyle and
Consumption primarily focus on mitigation — ways
the City will work to reduce GHG emissions. The
section on Environment adds strategies to ensure the
City is prepared to adapt to climate change. Within
each of these sections, the CAP describes why that
element is important, what the City has done to date,
and what is planned for the future.
A battle on two fronts
Imagine you are in a boat that has sprung a
leak. To address the source of the problem
means plugging the hole. But to avoid being
swamped, you need to start bailing. Both issues
need attention simultaneously.
In the face of climate change, humanity must
similarly act on two fronts at the same time —
mitigation and adaptation.
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Summary of GHG Inventory Update
17SUMMARY OF GHG INVENTORY UPDATE
CITY OF EDMONDS CLIMATE ACTION PLAN / FEBRUARY 2023 DRAFT
This is a brief summary of a community-wide GHG
inventory, which is presented in Appendix A. The
inventory was conducted by a consultant team
consisting of Environmental Science Associates and
Good Company. The inventory was completed in
early 2019 (referred to in this document as the 2019
inventory) based on data for 2017, the latest year for
which complete information was available, using the
Global Protocol for Community-Scale Greenhouse
Gas Inventories 1.1 (GPC 1.1).1 The City produced
one previous inventory in 2009 (referred to as the
2009 inventory), using an earlier protocol and based
on data from 2000 and 2005. The 2009 inventory was
included in the 2010 CAP.
Edmonds’ 2017 GHG emissions were estimated to be
about 750,000 MT CO2e, including both “local” and
“imported” emissions (Figure 5). “Local” emissions
are those that occur within the city limits, plus
emissions that result from electricity consumption
within the city limits. “Imported” emissions are
generated outside of Edmonds to produce the
goods, food, and services consumed in Edmonds, or
by the people of Edmonds while traveling outside of
the city, such as air travel. Total local and imported
emissions in 2017 were approximately 17.2 MT CO2e
per capita. For comparison, in 2017 the global per
capita average was 6.4 MT CO2e and the US average
was 17.3 MT CO2e2.
Figure 3: Local plus imported emissions in
Edmonds in 2017
1 World Resources Institute et al. 2021.
2 Climate Watch. 2021. Historical GHG Emissions.
Summary of GHG Inventory Update
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CITY OF EDMONDS CLIMATE ACTION PLAN / FEBRUARY 2023 DRAFT
Local emissions in 2017 totaled about 306,000
MT CO2e (Figure 6), an increase in overall emissions
since 2000. This represents 7.2 MT CO2e per
Edmonds resident, a per capita rate that is essentially
unchanged since 2000. However, GHG inventory
protocols have changed since the previous inventory
was completed (see Appendix A for further detail).
Under GPC 1.1, the protocol used in this CAP
Update, several new categories of GHGs were
included, which increased the estimate of overall
emissions. The largest of these new categories is
fugitive refrigerant emissions - leaked extremely
potent greenhouse gases used in refrigeration.
As shown in Figure 6, emissions from operating
buildings and transportation continue to be the two
sectors with the largest local emissions sectors. Other
key observations from the new inventory include:
• Residential buildings in Edmonds have more
than double the impact of commercial buildings.
In 2017, 65% of electricity was consumed in
residential buildings, 29% in commercial, and 6%
in industrial.
• In 2017, 75% of natural gas was consumed by the
residential sector, nearly 25% by the commercial
sector, and less than 1% was consumed by the
industrial sector.
• Passenger transport, primarily in cars, is the
leading source of transportation-related local
GHG emissions.
Imported emissions in 2017 were estimated at
444,000 MT CO2e, 44% more than Edmonds’ local
emissions (see the light blue stack in Figure 5).
Imported emissions are not required reporting in
the GPC 1.1 protocol, due to accuracy limitations.
However, the scale of consumption-based emissions
is large enough to warrant inclusion in community
climate action plans.
Households with larger annual incomes typically
consume more and therefore generate more
imported GHG emissions than households with
smaller incomes. For example, GHG emissions
from material goods for a household with an
income above $120,000 are typically double that
of a household with an income of $10,000–40,000.
Edmonds’ imported emissions are equivalent to
the annual emissions of about 95,000 passenger
vehicles, or the carbon sequestered annually by over
500,000 acres of average forest in the United States
– a land area about 40 times the size of the City of
Edmonds.
Figure 4: Local Emissions in Edmonds in 2017
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CITY OF EDMONDS CLIMATE ACTION PLAN / FEBRUARY 2023 DRAFT
Comparison to the
Previous Inventory
In the City’s previous inventory (covering the
years 2000 and 2005), only local emissions were
considered, so those are the only emissions that can
be compared with the inventory prepared as part of
this CAP Update. The following general conclusions
can be drawn from comparing the past inventory
years with the 2017 inventory:
• In 2017, Edmonds had not reduced its local
GHG emissions in accordance with the targets
listed in the 2010 CAP. Total emissions rose since
2000, and per capita emissions have remained
essentially the same, while the CAP aimed to
reduce emissions substantially by 2017.
• The current protocol requires the use of a higher
GHG emission factor (termed Carbon Intensity)
for electricity than was used in the 2009 inventory,
based on characteristics of the regional electricity
grid (see Appendix A). By instead using the local
Carbon Intensity factor for electricity supplied
by the Snohomish County Public Utility District
(SnoPUD), the inventory substantially reduced the
GHG emissions from electricity.
• GHG emissions from electricity consumption
decreased 7% between 2000 and 2017, reflecting
greater energy efficiency and conservation.
• Natural gas use rose 25%, a higher rate than
population and employment growth since
2000, and rose particularly among commercial
users. This could mean that some of the overall
reduction in electricity consumption was due to
conversion to natural gas use, rather than energy
conservation.
• The largest driver increasing Edmonds’ emissions
is on-road transportation, which increased 27%
between 2000 and 2017.
• Vehicle miles traveled (VMT), a measure used
to develop an estimate of the GHG emissions
from transportation, cannot be estimated for the
Edmonds community with high accuracy using
existing data, and is generally assumed to be
similar throughout Snohomish County on a per
capita basis. As a result, GHG emissions increased
not only due to Edmonds’ population increase,
but also because VMT per capita in the county
rose from 2000 to 2017.
See the full inventory in Appendix A for further detail.
At best, due to data limitations, a GHG inventory
prepared at a community scale provides a rough
estimate of the community’s emissions. The inventory
follows a globally accepted protocol and provides
sufficiently accurate information to assess the scale
of emissions from various sectors, which is valuable
in setting strategies and priorities for reducing
GHG emissions. Improved inventory protocols and
recordkeeping should make future inventories more
accurate and allow for more precise tracking of
progress as well as comparisons over time.
Transportation emissions up 27%
SINCE 2000
Natural Gas Use up 25%
SINCE 2000
Electricty use down 7%
SINCE 2000
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This chapter focuses on frontline communities,
how they may experience climate change, their role
in addressing climate change, and climate equity.
Frontline communities are those
most likely to be affected by climate change.
Frontline communities are also often
more resource efficient than the general
population, with lifestyles that help achieve
the community’s climate action goals. They
often live in higher density housing, consume
less energy per capita, and rely on public
transit. However, intersecting vulnerabilities
and socioeconomic determinants such as
preexisting health conditions, physical location,
historic marginalization, social context, and
income stability can make these communities
more susceptible to threats of climate change.
For example, elderly people and people who
perform outdoor labor may be more vulnerable
to changes in climate and environmental
conditions. Frontline communities may
include the elderly; low-income households;
undocumented immigrants; Black, Indigenous,
and People of Color (BIPOC) communities;
speakers with limited English proficiency;
individuals experiencing homelessness; those
already suffering from chronic diseases; and
others.
Frontline Communities
as Stewards
Frontline communities are stewards in the
conversation around climate change. Due to limited
resources, limited mobility, and other factors,
frontline communities often have a smaller carbon
footprint and are also the first to explore ways to
adapt to climate change. An elderly person on a
limited fixed income learns to conserve resources,
consume less, and find ways of enjoying life that fit
within their resources. An immigrant family facing
high housing and childcare costs may expand their
household to include multiple generations, sharing
housing costs and family duties. These types of
adaptations may not be motivated by a concern
about climate change, but they do have lower carbon
emissions through limited household consumption
and reduced vehicular trips. Frontline communities
can be a source of innovation and expertise on how
to make resources go further.
