The most significant climate changes projected for the Pacific Northwest are to temperature, precipitation, sea level, and ocean acidification. While flooding, heat waves, and extreme high tides are not new challenges in Seattle, climate change will shift the frequency, intensity, and timing of these events, and in some cases what we now consider an extreme event will become common.

The 2013 Seattle Climate Action Plan identified the need for a more comprehensive climate strategy. This document answers that call, and includes climate preparedness work being done by Seattle City Light and Seattle Public Utilities. It goes beyond greenhouse gas emissions and focuses on specific and detailed mitigation and adaptation actions to be taken by city departments over the next five years. It is part of a broader Resilience Strategy that will consider climate change in the context of city goals and challenges as well as implications for land strategy and economics.

The Seattle Climate Preparedness Strategy also emphasizes environmental justice and racial equity. Frontline communities (e.g. lower income, immigrant, refugee, and communities of color, disabled residents and seniors) are at greater risk from the impacts of climate change and often have fewer resources to respond to changing conditions. Racism in particular has profound impacts on climate risk, and so racial equity must be incorporated as a foundation of climate preparedness planning.

Seattle’s overarching climate protection vision is to reduce emissions and prepare for impacts while building vibrant neighborhoods, fostering economic prosperity, and enhancing equity. A focus on collaborating with community based organizations working to advance environmental justice is important to this effort as the impacts of climate change affect some communities disproportionately.

This strategy has three guiding priorities.

1. Equity: prioritize actions that reduce risk and enhance resilience in frontline communities.
2. Co-benefits: design and implement resilience strategies that also support quality/livable urban environments, health, and social cohesion.
3. Natural systems: use nature-based solutions that leverage ecosystem services and foster natural systems resilience.

Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation in Washington State: Technical Summaries for Decision Makers summarizes existing knowledge about the likely effects of climate change on Washington State and the Pacific Northwest with an emphasis on research since 2007. The report also provides examples of climate change adaptation activities underway across the state and data resources available to support local adaptation efforts.

City of Seattle
Climate Preparedness Interdepartmental Team
Bill LaBorde, Department of Transportation
Terry Martin, Department of Transportation
Maggie Glowacki, Department of Construction & Inspections
David Graves, Parks & Recreation
Paul Fleming, Public Utilities
James Rufo Hill, Public Utilities
Crystal Raymond, City Light
TJ McDonald, Office of Emergency Management
Jill Watson, Human Services

Seattle King County Public Health
Herakles Li
Beth Lipton
Robin Pfohman

OSE is grateful to the many City staff, too many to be listed here, who participated in identifying vulnerabilities and preparedness actions to help make Seattle more resilient to a changing climate.

A special thank you to the community members who shared their thoughts on climate preparedness through outreach led by Got Green and Puget Sound Sage.