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Bellingham · BEL-CP-2025 · Pages 96-103

Climate

The Climate chapter provides a comprehensive framework for both mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and building community resilience to climate change impacts through 2050 and beyond. It establishes goals addressing extreme weather, wildfire, sea level rise, resource resiliency, and ecosystem health, while also targeting building electrification, transportation emissions reductions, and renewable energy adoption. The chapter integrates climate equity principles to ensure that vulnerable communities receive equitable protection and access to climate program benefits.

Climate Environment Social Economy Safety
Key Commitments
Net zero emissions by 2050
Goals (10 total)
  • C-A: Citywide Approach – Implement a unified, proactive and collaborative citywide approach to address climate change
  • C-B: Climate Equity – Integrate equity and inclusion factors into all climate program design and implementation actions
  • C-C: Extreme Weather Preparation – Protect community health, wellbeing, infrastructure and natural environment from extreme weather impacts
  • C-D: Wildfire Impacts Preparation – Protect community health, wellbeing, infrastructure and natural environment from wildfire impacts
  • C-E: Sea Level Rise Preparation – Protect community health, wellbeing, infrastructure and natural environment from sea level rise
  • C-F: Resource Resiliency – Anticipate and plan for sustainable, resilient resources to meet community needs
  • C-G: Ecosystem Resiliency – Protect, enhance and restore ecosystems that could be adversely impacted by climate change
  • C-H: Building Emissions Mitigation – Ensure that buildings use renewable energy, conservation and efficiency technologies to reduce GHG emissions
  • C-I: Transportation Emissions Mitigation – Eliminate GHG emissions from municipal and community transportation
  • C-J: Renewable Energy – Encourage and support renewable energy generation and use
Stronger Policy Language (22 policies)
  • C-1: Respond to climate change through citywide implementation of science-based climate mitigation and adaptation action plans that include emissions reduction targets and community resilience goals.
  • C-12: Develop, implement and regularly update as needed a comprehensive drought resilience strategy that factors in projected climate impacts and sets action levels for drought stages.
  • C-16: Develop, implement, and regularly update a wildfire smoke response plan in partnership with community members and emergency management staff to mitigate risk and exposure.
  • C-35: Continue to implement and improve multimodal and active transportation systems to reduce fossil fuel reliance, vehicle miles traveled and vehicle emissions.
Aspirational / Monitoring Language (18 policies)
  • C-5: Encourage public-private partnerships with higher education institutions, nonprofit groups and other agencies to address climate change.
  • C-22: Support opportunities for businesses to adapt their operations in anticipation or in response to a changing climate.
  • C-25: Encourage building retrofits, particularly those with sensitive land uses, that make them more resilient to natural disasters and climate change.
  • C-33: Promote the electrification of existing and new buildings with approaches such as education, technical assistance, design services, financing incentives.

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