Equity
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CITY OF EDMONDS CLIMATE ACTION PLAN / FEBRUARY 2023 DRAFT
Figure 5: Frontline Communities in Edmonds
The City of Edmonds is home to frontline communities including the elderly, BIPOC, non-English
speakers, those with no health care coverage, renters, persons below the poverty line, those
experiencing homelessness, and those without a bachelor’s degree or higher, among others.
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CITY OF EDMONDS CLIMATE ACTION PLAN / FEBRUARY 2023 DRAFT
Institutional Racism and
Environmental Justice
Historically, discrimination against BIPOC
communities has led to geographic segregation
that reinforced and exacerbated economic, social,
and environmental inequities. Like many suburban
communities in the Puget Sound region, Edmonds
grew rapidly during a period when banking and
real estate practices openly discriminated against
non-white people. Reinforced by federal policy
established in the 1930s, “red-lining” limited the
availability of home loans in neighborhoods with
high concentration of BIPOC people, thereby
constricting the ability of BIPOC people to
accumulate wealth. These neighborhoods were
also considered appropriate places for polluting
industries, resulting in elevated exposure to
pollutants by residents of these areas. At the
same time, it was common practice not to offer
property in white neighborhoods for sale or rent
to BIPOC people. Often this was reinforced by
property covenants, and in some cases by local law.
Racially discriminatory covenants were determined
unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court in 1948,
and any form of housing discrimination based on
race or ethnicity has been illegal in the United States
since the Fair Housing Act of 1968.1 However, openly
discriminatory practices continued into the 1970s,
and studies have shown that BIPOC individuals are
still discriminated against in the housing market.2
Because Edmonds was a suburban city that grew
by more than tenfold in the period from 1930 to
1980, its racial makeup was profoundly affected by
these conditions. As a result, Edmonds’ population is
approximately 75% non-Hispanic white, higher than
both the county and state averages.3 Even within
Edmonds, BIPOC population varies widely among
different census tracts. Because of the effects of
historic racism, this also means that some areas have
concentrations of people with less wealth, which can
limit options for housing, education, mobility, and
employment.
In addition, Edmonds is on the traditional lands of the
Coast Salish Peoples who still live here and throughout
the region, and whose ancestors resided in this region
since time immemorial. Despite treaties intended to
protect their access to the resources they depend
on, both racism and environmental degradation
diminished their access to those resources. Climate
change will further impact the daily activities and
longstanding traditions of the region’s Indigenous
communities. It is imperative to meaningfully include
those communities in climate change conversations
and solutions.
Edmonds' responsibility for frontline communities
is rooted in its history and in the community’s
longstanding commitment to all its residents. Given
this history, special attention needs to be given to how
climate adaptation strategies affect financial equity
and ability to build intergenerational wealth within
frontline communities.
Climate Equity in
Edmonds
There are numerous ways in which environmental
justice intersects with climate change and equity. This
section outlines a few of the issues that Edmonds
faces. A fuller assessment is one of the actions called
for in the Climate Action Plan.
Edmonds has distinct neighborhoods including
the Bowl, the Highway 99 Corridor, and others. The
Bowl encompasses the waterfront, a downtown
business district, and the ferry terminal. The Highway
99 Corridor is a commercial center for Edmonds
and includes the Health, International, and Gateway
Districts along a 2-mile stretch of Washington State
Route 99 (SR-99). Geographic and socioeconomic
factors create unique exposures and outcomes
in each of these areas. For example, the Bowl
experiences cooler temperatures than along SR
99 during hot weather events due to proximity to
Puget Sound. Communities along the Highway 99
Corridor generally experience greater vulnerability to
environmental health disparities than other parts of
Edmonds. There is also a large population of people
1 Snohomish County. 2019. Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice.
2 Reardon. 2015. Neighborhood Income Composition by Race and Income, 1990-2009.
3 US Census. 2021.
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Figure 6. Environmental Health Disparities and Elderly Population in Edmonds, WA
The Washington Environmental Health Disparities Map shows higher vulnerability to environmental health
disparities based on socioeconomic factors along SR 99 (socioeconomic factors include limited English, no
high school diploma, people of color, population living in poverty, transportation expense, unaffordable
housing, and unemployed), while age and housing situation (e.g., solo dwellers) drive high vulnerability
rankings for residents living throughout Edmonds and in the Bowl
(Source: US Census Bureau, ACS 2019 5-year estimates). Esperance, a 0.7 square-mile part of
unincorporated Snohomish County, is not reflected in these data.
65 and older living alone in both the Highway 99
Corridor and the Bowl, as illustrated in Figure 4.
The unique contexts and frontline communities that
exist within Edmonds need to be considered in the
assessment and prioritization of climate change
resources.
Other issues where climate change and
environmental equity intersect include tree canopy,
open space, air pollution, and safe streets.
Tree canopy varies throughout Edmonds. Areas with
less canopy tend to develop “heat island” effects due
to less shade, making these areas more vulnerable
to higher summer temperatures. Trees also help to
reduce air pollutants within a local microclimate. In
some areas, the lack of tree canopy has been the
result of a lack of public investment in street trees
and open space.
Open space not only provides places for trees but
also for exercise, respite, and community gardens.
Especially in areas with higher density housing,
public open space is an important component of
public health. Frontline communities especially can
benefit from investment in open space when it is
designed to serve the needs of those communities,
and those investments can also help Edmonds reach
its climate goals. For example, community gardens
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CITY OF EDMONDS CLIMATE ACTION PLAN / FEBRUARY 2023 DRAFT
provide a place where people can grow food that not
only keeps their cost of living down but also reduces
the greenhouse gas emissions from food imported
from outside the city.
Air pollution, while not an issue in much of Edmonds
due to ample air movement, can be an issue in areas
with a high concentration of vehicular and especially
truck traffic, like the Highway 99 Corridor. Supporting
the conversion to electric vehicles will benefit
frontline communities in these areas, and there
may be other measures the City can take to reduce
exposure to pollutants in dense neighborhoods, such
as limiting idling.
Safe streets are another component of resilient
communities. Many of the actions in the Climate
Action Plan focus on reducing vehicle miles traveled
as a means to reduce GHG emissions. For those
strategies to work, alternative modes of travel must
be available, especially for the areas where most
of Edmonds growth is expected to go, in centers
identified in the Comprehensive Plan. However,
many of the centers do not have streets complete
with safe places to walk or bicycle, especially those
near Highway 99. Historically, the areas with the least
developed street infrastructure have also been where
lower cost multifamily development has occurred.
By listening to and addressing the needs of frontline
communities in these areas, the city can help to reach
its climate action goals in a manner that reduces
some of these past inequities.
Centering equity
Centering equity means ensuring that people who
will experience the brunt of climate impacts are
actively engaged in and providing leadership to
efforts that identify and prioritize vulnerabilities and
develop solutions to address those vulnerabilities.
The City of Edmonds has been working to integrate
equity considerations into planning, demonstrated
by the formation of a Diversity Commission in 2015
and the Mayor’s Equity and Social Justice Task Force
in 2020, as well as other planning goals, such as the
city’s long-term vision to offer affordable housing
with walking and transit access.4
Some community improvements in response to
climate change may lead to unintended effects, such
as exacerbating displacement and gentrification.
Therefore, in considering future climate programs,
plans, and policies, it will be important for the City
of Edmonds to apply an equity lens, and to guard
against maladaptive practices.
Public participation for the climate action process in
2021 included a virtual open house and community
workshops, accompanied by a survey to provide
feedback on current proposed strategies and
recommend potential new ones. Feedback from this
outreach included suggestions that the City should
consider equity in its efforts to address climate
change, including helping those who could least
afford to adapt to the effects of climate change. As
a result, this section has been added to the CAP
Update. Community involvement will continue to
play an integral role in climate planning in Edmonds.
An equity lens may include analysis by asking questions such as: Who is most affected by decisions, and
therefore should be at the table? Who is not at the table? How can they be included? Is there a diverse
representation from a range of lived experience on project teams and in decision-making roles? Who
benefits from the project, program, or policy? Who is adversely impacted? Are the voices of frontline
communities being heard, and is their input being considered?
4 City of Edmonds. 2020. City of Edmonds 2020 Comprehensive Plan)
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Co-benefits of climate
equity strategies
Many of the actions that address climate change
can improve the health and wellbeing of frontline
communities. For example, retrofitting homes for
energy efficiency can help low-income households
reduce their utility payments and experience greater
safety during extreme weather events, with the
co-benefit of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Other common co-benefits of adaptation strategies
are related to health, financial stability, education,
improved mobility, and support of businesses.
Integrating climate change into permitting and land
use planning can result in benefits such as mixed and
joint open space-affordable housing developments,
and expanding access to local food sources.
