Washington State Climate Resilience Strategy

In September 2024, the Washington State Department of Ecology published an update to the state’s Climate Resilience Strategy, detailing objectives for state agencies to increase climate resilience across Washington. The plan summarizes work that Washington state agencies are already doing to boost climate resilience and outlines new projects to be implemented in the coming years.

This plan outlines eight goals related to multi-hazard climate adaptation in response to increasingly severe climate impacts across Washington. For example, the plan explains that Washington has experienced a 25% decrease in snowpack since 1950 and a four-inch rise in sea level since 1930. The first three objectives emphasize efficient, collaborative management, planning, and capacity-building between state agencies and other relevant governing bodies, including Tribes, local governments, and communities. 

  • Objective #1: Coordinate how to best implement the strategy across state agencies. This goal proposes establishing an inter-agency group that coordinates and implements work on climate resilience.
  • Objective #2: Plan for, respond to, and recover from climate-driven hazards and emergencies. This objective highlights the increased prevalence and intensity of climate-related hazards such as wildfires and flooding, and proposes planning, risk mitigation, and coordination to increase community resilience.
  • Objective #3: Support Tribes, local governments, and communities with technical assistance, guidance, and best practices. The third objective proposes to advance support and coordination between state and local governments.

The remaining strategies, on the other hand, take more specific approaches to critical environmental issues in Washington, including agricultural viability, ocean acidification, air quality, and water resource management.

  • Objective #4: Support the vitality and viability of working lands through research, technical assistance, and incentives. Programs under this objective promote agricultural viability, maintaining working lands, and reducing climate risk to agriculture. 
  • Objective #5: Reduce existing sources of pollution that exacerbate climate impacts. Goals under this objective include reducing smoke and water pollution.
  • Objective #6: Implement innovative water conservation and management initiatives to ensure reliable and sufficient water for people, farms, ecosystems, wildlife, and fish. Policies proposed include improvements to water use, infrastructure, and management with respect to resilience and efficiency.
  • Objective #7: Plan and invest in infrastructure and state assets to minimize vulnerability of service, improve performance and condition, increase equity, and promote nature-based solutions. This objective recognizes the existing vulnerabilities of ‘energy grid, transportation systems, communication networks, and public utilities’ and proposes strengthening funding and management of crucial infrastructure.
  • Objective #8: Improve land management and restoration practices to help ecosystems, habitats, and species adapt to changing conditions. The plan’s final objective focuses on the vulnerabilities of Washington’s ecosystems, biodiversity, and habitats, recommending interagency management approaches. 

This strategy was developed by the Washington State Department of Ecology under the directive of the Washington Legislature, which brought together the state agencies of Agriculture, Commerce, Ecology, Fish and Wildlife, Health, Natural Resources, Transportation, the Washington State Conservation Commission, the Emergency Management Division, and the Puget Sound Partnership. The Department of Ecology also received support from Cascadia Consulting Group, Front and Centered, the University of Washington Climate Impacts Group, and organizations and individuals across Washington. The Washington State Climate Resilience strategy was funded by Washington’s Climate Commitment Act (CCA), which supports climate action using a ‘Cap-and-Invest’ market-based program. The Department of Ecology was directed to update this strategy every four years; the next update is expected to be published in 2028.

 

Publication Date: September 2024

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  • Adaptation plan

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