Climate Policy + Mitigation Planning
What is the Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan?
The Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan (TCMP) is a regional plan that was passed in January of 2021 through all four local jurisdictions: Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater, and Thurston County.
Check out the 'TCMP 101' Zine prepared by the Thurston Youth Climate Coalition to learn the basics of the TCMP.
In January 2023 the Thurston Regional Planning Commission released a two year progress report on the TCMP. You can read the progress report here.
How can I be Involved in Local Climate Mitigation Planning?
TCAT is working through our Action Groups on getting the actions laid out in the TCMP implemented. Consider joining an Action Group with an area of focus that interests you. Also check out the TCAT Climate Action Toolbox : Resources for Thurston County Climate Action. This website is intended to support citizens and staff in selecting and implementing actions by collecting and sharing examples and tools from those jurisdictions and around the planet.
Federal Climate Policy - What is the IRA and how does it impact Thurston County?
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is a bill that is estimated to help the US reduce carbon emissions by 40% over 2005 levels by 2030 and keep 24 tons of carbon emissions out of the air for every ton the bill creates.
Why is it called the Inflation Reduction Act? Inflation simply means that prices are going up, or are getting “inflated.” It is called the IRA because, at least on paper, the bill will generate more revenue for the government than it spends, hopefully causing prices to stop going up. It generates revenues by imposing a 15% minimum tax rate on corporations. However, because the Federal Reserve (the Federal Reserve, or “the Fed” is like the Central Bank of the US Government) has a large influence on inflation, and is not affected by the IRA, there might not be a significant drop in inflation, at least not right away. The tax provisions in the IRA are expected to generate $450 billion over 10 years.
The IRA lowers health insurance premiums for people using the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare), and caps out-of-pocket drug prices for people using Medicare. It also, finally, gives the government the right to negotiate some prescription drug prices for Medicare, something that has already cost taxpayers billions of dollars in free money giveaways for giant pharmaceutical corporations. This alone will save almost $300 billion over 10 years.
Read our two part series about the IRA on our Blog!