By instituting measures to deal with climate impacts,
Edmonds can plan for climate change in a way
that protects frontline communities and provides
an equitable distribution of costs, benefits, and
opportunities for all members of the community.
By investing in skilled workers, green workforce
development training, and new low carbon
technologies like clean energy and renewable
materials, Edmonds can support new engines
for green job growth and sustainable economic
prosperity.
In partnership with other public agencies and
community-based organizations, the City of
Edmonds has an important role to alleviate historic
disparities, educate and engage the public on
climate change issues, and to promote community
involvement in actions to reduce climate change
risks. In the strategies described in this plan, some of
the most obvious equity issues are mentioned. As the
City of Edmonds updates its comprehensive plan and
develops new initiatives to address climate change,
we will continue to center equity comprehensively
and and take meaningful steps to address the issues
surrounding climate change.
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The Problem, Strategy,
and Benefits:
Energy used in the occupancy and operation
of buildings is the largest source of local GHG
emissions in Edmonds (Figure 7). Because Edmonds
is largely residential, residential buildings emit
roughly twice the quantity of GHGs that commercial
and industrial buildings in Edmonds emit.
Building emissions are about equally split between
natural gas and electricity, although a small portion
of homes are also heated with heating oil. At present,
most electricity in Washington is generated through
hydropower, wind, nuclear, and solar, sources that
have very low GHG emissions. Snohomish PUD,
which provides Edmonds with electricity, obtains
over 95% of its electricity from carbon-free sources
and is on track to achieving 100%.1 As discussed
in more detail in the GHG inventory (Appendix A),
some electricity on the regional grid comes from
either coal or natural gas generation equipment,
with the latter being important especially for peak
demand periods. The Clean Energy Transformation
Act (CETA), passed in 2019 by the Washington
legislature, requires all electricity to be carbon
neutral by 2030, and carbon-free by 2045. This
will eventually drive down GHG emissions from
buildings significantly, especially from those heated
by electricity, but fossil fueled heating, cooking, and
hot water will continue to be a substantial source of
emissions unless further action is taken.
Figure 7: 2017 Local GHG Emissions in Edmonds,
WA
1 SnoPUD. 2021. Final 2021 Clean Energy Implementation Plan.
Buildings and
Energy
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While electrical consumption in Edmonds declined
by 7% from 2000 to 2017, natural gas consumption
rose by 25%. Efforts to conserve electricity remain
important, but reducing fossil fuel use must be a key
area of focus to reach the ultimate goal of net-zero
carbon emissions from buildings in Edmonds by
2050.
The main uses for carbon-based fuels in homes
are heating and cooling (34% of total energy use),
hot water (30%), and cooking (3%) (see Figure 8).
In residential buildings and especially in detached
homes, natural gas is the most common fuel used for
heating and hot water.2 It is also common for cooking
and gas fireplaces. For residential buildings, GHG
reduction strategies that focus on homes using
carbon-based fuels, and especially heating and
hot water, will have the greatest effect.
Because housing is a basic need, considerations
of social equity are important. Low-income urban
households have an energy burden—the proportion
of income spent on energy—three times higher than
that of non-low-income households, due to lack of
weatherization and older equipment.3 For example,
natural gas is less expensive for hot water production
than a conventional hot water heater. Heating water
with an electric heat pump cost less to operate, but
the equipment is typically more expensive than
natural gas hot water heaters. Although converting
to a heat-pump hot-water system would reduce GHG
emissions and energy bills, lower income households
often cannot afford the initial expense. Strategies
that consider such equity issues will focus on
helping those who are least able to afford to
make the conversion that is needed to meet
the goal.
Net-zero Carbon Emissions
Refers to a target of completely negating the
amount of GHGs produced by a specific human
activity or facility, to be achieved by reducing
emissions and implementing methods of
absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Figure 8: Residential energy use
Source: 2020 Biennial Energy Report, State of
Oregon, December 2020
Similar to residential buildings, heating and hot
water are major energy uses in commercial and
institutional buildings. Some commercial operations
have processes that also require carbon-based fuels.
Determining what types of operations use carbon-
based fuels and what can be done to reduce their
GHG footprint can be complicated, but the basic
needs of heating and hot water production are
common to all. Restaurants often use natural gas
for cooking and in some cases for heating outdoor
eating areas. As with residences, there are many
2 Oregon Department of Energy. 2020. Biennial Energy Report.
3 ACEEE. 2016. Lifting the High Energy Burden in America’s Largest Cities.
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small business owners for whom GHG reduction
could be especially burdensome, and social equity
consideration should be part of the discussion.
Supporting businesses’ efforts to become more
energy efficient reinforces community resilience at
the same time it reduces GHG emissions.
Puget Sound Energy (PSE) is also making efforts for
its gas supply to be carbon neutral. PSE has begun
experimenting with carbon neutral “renewable
natural gas” and other sources to replace fossil fuel,
and aims to sell carbon neutral natural gas by 2045.
Unlike electric sources, however, there is no State
mandate for natural gas at this time, and it is not clear
how or if PSE will attain its stated goals. Therefore,
this CAP Update uses the conservative
assumption that natural gas will continue to
be predominantly fossil fuel, and takes the
strategy of supporting statewide legislation
similar to the Clean Energy Transformation Act
(CETA) to reduce the carbon footprint of natural
gas supplies.
The City has taken steps to address these issues but
more must be done to meet the target by 2050.
What the City has
already done:
• In 2007, became an ENERGY STAR partner with
the EPA, employing the ENERGY STAR Portfolio
Manager to track monthly consumption of
energy use in 16 City-owned buildings.
• In April 2008, adopted Edmonds’ Sustainable
Building Policy (Council Resolution 1168). It
established the LEED Silver standard, developed
by the US Green Building Council, for new
commercial or civic buildings of greater than
5,000 square feet and for renovation of existing
structures when the increase in value amounts
to more than 50% of assessed value. It also
emphasized Life Cycle Cost Analysis.
• In 2009, adopted a “Sustainability Element” in
the City’s Comprehensive Plan that included a
commitment to review building codes as they
pertain to heat, insulation, and energy efficiency.
• Joined the Cascade Agenda as a member city
and endorsed the Cascade Agenda principles
of making the city “complete, compact, and
connected.”
• Completed an energy audit of major City
buildings and facilities to identify opportunities
for improved efficiency.
• Reduced electrical usage at the library by
approximately 45% after completing a capital
improvement project.
Since the last CAP was prepared (2010):
• Upgraded the wastewater treatment plant
with new technology that reduced electrical
consumption by 19% and fuel oil consumption
by 44%, a reduction of 221 MT CO2e annually.
• The City purchased 36 energy use meters, which
are available to residents and small business
owners to check-out for a free two-week period.
• Upgraded energy efficiency of City facilities,
including interior lighting, insulation, and 10kW
of community solar at the Anderson Center;
insulated glazing at City Hall; and high efficiency
boiler and hot water tank at the Public Safety
building.
• Worked with PUD to replace 1600 streetlights
with energy-efficient LED fixtures.
Renewable Natural Gas (RNG)
RNG is a pipeline-quality gas that is fully
interchangeable with conventional natural
gas. RNG is essentially biogas (the gaseous
product of the decomposition of organic
matter, such as wood or agricultural waste)
that has been processed to purity standards.
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Strategy BE-1: Replace Fossil Fuels used in Buildings
with Renewable Energy Resources
With the passage of CETA, electricity will be carbon free by 2045; thus, any all-electric buildings will
have eliminated their GHG emissions for energy. Conversion from fossil fuel to electricity will do the
most to accomplish this strategy. This includes changing heating and hot water systems, including
outdoor heating and lawn care equipment, and water conservation devices. Adding solar generation to
buildings prior to 2030 will help speed this effort, and will add to community energy resilience through
local generation of electricity.
Actions:
Buildings and Energy
Potential
to Reduce
GHGs
Degree
of City
Influence
BE-1 Replace Fossil Fuels Used in Existing Buildings with Renewable Energy Resources
BE-1.1 Adopt appropriate zoning allowances to facilitate
installation of renewable energy projects, energy storage,
and efficient mechanical equipment, such as height and side
setback or noise exceptions for heat pumps.
High
BE-1.2 Provide financial assistance programs such as low interest
loans or grants for installation of solar energy projects and
energy efficient equipment for affordable housing projects,
including residences and community facilities.
