Climate Impact Advisory Committee Additional Information

Meeting Information

Meetings are generally held the third Thursday of the month, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., and are currently being held in a hybrid format, in person and remotely (see agenda for web meeting details).  Check the calendar for up-to-date meeting information.

The Climate Impact Advisory Committee is excited to release the final 2021 Whatcom County Climate Action Plan. 

2021 Whatcom County Climate Action Plan

2021 Whatcom County Climate Action Plan (Spread version for printing)

Climate Action Plan Public Review Process and Log

This final document was adopted by County Council on November 9, 2021 through Resolution 2021-049

This Climate Action Plan is an advisory document based on the latest science and the committee’s knowledge of climate strategies and available technologies to reduce the impacts of climate change. County staff and Council members will decide which actions are implemented. The plan draws heavily from the 2019 Community Research Project report, a community outreach effort that interviewed stakeholders in the County on their recommendations for addressing climate change. Many of the strategies are also aligned with the 2021 Washington State Energy Strategy, as well as best practices from other counties and cities.

The Climate Action Plan is long, but thorough in explaining the need for specific climate actions:

Section 1: “Climate Change in Whatcom County” presents the climate impacts, terminology, our greenhouse gas assessment, and the guiding principles in establishing climate strategies and actions. It is basically a summary of the background information used to develop our recommendations.

Section 2: “The Built Environment” covers the main sectors responsible for emissions, Electricity, Buildings, Industry, Transportation and Waste. We also included Land Use in this section which influences the amount of emissions and provides opportunities for adaptation.

Section 3: “The Natural Environment” includes Water Resources, Fisheries, Agriculture, Forestry and Ecosystems. We highlight both the impacts of climate change on these areas and suggest how these areas can play a large role in climate resilience.

Section 4: “Implementation” – the best approach to accomplish our goals and strategies and the need to be able to measure the effectiveness of our actions.

Section 5: “Appendices” The detailed actions and benefits by strategy for the areas covered in Sections 2 & 3.

Climate Planning Documents

Committee Documents

DateAgendaMinutesSupporting Documents
September 21, 2023Agenda
Meeting Packet
August 17, 2023Agenda
Meeting Packet
July 20, 2023AgendaMinutesMeeting Packet 
June 15, 2023AgendaMinutesPacket: Climate Action Program 2023 Work Plan
May 18, 2023AgendaMinutes
April 20, 2023Agenda
MinutesClimate Action Plan Progress Tracking
March 16, 2023AgendaMinutes
February 16, 2023AgendaMinutes
January 19, 2023AgendaMinutes
Date Agenda Minutes Supporting Documents
December 15, 2022 Agenda   DNR Phase II Carbon Project Maps
October 20, 2022 Agenda    
September 15, 2022 Agenda    
August 18, 2022 Agenda Minutes Forest Carbon Accounting
      Creating a Carbon Trust Movement
      Wind Energy Update
July 28, 2022
Special Meeting
Agenda Minutes Legacy Forests
July 21, 2022 Agenda Minutes  
June 2, 2022 Agenda Minutes  
May 5, 2022 Agenda Minutes  
April 14, 2022 Agenda Minutes Geothermal Energy presentation
March 3, 2022 Minutes CoSMoS presentation USGS
February 3, 2022 Agenda Minutes  
January 6, 2022 Agenda Minutes Roles of CIAC, OCA, JCAT
December 2, 2021 Agenda Minutes  
November 4, 2021 Agenda Minutes Observations - PSE Clean Energy Implementation Plan
October 7, 2021 Agenda Minutes  
September 2, 2021 Agenda Minutes  
August 3, 2021 Agenda Minutes Draft Executive Summary Climate Action Plan
July 1, 2021 Agenda Minutes  
June 3, 2021 Agenda Minutes  
May 6, 2021 Agenda Minutes  
April 1, 2021 Agenda Minutes  
March 18, 2021 Agenda Minutes Natural Resource Management Strategies Presentation Part 2
March 4, 2021 Agenda Minutes Natural Resource Management Strategies Presentation Part 1
February 4, 2021 Agenda Minutes  
January 7, 2021 Agenda Minutes  
December 3, 2020 Agenda Minutes Community Engagement Presentation
      Electricity and Buildings Strategies Presentation
      Electricity and Buildings Working Group Presentation
November 5, 2020 Agenda Minutes Natural Resources Work Group Presentation
October 1, 2020 Agenda Minutes Transportation Work Group Presentation
      Overview of BP NetZero
      Industrial GHG Emissions
September 3, 2020 Agenda Minutes Washington State Policy Update
August 6, 2020 Agenda Minutes Pathway to Public Power presentation
July 2, 2020
Agenda Minutes Energy Supply 2020 Update
June 11, 2020 Agenda Minutes Draft Municipal & Community GHG Inventory
May 7, 2020 Agenda Minutes Memo GHG Emissions Targets
April 2, 2020 Agenda Minutes Vulnerability Assessment, GHG Inventory, Strategies & Actions Project Update
March 5, 2020
Agenda Minutes Government Operations 2017 GHG Inventory & Project Update
February 6, 2020
Agenda Minutes Climate Action Plan & Vulnerability Assessment Update
January 9, 2020
Agenda Minutes Government Operations 2017 DRAFT GHG Emissions Inventory
December 5, 2019
Agenda Minutes  
November 7, 2019 Agenda Minutes  
October 3, 2019 Agenda Minutes Climate Action Plan & Vulnerability Assessment Overview
September 5, 2019 Agenda Minutes Community Research Project presentation
August 1, 2019 Agenda Minutes  
July 11, 2019 Agenda Minutes Wind Energy Permitting - Spark Northwest
      Utility-Scale Wind Energy Potential
      PSE Wind Energy Opportunities
May 2, 2019 Agenda Minutes  
April 4, 2019 Agenda Minutes  
March 7, 2019 Agenda n/a  
February 7, 2019 Agenda Minutes Supporting Documents
January 16, 2019 *SPECIAL* Agenda n/a Forest GHG Overview
January 3, 2019 Agenda Minutes  
December 6, 2018 Agenda Minutes Supporting Documents
November 11, 2018 Agenda Minutes  
October 4, 2018 Agenda Minutes  
Sept 9, 2018 Agenda Minutes  
July 5, 2018 Agenda Minutes  
June 7, 2018 Agenda Minutes  
May 3, 2018 Agenda Minutes  
March 15, 2018 Agenda Minutes