Carbon Free Thurston Campaign
The Carbon Free Thurston (CFT) campaign has been an important force for climate action among local governments since 2017. We successfully encouraged Lacey, Tumwater and the county to join Olympia to develop a regional climate action plan. CFT volunteers helped convince all four jurisdictions to commit money to complete the Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan (TCMP), and we provided critical support and recommendations in areas such as equity and sequestration (storing carbon).
We are currently working with the four governments to fund climate projects from the TCMP. This year’s recommendation is about $3 million dollars, ramping up to $15 million dollars in 2025. For more information contact Robert Marino . CFT meets on the 3rd Wednesday of the Month at 3:00pm
One of the most important results of the Paris climate meeting in 2015 was a universal recognition that cities must play a critical role in reducing our planet’s greenhouse gas emissions to safe levels. So the local cities’ commitment to join this movement is an important part of the global movement to ensure a safe climate and a livable world for future generations.
Accomplishments:
CFT has already made a difference in moving our community forward on clean energy and a stable climate:
- We encouraged the cities and the county to include money in their 2018 budgets to complete a strong and effective climate action plan. They did that, and completed the plan in late 2020.
- We conducted outreach to community organizations, and encouraged local residents to attend City Council and County Commissioner meetings to voice support for strong local climate action.
- The City Councils of Olympia, Tumwater, and Lacey, and the Thurston County Commissioners, adopted strong, science-based targets for reducing community-wide greenhouse gas emissions. Those targets are a 45% reduction below 2015 levels by 2030, and an 85% reduction by 2050.
- In early 2021, all three cities and the County officially accepted the plan and began working on implementing its recommended actions.
- The cities of Olympia and Tumwater, along with the County Commissioners, adopted a climate emergency resolution.