High
BE-1.3 Promote electrification of heating and hot water for all small
business spaces by 2035.Low
BE-1.4 Promote electrification of all businesses, including heating,
hot water, and cooking, by 2050.Low
BE-1.5 Educate the homeowners, renters, apartment managers,
and businesses on the efficiency and cost effectiveness of
electric heat pump heating and hot water systems.
High
BE-1.6 Restrict or prohibit the use of fossil fuels for outdoor heating
and landscaping equipment.High
Strategies and Actions:
Significant reductions in GHG emissions from buildings can be obtained by pursuing several practical
measures that fall into three basic strategies:
33BUILDINGS AND ENERGY
CITY OF EDMONDS CLIMATE ACTION PLAN / FEBRUARY 2023 DRAFT
Actions:
Buildings and Energy
Potential
to Reduce
GHGs
Degree
of City
Influence
BE-2: Improve Energy Efficiency of Existing Buildings and Infrastructure
BE-2.1 Support legislation to require gas supply systems statewide
to be carbon-neutral by 2045. Low
BE-2.2 Create and implement a green building incentive program. High
BE-2.3 Continue to improve energy efficiency of the City’s
wastewater treatment plant.High
Strategy BE-2: Improve Energy Efficiency
of Existing Buildings and Infrastructure
Energy consumption in buildings could be cut by about 30–50% through investment in energy efficiency.
Up to 20% of US households have heating equipment that is more than 20 years old. Modern appliances
and equipment with ENERGY STAR ratings can be as much as 80% more efficient than the equipment
it replaces. Low-income urban households have an energy burden—the proportion of income spent on
energy—three times higher than that of higher income households, partially due to lack of weatherization.
Improved energy efficiency can lower living costs and improve the quality of housing, while also reducing
GHG emissions. The City will continue to encourage energy efficiency upgrades in existing buildings.
The City already has programs aimed at reducing energy consumption at its wastewater treatment plant
and reducing water consumption. The City will also examine the feasibility of converting all City
facilities to electric heating and hot water.
The City will continue to promote energy-efficiency programs sponsored by the utilities and energy
companies, including water conservation. To support PSE’s efforts to reduce its carbon footprint, the City
will support statewide legislation to require natural gas supply systems to be carbon neutral
34 BUILDINGS AND ENERGY
CITY OF EDMONDS CLIMATE ACTION PLAN / FEBRUARY 2023 DRAFT
Strategy BE-3: Require the Design and Construction of New and
Remodeled Buildings to Meet Green Building Standards
New commercial, mixed-use, and residential buildings will be built as redevelopment and in-fill
development occurs and development, including within the Highway 99 and Westgate Mixed-use
planning areas. Building to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards, and
moving to all-electric and net-zero construction will significantly reduce resource consumption and the
creation of waste in our dwellings and commercial buildings.
Actions:
Buildings and Energy
Potential
to Reduce
GHGs
Degree
of City
Influence
on
Outcome
BE-3: Require the Design and Construction of New and Remodeled Buildings to Meet Green
Building Standards
BE-3.1 Adopt regulations to require new multi-family and
commercial buildings to use 100% electric heating, cooking,
and hot water by 2023.
High
BE-3.2 Support changes to State building code to achieve net-zero
energy consumption in new buildings by 2030, including
requiring new single-family residences to be all electric.
High
BE-3.3 Require that all new multi-family residential and commercial
buildings and any major commercial remodeling projects
meet LEED Gold standards or equivalent for Commercial
and LEED Silver or equivalent for multifamily.
Low
BE-3.4 Convert all City facilities to electric heat and hot water by
2035. High
35BUILDINGS AND ENERGY
CITY OF EDMONDS CLIMATE ACTION PLAN / FEBRUARY 2023 DRAFT
Metrics for tracking Building and
Strategy BE-1: Replace Fossil Fuels used in
Buildings with Renewable Energy Resources
Strategy BE-2: Improve Energy Efficiency of
Existing Buildings and Infrastructure
Strategy BE-3: Require the Design and
Construction of New and Remodeled Buildings to
Meet Green Building Standards
430
18%
75%
2035 Target 2050 Target
700
33%
100%
Number of New Residential and Commercial
Solar Photovoltaic Systems Installed
Percent of Existing Residential and
Commercial Area Retrofitted
Percent of New Residential and Commercial
Development LEED-Certified or meeting Net-
Zero Carbon Emissions
Intentionally Blank
37TRANSPORTATION AND LAND USE
CITY OF EDMONDS CLIMATE ACTION PLAN / FEBRUARY 2023 DRAFT
Figure 9: Distribution of local transportation
emissions by vehicle category
1 2017 US Census Bureau.
The problem, strategy,
and benefits
Transportation accounts for 40% of local GHG
emissions in Edmonds—our second largest source
(see Figure 5). Although the City of Edmonds has
little control over traffic on our highways, fuel-
efficiency standards, fuel taxes, or technological
breakthroughs, choices that the City and community
make regarding land use, use of electric or high-
efficiency vehicles, and support for infrastructure all
influence local GHG emissions from transportation.
Development in Edmonds is predominantly
residential. As a result, most Edmonds residents
commute outside of the city for employment, and
the majority do much of their shopping outside of
the city. In Edmonds, an estimated 80% of the GHG
emissions from the transportation sector are from
passenger vehicles (Figure 9). Approximately 71% of
workers in Edmonds commuted in private vehicles
in 2017, and over half had commutes of longer than
20 minutes.1 By making more goods, services, and
employment available within Edmonds, residents
could reduce the need to travel for daily activities.
This means encouraging commercial development
in mixed-use urban centers such as downtown
Edmonds, Westgate, and Five Corners.
Currently, transportation is heavily dependent on
fossil fuels. A considerable amount of fossil fuel is
also required to produce and deliver goods and
services to residents of Edmonds — emissions that
are not produced locally. In addition, as a relatively
affluent community, Edmonds residents often use
air travel for work and recreation, another source
of GHGs not produced locally but attributable to
Transportation
and Land Use
38 TRANSPORTATION AND LAND USE
CITY OF EDMONDS CLIMATE ACTION PLAN / FEBRUARY 2023 DRAFT
our lifestyle. Figure 10 shows the sources of GHG
emissions from various transportation modes,
including these imported emissions.
Reducing GHG emissions from transportation can
be accomplished by traveling in vehicles that use
less fossil fuel per passenger mile travelled or by
reducing the number of vehicle miles traveled (VMT).
Transit use generates fewer GHG emissions per
passenger mile than using fossil fuel-powered private
vehicles. Edmonds has access to bus and rail transit,
but only about 9% of workers use transit to commute.
Recent expansion of Bus Rapid Transit in the Highway
99 corridor and expanding Sound Transit light rail in
the I-5 corridor will increase opportunities for transit
use by Edmonds residents. Further improvement
such as transit hubs, shuttles, “last-mile” services,
ridership promotion, and electrification of transit
vehicles can help reduce GHG emissions from
transportation. In addition, electric vehicles and plug-
in hybrid vehicles can replace use of fossil fuels with
electricity, which, as discussed above, will soon be
carbon neutral in Washington State, and eventually
carbon-free.
Reducing the number of miles traveled can be
accomplished by changes in land use patterns as
well as by changes in work location and commuting
habits. Land use patterns that provide housing close
to shopping and employment reduce the distance to
destinations and facilitate efficient transit use. Where
there are safe and convenient routes, more people
choose walking or riding a bicycle for short trips, such
as shopping, travel to school, or visiting friends, as
well as for regular commuting. Working from home,
which has become much more common during the
current pandemic, also reduces commute trips.
Figure 10: Distribution of local and imported
transportation emissions by vehicle category
39TRANSPORTATION AND LAND USE
CITY OF EDMONDS CLIMATE ACTION PLAN / FEBRUARY 2023 DRAFT
What the City has
already done:
• Adopted a Transportation Plan that will add new
sidewalks and bicycle routes.
• Converted all diesel trucks to biodiesel fuel.
• Provided transit and carpool incentives to City
employees, including alternate work schedules
and telecommuting opportunities.
• Supported the Swift Bus Rapid Transit plan.
Since the last CAP was prepared (2010):
• Adopted a Complete Streets Ordinance
(Ordinance No. 3842) in June of 2011, resulting
in 15 miles of new bike lanes, with 6 more miles
planned for 2023.
• Reduced minimum parking standards in many
commercial and residential zones.
• Created more flexible zoning standards
encouraging mixed-use development.
• Added requirements for charging stations in new
development.
• Installed public electric vehicle charging stations
at 20 locations
• Upgraded the City vehicle fleet to 6 electric
vehicles, 11 hybrid vehicles, 33 propane vehicles,
and committed to 6 more electric and 8 more
hybrid vehicles to the fleet in 2022.
