Cities and counties planning under the Growth Management Act must have a climate element as part of their comprehensive plan. This page provides information on planning guidance, policy tools and grants and other resources for developing a climate element that mitigates greenhouse gas emissions and builds community resilience.
Planning for climate change
Legislation signed into law in 2023 (HB1181) added a climate goal to the Growth Management Act (GMA) and requires local comprehensive plans to have a climate element.
Climate elements must maximize economic, environmental, and social co-benefits and prioritize 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.
Climate planning resources
Commerce will be updating the Washington Administrative Code to provide guidance that cities and counties can use when developing comprehensive plan updates and describe new regulatory authority by which Commerce will review and approve city and county climate elements submitted as part of comprehensive plan updates. Please see the following link to our rulemaking page.
Climate support from Commerce is provided with funding from Washington’s Climate Commitment Act. The CCA supports Washington’s climate action efforts by putting cap-and-invest dollars to work reducing climate pollution, creating jobs, and improving public health. Information about the CCA is available at www.climate.wa.gov.