OLYMPIA – A bill to requiring the Washington State Department of Ecology to update Washington’s Integrated Climate Change Response Strategy passed the state House of Representatives today with a vote of 82-14. Sponsored by Rep. Chipalo Street (D-Seattle), HB 1170 would require Ecology to update the Strategy by September of 2024 and then every four years thereafter.
“The Integrated Climate Change Response Strategy was last updated 10 years ago. But we are seeing more, and higher impact, climate events pile up across our state, from extreme heat and drought, to wildfires and smoke, to atmospheric rivers and flooding,” said Street. “These events put all of our communities at risk. By continuously evaluating the latest science and adapting to climate change, we can minimize the impacts on our communities.”
Additionally, the bill requires the Department of Ecology to coordinate with the University of Washington’s Climate Impacts Group as well as creates an interagency work group to coordinate a state response to climate resilience related federal funding opportunities. It also builds environmental justice into the planning, requiring Ecology to engage with historically or currently marginalized groups overburdened communities, vulnerable populations, and tribal governments as directed by the Office of Equity and Environmental Justice Council.
“The impacts of climate change often hit indigenous people, communities of color, low-income communities, and vulnerable populations across the state worst and first,” said Street. “These same communities struggle to recover from climate fueled events and struggle to take actions that reduce, prevent, or help them withstand future impacts. Updating our climate resiliency strategy is an opportunity to include climate justice at the core of the actions we take.”
The bill was passed by the House Energy & Environment Committee on January 26th and the House Appropriations Committee on February 9th. It now heads to the Senate.