• Updated City land-use rules to encourage more
home-based business opportunities.
• Worked with Sound Transit to add commuter rail
improvements.
40 TRANSPORTATION AND LAND USE
CITY OF EDMONDS CLIMATE ACTION PLAN / FEBRUARY 2023 DRAFT
Strategy TR-1: Reduce VMT through Sustainable Land Use
One of the most effective ways the City of Edmonds can address emissions from transportation is through
regulating how our city is developed, including the promotion of local businesses in mixed-use centers.
Business hubs provide readily available and nearby goods, services, and employment for surrounding
neighborhoods. This shortens travel distances and makes walking and biking more attractive. Every unit
of housing constructed in an urban center represents a reduction of approximately 1.5 MT
CO2e annually, compared to the average home in Edmonds. Edmonds has many attractive multi-
family areas and has planned for nearly all its future growth to occur in these types of centers.
Actions:
Transportation and Land Use
Potential
to Reduce
GHGs
Degree
of City
Influence
TR-1: Reduce VMT through Sustainable Land Use
TR-1.1 Adopt a multimodal level of service to enable complete
streets outcomes.High
TR-1.2 Develop code and guidelines and zoning that support
mixed-use and transit-oriented (Highway 99 and downtown)
development in neighborhood commercial centers to
encourage close-to-home local shopping and employment
opportunities.
High
TR-1.3 Provide tax or other incentives for low income or affordable
housing projects in the City’s activity centers. High
TR-1.4 Encourage more businesses to locate in Edmonds by
allowing commercial uses in more locations, permitting
more intensive uses, or reducing parking requirements in
areas well served by transit.
High
Strategies and Actions:
Five strategies that are essential for reducing GHG from transportation include:
Current level of service standard establish aceptable levels of travel delay for vehicles using public roads.
A multimodal level of service would establish similar threshholds for transit, walking, and biking.
41TRANSPORTATION AND LAND USE
CITY OF EDMONDS CLIMATE ACTION PLAN / FEBRUARY 2023 DRAFT
Strategy TR-2: Reduce VMT by Improving Transit Systems
Edmonds is served by Community Transit buses and Sound Transit commuter rail. However, relatively
few workers regularly commuted by transit in 2017. With the pandemic, travel patterns are changing.
Community Transit already provides discounted fares to seniors, low income and youth riders. This
strategy includes supporting increased transit service, efficiency, and reliability within Edmonds (e.g., to
shopping, medical, schools, and recreation) and connections to regional transit, with the goal of greater
transit use by commuters, residents and visitors, and an associated reduction in VMT.
Actions:
Transportation and Land Use
Potential
to Reduce
GHGs
Degree
of City
Influence
TR-2: Reduce VMT by Improving Transit Systems
TR-2.1 Coordinate transit agencies to increase service within
Edmonds and improve access to new light rail connections.Moderate
TR-2.2 Preserve and expand Sounder commuter rail service in
Edmonds.Low
TR-2.3 Invest in transit stop amenities to improve transit ridership
experience (e.g. shelters, benches, lighting).Low
42 TRANSPORTATION AND LAND USE
CITY OF EDMONDS CLIMATE ACTION PLAN / FEBRUARY 2023 DRAFT
Strategy TR-3: Reduce VMT by Committing to a Complete Street
Approach
Walking and biking do not generate GHGs. However, in many areas of Edmonds walkers and bikers
do not feel safe because of the lack of separated and protected routes. Improvements such as Safe
Routes to School, additional and safer bike lanes, convenient bicycle parking, and more
improved and extended sidewalks make it easier for people to choose these alternate modes.
Currently, only 2.4% of workers in Edmonds walk or bike to work. Every shift of mileage from gasoline-
powered automobiles to non-motorized modes reduces GHG emissions, not only by reducing VMT, but
also by reducing congestion and vehicle idling.
Actions:
Transportation and Land Use
Potential
to Reduce
GHGs
Degree
of City
Influence
TR-3: Reduce VMT by Promoting Active Transportation
TR-3.1 Commit to installing one bicycle rack per block within
neighborhood districts.High
TR-3.2 Establish a complete streets process for capital projects
and a complete streets steering committee to sign off on
compete streets recommendation or exemptions.
High
TR-3.3 Develop a pedestrian priority investment network and triple
funding in the Capital Improvements Plan.High
TR-3.4 Adapt streets for people purposes periodically, such as
“Walkable Weekends” to promote walking as a community
activity that also supports local businesses.
High
TR-3.5 Require bike parking and e-bike charging in new
commercial and multifamily.High
43TRANSPORTATION AND LAND USE
CITY OF EDMONDS CLIMATE ACTION PLAN / FEBRUARY 2023 DRAFT
Strategy TR-4: Reduce VMT through Vehicle Sharing and Flexible
Work Requirements
Carpooling and vanpooling have been available options for commuters for decades, but have been
utilized in Edmonds only on a limited basis. Flexible work schedules, such as working from home or
having 4-day work weeks, have also been little utilized until the COVID-19 pandemic. Many office workers
have switched at least temporarily to working from home either full time or part time, with the effect
of reducing VMT for commuting. Since most working residents of Edmonds are employed outside of
Edmonds, the City has little control or influence over working conditions or requirements, but through
education and outreach may be able to help and encourage Edmonds residents to continue to use these
types of commute trip reduction measures. The City can also facilitate carpooling at local employers by
requiring that designated parking spaces be provided.
Actions:
Transportation and Land Use
Potential
to Reduce
GHGs
Degree
of City
Influence
TR-4: Reduce VMT through Vehicle Sharing and Flexible Work Requirements
TR-4.1 Explore bike and scoot share programs Edmonds.High
TR-4.2 Formalize hybrid work options for City employees. High
TR-4.3 Explore opportunities to develop car share facilities (e.g.,
ZipCar, car2go, GIG, etc.) with ferry system.Moderate
TR-4.4 Increase utilization of the city commute trip reduction
program for employees.Moderate
44 TRANSPORTATION AND LAND USE
CITY OF EDMONDS CLIMATE ACTION PLAN / FEBRUARY 2023 DRAFT
2 Time Magazine 2022. What Norway Can Teach the World About Switching to Electric Vehicles. January 7, 2022.
Strategy TR-5: Promote Low-Carbon Vehicles and Other Methods
of Reducing Emissions from Vehicles
Fossil fuel-powered cars and trucks are the largest component of the GHG emissions from transportation
in Edmonds. Conversion to electrically powered vehicles can eliminate or substantially reduce GHG
emissions, and such adoption is accelerating, especially as many major manufacturers commit to phasing
out fossil-fueled vehicles. As of December 2021 there were 745 battery-electric and 212 plug-in hybrid
vehicles registered in Edmonds, an increase of nearly 144% since 2017, but still just over 2% of the
vehicles. In Norway, electric vehicle sales rose from 1% to 65% in 10 years.2 The primary role the City
can play is to help create the charging infrastructure needed in public places and in existing
and new development. The City can also continue to replace its own fleet, educate the public to better
understand the technology, and support electrification of transit, ferries, and commercial transport.
In addition, while many fossil-fueled vehicles remain in use, the City can reduce emissions through
establishment of no-idling zones.
Actions:
Transportation and Land Use
Potential
to Reduce
GHGs
Degree
of City
Influence
TR-5: Promote Electric Vehicles and Other Low-Carbon Vehicles
TR-5.1 Adopt standards for the placement of charging stations in
public rights-of-way.High
TR-5.2 Convert City fleet to electric vehicles.High
TR-5.3 Add charging stations at all City facilities, including parks. High
TR-5.4 Adopt a policy to limit vehicle idling, including the posting
of appropriate signs at businesses and holding areas,
such as school and ferry areas. This action would include
evaluating how to equip City trucks with auxiliary electrical
systems for illumination and warning signs.
