This page provides policy tools to help Washington counties and cities measure and manage their greenhouse gas emissions and build resilience to wildfires, floods, and other natural hazards exacerbated by climate change. Local jurisdictions should use the policy tools with Commerce’s climate planning guidance to develop and update a comprehensive plan climate element.
Climate Policy Explorer
Use the Climate Policy Explorer (CPE) to search more than 200 model climate measures and more than a 100 planning resources. Goals and policies are organized by sector (e.g., Transportation and Built Environment & Energy) and sortable by co-benefit, subelement, and other attributes.
Learn more: Refer to the climate policy explorer user guide (PDF) and CPE video tutorial (Vimeo) to learn how to use the Climate Policy Explorer.
Emissions forecast and scenario planning tool
Commerce developed the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Forecast and Scenario Planning Tool (Excel) to help the 11 counties that are required to create a greenhouse gas reduction subelement evaluate emissions scenarios and mitigation strategies.
The tool estimates greenhouse gas emissions from 2022 to 2050 under three scenarios, depending on the degree of action taken to reduce emissions at the local level.
Learn more: Refer to the GHG Forecast & Scenario Planning Tool video tutorial (Vimeo) to learn how to use the tool.
Note: Commerce’s emissions inventory and projection data are for informational purposes and utilize a consistent methodological approach for all 11 counties. Commerce’s methodology may differ from the methodology counties use to create their own inventories in terms of the data used and quantification approach. Please contact your local jurisdiction for the inventory used for official planning purposes.
Commerce developed a greenhouse gas inventory for each of the 11 counties that must include a greenhouse gas emissions reduction subelement in its comprehensive plan.
The information and calculations used to prepare the inventories are available in two GHG workbooks (Excel). The supporting data are available upon request.
Each inventory report (published in 2025) shows both the county’s total emissions (includes direct and indirect emissions across all sectors) and its core emissions (includes only sectors over which county governments often have the most influence, such as local codes/regulations). Each inventory report includes a companion summary infographic.
Franklin County
Benton County
Clark County
King County
Kitsap County
Pierce County
Skagit County
Snohomish County
Spokane County
Thurston County
Whatcom County
Washington Local Emissions Estimator (WaLEE)
Commerce is developing the Washington Local Emissions Estimator (WaLEE) to help counties and cities determine the emissions-reduction potential of the Climate Policy Explorer’s model mitigation policies. WaLEE — which can help jurisdictions select a suite of policies sufficient to hit local emissions-reduction targets — will be ready for use by June 2027.