This page provides planning guidance to help Washington counties and cities develop a comprehensive plan climate element. Local jurisdictions should use the planning guidance with Commerce’s climate data and climate planning policy tools.
Planning locally for climate change
RCW 36.70.70A requires local comprehensive plans to have a climate element that maximizes economic, environmental, and social co-benefits and prioritizes environmental justice in order to avoid worsening environmental health disparities. A climate element can take the form of a single comprehensive plan chapter or be integrated into several chapters/elements such as housing, transportation, and land use.
Intermediate guidance for 2025 jurisdictions
Commerce published intermediate climate element planning guidance to help local jurisdictions develop a climate comprehensive plan climate element. Cities and counties with a 2025 comprehensive plan periodic update deadline will be the first jurisdictions required to have a climate element and should use the intermediate guidance
- Intermediate climate element guidance (PDF)
- Intermediate climate element guidance overview (PDF)
- Intermediate climate element guidance FAQ (PDF)
Translated versions
- Khmer (Cambodian) (PDF)
- Chinese (Simplified/Mainland China) (PDF)
- Korean (PDF)
- Pashto (PDF)
- Vietnamese (PDF)
- Spanish (PDF)
- Nepali (PDF)
- Farsi (Persian) (PDF)
Appendices
- Climate Justice (PDF)
- Climate Element Workbook (Excel)
- Best Practices for Integrating Climate into a Hazard Mitigation Plan (PDF)
- Crosswalk Comparison of FEMA/Commerce Guidance (Excel)
- Sample RFP for GHG Inventory (PDF)
- Summary Report: Climate Resilience Pilot Program (PDF)
- Guiding Principles for Climate Planning (PDF)
- Multi-criteria Analysis Examples (PDF)
- Handbook for Analyzing GHG Reductions (PDF)
- Glossary (PDF)
- Menu of Measures (Excel)
- Climate Change Resources (Excel)
- Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Survey of Small and Mid-sized Cities results (PDF)
Jurisdictions planning under the Growth Management Act must add a climate element to their comprehensive plans in a timeframe based on the periodic update schedule.
A resilience sub-element is mandatory for all fully planning counties and cities under the GMA and is encouraged for all other counties and cities.
A greenhouse gas emissions reduction sub-element is mandatory only for the following 11 counties (and their cities with a population greater that 6,000 as of April 1, 2021):
- Benton
- Clark
- Franklin
- King
- Kitsap
- Pierce
- Skagit
- Snohomish
- Spokane
- Thurston
- Whatcom