Low
TR-5.5 Support the long-term plan for electrifying the Washington
State ferry fleet.Low
45TRANSPORTATION AND LAND USE
CITY OF EDMONDS CLIMATE ACTION PLAN / FEBRUARY 2023 DRAFT
Metric: Transportation and Land Use
2035 Target 2035 Target2050 Target 2050 Target
Strategy TR-1: Reduce VMT
through Sustainable Land Use
3,000 5,400
Residential units developed in centers
Strategy TR-2: Reduce VMT
by Improving Transit Systems
20%30%
Percent of workforce commuting by transit
Strategy TR-3: Reduce VMT by
Promoting Active Transportation
5%12%
Percent of workforce commuting
on foot or by bicycle
Strategy TR-5: Promote Electric Vehicles
and Other Low-Carbon Vehicles
19,000 51,800
Number of electric vehicles registered in
Edmonds
Strategy TR-4B: Promote flexible
work requirements
15%25%
Percent of workers with alternate work
week or work at home
Strategy TR-4A:
Promote ridesharing
15%25%
Percent of Workers Carpooling and Ridesharing
Intentionally Blank
47ENVIRONMENT
CITY OF EDMONDS CLIMATE ACTION PLAN / FEBRUARY 2023 DRAFT
The problem, strategy,
and benefits:
Climate action also includes preparing for and
adapting to climate change. Our environment,
consisting of both natural systems and the built
environment, is being affected by climate change
in numerous ways, some of which we understand
very clearly, and some we are only beginning to
understand. At a global scale, these include:
• Changes in temperature and precipitation that
affect the supply of water and food for hundreds
of millions of people.1
• Flooding and inundation due to sea level rise
that affect nearly every coastal community in the
world, inundating the residences of millions of
people, most of whom live in cities, as well as
changing patterns of coastal erosion.2
• Ocean acidification, reduced polar ice, and other
climate shifts that are reducing the range of
habitats for numerous plant and animal species,
and inducing the migration of many species.3
Edmonds, although small, contributes to these
impacts through GHG emissions. Through outreach
on this plan, the Edmonds community has indicated
it wants to ensure that the carbon sequestered in
its urban forests and natural areas is maintained or
increased, along with efforts to eliminate most of its
GHG emissions over time. Edmonds also wants to
explore other ways that its emissions could be offset
by sequestration. The strategies described below
address these approaches for sequestration.
Edmonds will also feel the effects of these global
changes, such as increasing human migration,
resource conflicts, disruptions to food and other
production systems, and other effects. It is difficult to
predict how these larger scale effects will manifest
locally. Many regional and local effects, however,
can be predicted with reasonable certainty. The
probability of any particular outcome is typically
expressed as a range because much depends on
how well the world society responds to climate
issues. If one has high degree of faith that society will
respond quickly and extensively, then the lower end
of the range is more likely. If one doubts that society
will respond quickly, the higher range should be
considered the more likely outcome.
Regionally and locally, climate change is expected to
include:
• Higher temperatures, including more extreme
high temperatures in summer. By mid-century,
average annual temperatures in the Puget Sound
region are projected to increase by 4.2°F to 5.5°F
(2.3°C to 3.1°C) compared to the 1970–1999
average, and continue to rise through at least
2100.4 The hottest temperatures are expected to
rise by over 6°F (3.3°C).
• More frequent and more intense precipitation
events in the Puget Sound region.5 For Example,
King County anticipates a 7% to 54% increase
in the 10-year hourly rainfall event by 2080.
(Although estimates have not yet been made
for Snohomish County, results are likely to be
similar.)
• More rainfall instead of snow in the winter,
resulting in 38%–46% less snowpack in the
Cascades, and decreasing summer water
supplies and summer streamflows.5
1 Munia et al. 2020; Mbow et al. 2019.
2 Climate Central 2015.
3 IPCC 2019.
4 Snover et al. 2019.
5 Mauger et al. 2015.
Environment
48 ENVIRONMENT
CITY OF EDMONDS CLIMATE ACTION PLAN / FEBRUARY 2023 DRAFT
• Increasing frequency of wildfire and length of
wildfire season along the West Coast including
inland areas east of the Cascades, with
associated smoke reaching Puget Sound.
• An 89% likelihood that sea level in Edmonds will
rise 1 foot by 2100, and a 1% chance that it will
rise by 5 feet or more. In either case, sea level will
continue to rise into the next century.6
These effects have already begun. Globally, the
years 2013–2021 all rank among the 10 warmest
years on record, with 2021 being the 6th warmest
on record. Locally, 2021 included the three hottest
days on record. Downtown Edmonds saw its first
ever temperature of 100 degrees, giving a taste of
what higher future temperature extremes mean for
the region. Tides in early 2022 reached record highs
throughout Puget Sound. In the Puget Sound region
in 2018, wildfire smoke led to 24 days of poor air
quality, including nine days that were considered
either unhealthy for sensitive groups or unhealthy for
everyone.
The ways these changes will affect frontline
communities in Edmonds need to be better
understood, but we do know that some people
will have a harder time adapting than others. For
example, extreme summer heat causes heat stress,
including death. More than 80% of deaths from
heat stress are among people over 60 years of age,
and Edmonds has a high percentage of people in
this age group.7 The problems of heat stress are
compounded when air quality is poor, because
keeping windows open allows dangerous levels
of particulates. Again, older individuals are among
the most susceptible, as are young children and
others. Many homes in Edmonds do not have
air conditioning, and the cost of purchasing and
operating air conditioners can be especially hard
for people living on lower and fixed incomes.
Community solutions to these types of issues may
range from emergency cooling centers, to subsidies
for energy-efficient cooling systems, to planting trees
for shade.
6 Miller et al. 2019.
7 Kenny et al. 2010.
Figure 11: Relative Sea Level Rise (RSL)
expected for Edmonds WA.
Source: Miller et al. 2019
Figure 12: Inundation of Edmonds shoreline
with 5 feet of sea level rise at high tide.
Source: Climate Central 2022
2–5 foot rise in
sea level in
likelihood of a
Edmonds by 2100
50%38%–46%
less snowpack in the
Cascades by 2050
average annual
temperatures
increase by 4.2°F to 5.5°F
by 2100
49ENVIRONMENT
CITY OF EDMONDS CLIMATE ACTION PLAN / FEBRUARY 2023 DRAFT
Edmonds must consider strategies for adapting to
the effects from climate change that include:
• Extreme heat events that will place stress on
residents, especially those who do not have air
conditioning in their homes.
• Sea level rise that will frequently inundate areas
of the Edmonds waterfront and downtown
before the end of the century.
• Changes in storm intensity that could overwhelm
stormwater systems and damage roads and
other infrastructure.
• Risk of water shortages during hotter, drier
summers.
• Air quality issues due to wildfire smoke.
What the City has
already done:
• Adopted stringent policies to preserve our
wetlands in the late 1980s and to limit the
impacts of hillside development in the 1990s.
• Committed to a set of environmental principles,
policies, and goals for future action with
Resolution 1700 (April 2008).
• Recognized the interrelated nature of
environmental, economic, and social
sustainability through the Sustainability Element
of the City’s Comprehensive Plan.
Since the last CAP was prepared (2010):
• Added requirements for shade trees and rain
gardens in parking lots to land use code.
• Identified tree canopy coverage and areas where
it could be increased
• Continued education and outreach programs for
watershed and water conservation awareness
and other environmental concerns.
• Adopted an integrated pest management
approach in parks resulting in a 60% reduction in
pesticide use, and currently phasing out use of
“Roundup”.
• Utilizing “in-house” wood chips and leaf mulch
for weed suppression and soil building in parks.
50 ENVIRONMENT
CITY OF EDMONDS CLIMATE ACTION PLAN / FEBRUARY 2023 DRAFT
Strategy EN-1: Increase Carbon Sequestration
As noted in the GHG Inventory section, Edmonds is currently emitting GHGs and will likely continue to do so,
even under the most optimistic scenarios. Forests, marshes, and even garden landscapes have the capacity
to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it as carbon in wood, leaves, and roots, which is
sometimes called carbon sequestration. Plants also reduce the potential for heat buildup, such as occurs in
concentrated areas of paving and buildings, and can reduce energy costs for cooling. Forests provide benefits
such as reducing runoff and erosion and removing toxic substances from air and water, as well as providing
recreational and aesthetic values. For these reasons, Edmonds should preserve and, where feasible, expand its
urban forest and natural areas.
Edmonds adopted an Urban Forest Management Plan in 2019 to provide guidance for managing, enhancing,
and growing trees in the City of Edmonds over the next 20 years. Special emphasis is placed on managing trees
on public property and along the public rights-of-way. The plan includes goals to maintain citywide canopy
coverage, manage public trees, incentivize protecting and planting trees on private property, and inform the
community on tree selection, planting, and care (e.g., “right tree, right place”).
The Edmonds Marsh is another natural area with carbon sequestration potential. Although the sequestration
potential has not been determined, plans for restoring this area to an intertidal marsh come with hopes that this
could also have the benefit of increasing the carbon stored in the soils of the marsh.
Actions:
Environment
Potential
to Reduce
GHGs
Degree
of City
Influence
Strategy EN-1: Increase Carbon Sequestration
EN-1.1 Adopt a canopy coverage target for the city. High
EN-1.2 Identify pockets of woodlands and marsh land that the City
could purchase to add to our parks system.High
EN-1.3 Identify City parks and open spaces where carbon
sequestration could be increased.High
EN-1.4 For fee-in-lieu mitigation sites, prioritize sites that sequester
carbon. High
EN-1.5 Update the City Street Tree Plan to prioritize increasing tree
cover in appropriate places along the city’s street rights-of-way,
especially in areas of low canopy coverage.
High
EN-1.6 Explore application of biochar from the wastewater treatment
plant to sequester carbon and improve soils in parks and
residential developments.
High
EN-1.7 Assess the health of and changing stress on Edmonds’ urban
forest and develop strategies to prevent loss of trees to heat,
drought, and insects.
Moderate
Strategies and Actions:
To address these concerns, Edmonds will pursue three general strategies:
51ENVIRONMENT
CITY OF EDMONDS CLIMATE ACTION PLAN / FEBRUARY 2023 DRAFT
Actions:
Environment
Potential
to Reduce
GHGs
Degree
of City
Influence
EN-2: Explore Other Methods for Offsetting Edmonds’ GHG Emissions
EN-2.1 Develop a periodic calculation of the gap between
Edmonds’ targeted and actual GHG emissions reductions,
for the metrics in this plan and provide an online dashboard
to keep the public informed on progress.
High
EN-2.2 Engage in a regional conversation about offsetting GHGs.High
EN-2.3 Calculate the social and mortality costs of carbon that would
result from each Comprehensive Plan update. High
EN-2.4 For any emissions that are not offset per metrics the tracking
tool, prepare a calculation of the social and mortality cost on
an periodic basis.
High
EN-2.5 Research and recommend methods of offsetting GHG
emissions locally.High
EN-2.6 Explore purchase of GHG offsets. High
Strategy EN-2: Explore Other Methods for Offsetting Edmonds’
GHG Emissions
Edmonds can also meet its GHG reduction goals by purchasing offsets for its GHG emissions. Carbon
offsets allow a business, a government, or an individual to pay someone else to eliminate a given quantity
of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. Numerous ways are being explored for sequestering carbon,
including industrial technology, modified agricultural practices, planting forests, and restoring salt marshes
or kelp forests. This strategy can also benefit other community sustainability goals such as supporting local
agriculture or salmon recovery.
Offsets might also include regional or international efforts such as buying cleaner-burning cookstoves in
developing countries to reduce deforestation, financing a wind turbine generator that displaces fossil fuels on
the power grid, or restoring a section of tropical forest that takes in carbon from the atmosphere. Advocates say
that offsets combat climate change, protect nature, and route money to the parts of the planet that need it the
most, and must be part of the solution to limit warming.
However, carbon offset projects have a history of overpromising and underdelivering. Proper accountability
and permanence can be difficult to ensure. Critics of offsets say they allow people to continue emitting GHGs
and avoid responsibility for doing so. Any use of offsets must include a thorough vetting of the offset program,
whether local, regional, or international. Otherwise, the supposed benefit may evaporate.
This strategy includes disclosing the social and mortality cost of any carbon emissions that have not been offset.
52 ENVIRONMENT
CITY OF EDMONDS CLIMATE ACTION PLAN / FEBRUARY 2023 DRAFT
Strategy EN-3: Prepare for the Impacts of Climate Change
The impacts of climate change are widespread, and this CAP Update does not provide a full account
of the extent or severity of each type of risk. This strategy focuses on preparing a more complete
assessment of local risks and developing specific adaptation measures from that assessment. This
includes planning for sea level rise, extreme heat, higher intensity storms, constrained water supply in
summer, and other effects.
Effective planning for these types of changes can have multifaceted benefits. Adapting to sea level rise
can include measures that improve and protect habitat as well as property. Techniques like increasing
urban forest cover or designing energy-efficient buildings can result in better habitat and greater
year-round comfort. Managing stormwater can include methods like increasing infiltration, which can
benefit habitat and water quality. Reducing water use can save energy and benefit fish by protecting
streamflows.
Actions:
Environment
Potential
to Reduce
GHGs
Degree
of City
Influence
EN-3: Prepare for the Impacts of Climate Change
EN-3.1 When planning for any climate change adaptations, include
an assessment of which parts of the community would
be most affected and who would benefit most from the
measures proposed.
High
EN-3.2 Develop a plan for adapting to sea level rise in Edmonds.High
EN-3.3 Evaluate the risks to stormwater infrastructure from higher
intensity storms, and develop plans for upgrades to the
system and development codes, if necessary.
High
EN-3.4 Develop a program to achieve water conservation in
existing buildings and landscaping , with a goal of reducing
per capita water use 7% by the year 2035.
High
EN-3.5 Include measures in the City’s Emergency Management Plan
to ensure local energy supply at City operated mass care
facilities, such as solar power and battery storage, in the
event of electrical outages due to extreme weather or fires.
High
EN-3.6 Create a network of emergency cooling and warming
centers to be available during extreme weather events.High
53ENVIRONMENT
CITY OF EDMONDS CLIMATE ACTION PLAN / FEBRUARY 2023 DRAFT
Metric: EnvironmentMetric: Environment
Strategy EN-1: Increase Carbon Sequestration
5,000
2035 Target 2050 Target
10,000
Number of Trees Planted in Edmonds
Intentionally Blank
55LIFESTYLES AND CONSUMPTION
CITY OF EDMONDS CLIMATE ACTION PLAN / FEBRUARY 2023 DRAFT
The problem,
strategy, benefits:
Our lifestyles, and particularly our consumption
habits, have a large effect on GHG emissions.
As described in the GHG Inventory, much of our
consumption results in GHG emissions somewhere
other than Edmonds, and these emissions are
referred to Imported Emissions. The scale of
Imported Emissions is significantly larger than
Edmonds’ local emissions. The largest sources of
these emissions include goods and furniture, meat
and dairy, transportation fuels and air travel, clothing,
and food.
Households with larger annual incomes typically
consume more and therefore generate more GHGs
than households with smaller incomes. Figure 13
highlights this relationship. The four colored bars
represent different household income tiers. As can
be seen, household income significantly influences
emissions for the consumption of material goods
and air travel as basic needs are met and more
discretionary income is available. When it comes to
food, people and households consume about the
same quantity and composition of food regardless of
income level.
Figure 13: Comparison
of household income
tiers and emissions
for purchase types
Source:
CoolClimate.Berkeley.
edu; compiled by Good
Company.
Lifestyles and Consumption
56 LIFESTYLES AND CONSUMPTION
CITY OF EDMONDS CLIMATE ACTION PLAN / FEBRUARY 2023 DRAFT
What the City has
already done:
• Passed an ordinance to reduce the use of plastic
bags while promoting the use of recyclable
paper and/or reusable checkout bags by retail
stores.
• Followed Snohomish County’s lead in
encouraging solid waste collectors to enhance
their organic collection programs from
residences and businesses.
• Created a recycling ordinance establishing a
base-level recycling service for commercial and
residential customers.
Since the last CAP was prepared (2010):
• Adopted Zero Waste and Beyond Waste as
long-term goals for Edmonds in 2016 (Resolution
1357).
57LIFESTYLES AND CONSUMPTION
CITY OF EDMONDS CLIMATE ACTION PLAN / FEBRUARY 2023 DRAFT
1 City of Edmonds, 2009. Greenhouse Gas Inventory - Community Analysis.
Strategy LC- 1: Reduce Material Consumption, Waste Generation,
and Resource Depletion
Edmonds adopted Zero Waste as a long-term goal. Municipal solid waste is reflection of consumption
of material goods. The City of Edmonds estimated that the community-wide waste disposal rate in 20051
was two tons per customer. Municipal solid waste from Edmonds is deposited at the Roosevelt Regional
Landfill in south-central Washington, where methane from the landfill is recovered for energy production.
However, handling and transport of waste does generate GHGs locally. In addition, reducing waste
locally helps reduce pollution from manufacturing and transport globally, and reduces the community’s
imported GHG emissions.
Solid-waste management uses a hierarchy of approaches:
• Reduce the amount of waste created through the efficient use of resources, more durable products,
less packaging, and less overall purchasing.
• Reuse products and packaging as much as possible.
• Recycle discarded products and packaging, and turn organic materials into compost or feedstock for
energy production.
• Restrict the types of materials that can be used (plastic bags, Styrofoam, etc.).
Actions:
Lifestyles and Consumption
Potential
to Reduce
GHGs
Degree
of City
Influence
LC- 1: Reduce Material Consumption, Waste Generation, and Resource Depletion
LC-1.1 Reduce barriers to achieving Edmonds’ zero-waste goal.High
LC-1.2 Increase public recycling bins in partnership with local
businesses.High
LC-1.3 Require recycled products for City-produced printed
materials. High
LC-1.4 Educate homeowners and businesses about composting. Moderate
LC-1.5 Educate the public about using safer, non-toxic materials.Moderate
Strategies and Actions:
The two primary strategies for reducing these emissions at a community scale are to reduce waste generation,
and to modify food purchases.
58 LIFESTYLES AND CONSUMPTION
CITY OF EDMONDS CLIMATE ACTION PLAN / FEBRUARY 2023 DRAFT
Strategy LC-2: Modify Food Purchases
People need to eat, and dietary needs and preferences vary widely, so it is unwise to make
generalizations about what foods people eat, or should eat. The vast majority of food consumed in
Edmonds comes from elsewhere, grown in a wide variety of environments using wide array of methods.
However, there are two important changes in food consumption that most households can apply:
• Reduce the over-purchasing in small (one- or two-person) households, to reduce waste.
• Reduce consumption of snacks, ready-made food and drinks, and other foods with high caloric
content and low nutritional values that are not recommended for a healthy diet. These foods produce
little nutritional benefit while generating a significant portion of the total emissions from food
production, packaging, and delivery.
Producing food at home and buying locally grown food are ways to incorporate these changes into our
food consumption. An additional positive impact of supporting local food producers in a diversified local
economy.
Actions:
Lifestyles and Consumption
Potential
to Reduce
GHGs
Degree
of City
Influence
LC-2: Modify Food Purchases
LC-2.1 Educate smaller households on ways to reduce food waste.Moderate
LC-2.2 Educate consumers benefits of consuming less pre-
packaged and more plant-based foods.Moderate
LC-2.3 Involve community in identifying City parks and other
property, both City-owned and private, as potential sites for
neighborhood public gardens.
High
LC-2.4 Continue to promote local farmers’ markets.Moderate
59LIFESTYLES AND CONSUMPTION
CITY OF EDMONDS CLIMATE ACTION PLAN / FEBRUARY 2023 DRAFT
Metric: Lifestyle and Consumption
Strategy LC-1: Reduce material consumption,
waste generation, and resource depletion
75%
2035 Target 2050 Target
100%
Reduction in Solid Waste Taken to Landfill
Intentionally Blank
61TRACKING PROGRESS
CITY OF EDMONDS CLIMATE ACTION PLAN / FEBRUARY 2023 DRAFT
Accounting for progress in reducing GHG emissions
at a community scale can be a challenging and
laborious process. It is important to know how well
we are doing, but the time and effort involved in
getting a complete picture might be better spent on
some of the strategies identified above. However,
progress can be estimated by looking at a few key
metrics. The best metrics are those for which data
are readily available, where results can reasonably be
predicted from the data, and where the outcome is
expected to result in a noticeable change within the
timeframe being studied.
As part of this CAP Update, our consultants prepared
a tracking tool that focuses on a key metric for each
of 10 strategies. Table 1 lists the strategies along
with the metrics used as indicators for each. This will
allow the City to estimate progress in reducing local
emissions on an annual basis, without having to do
a complete new inventory. While these metrics do
not address every aspect of the community’s GHG
emissions, tracking them will allow the community
to see real progress being made, or not, on the
strategies identified in this plan for reducing GHG
emissions.
The tracking tool includes a number of assumptions
built off existing information about GHG emissions,
population and employment growth, commuting
patterns, and other factors. The approach taken is
conservative, to ensure that GHG emission reductions
are not overestimated. For example, it accounts for
gradual improvement in the fuel efficiency of cars
mandated by federal regulations. The fact that many
manufacturers are moving rapidly toward electric
vehicles is not factored in.
Using this tracking tool, the consultant worked with
City staff to estimate how aggressively each strategy
might be applied, using 2035 and 2050 as planning
horizons. These two horizon years were selected
because 2050 is the date by which the City’s science-
based target mandates the full mitigation of GHG
emissions (net-zero emissions), and 2035 was an
approximate midpoint. The tracking tool provides
an estimate of how much GHG emissions would be
affected if all of the strategies are on track by each of
the planning horizon years.
The graph in Figure 14 depicts the path that
Edmonds emissions reductions will take between
now and 2050, assuming success in all strategies
being tracked, compared to the overall net-zero
target set by this plan. As shown in Figure 14 there is
still a reduction gap of 95,070 MT CO2e for 2050.
A reduction gap means that further measures will be
needed. In particular, fossil-fuel based gas (natural
gas) must either be replaced with carbon-neutral
gas, or eliminated from use, and refrigerants must
be either switched to carbon-neutral refrigerants
or all leaks must be eliminated. These two changes
would substantially reduce the gap, but require
technological changes that have yet to become
economical. Even with these changes, there will
likely be the need for some carbon sequestration,
as discussed in Section 7, Environment. Carbon
sequestration is also evolving. Technological
advances for some industries and the use of natural
systems, such as “blue carbon” sequestration through
restoration of marine environments, offer hope for
economically viable solutions in the near future.
Tracking Progress
62 TRACKING PROGRESS
CITY OF EDMONDS CLIMATE ACTION PLAN / FEBRUARY 2023 DRAFT
2035 Target 2050 Target
Strategy BE-3: Require the Design and
Construction of New and Remodeled Buildings to
Meet Green Building Standards
75%100%
Percent of New Residential and Commercial
Development LEED-Certified or meeting Net-
Zero Carbon Emissions
Annual GHG Savings (MT CO2e)
3,272 7,870
Figure 14: Edmonds GHG emissions, Targeted emission reductions, and redcution gap by 2050.
2035 Target 2050 Target
Strategy BE-1: Replace Fossil Fuels used in
Buildings with Renewable Energy Resources
430 700
Number of New Residential and Commercial
Solar Photovoltaic Systems Installed
Annual GHG Savings (MT CO2e)
0 0
Strategy BE-2: Improve Energy Efficiency of
Existing Buildings and Infrastructure
18%33%
Percent of Existing Residential and
Commercial Area Retrofitted
Annual GHG Savings (MT CO2e)
3,574 6,670
63TRACKING PROGRESS
CITY OF EDMONDS CLIMATE ACTION PLAN / FEBRUARY 2023 DRAFT
2035 Target 2050 Target
Strategy TR-1: Reduce VMT
through Sustainable Land Use
3,000 5,400
Residential units developed in centers
Annual GHG Savings (MT CO2e)
4,781 5,737
Strategy TR-3: Reduce VMT by
Promoting Active Transportation
5%12%
Percent of workforce commuting
on foot or by bicycle
Annual GHG Savings (MT CO2e)
800 2,177
Strategy TR-2: Reduce VMT
by Improving Transit Systems
20%30%
Percent of workforce commuting by transit
Annual GHG Savings (MT CO2e)
3,792 4,807
Strategy TR-4: Promote Vehicle Sharing and
Flexible Work Environments
15%25%
Percent of Workers Carpooling and Ridesharing
Annual GHG Savings (MT CO2e)
8,700 9,229
2035 Target 2050 Target
Strategy TR-5:
Promote Low-Carbon Vehicles
19,000 51,800
Number of electric vehicles registered in
Edmonds
Annual GHG Savings (MT CO2e)
50,734 81,046
2035 Target 2050 Target
Strategy EN-1: Increase Carbon Sequestration
5,000 10,000
Number of Trees Planted in Edmonds
Annual GHG Savings (MT CO2e)
131 262
2035 Target 2050 Target
Strategy LC-1: Reduce Material Consumption
75%100%
Reduction in Solid Waste Taken to Landfill
Annual GHG Savings (MT CO2e)
3,257 4,343
* Although this metric will not help reduce GHG after the electric
grid is carbon neutral in 2030, prior to that date, cumulatively it will
produce enough electricity to reduce GHGs prior to that date by
approximately 12,000 MTCO2e.
TOTAL Total Reduction
(MT CO2e)
1.5°C Scenario Target
Reduction (MT CO2e)
Reduction Still Needed to
Reach Target (MT CO2e)
Percent of Target
Achieved
2035 Annual GHG Savings
(MT CO2e) 79,121 79,316 195 100%
2050 Annual GHG Savings
(MT CO2e) 122,141 217,210 95,070 56%
Intentionally Blank
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