OSE is excited to share the new 2013 Climate Action Plan Progress Report (Progress Report), one of the first major deliverables to develop the upcoming One Seattle Climate Action Plan.
The Progress Report finds Seattle completed or made significant progress on more than half (88 of 148) of the actions in the 2013 Plan, while also advancing projects outside the plan.
These efforts contributed to a 5.7% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 2014 to 2022.
Major accomplishments in the 2013 Climate Action Plan:
- Transportation & Land Use: Six Rapid Ride bus routes by 2027 and 60,000+ new efficient housing units in urban centers and villages which provide zero pollution transportation opportunities for hundreds of thousands of Seattleites.
- Building Energy: Stronger energy codes and incentive programs passed to increase efficiency in buildings. Policies like Building Emissions Performance Standards, signed into law in 2023, are projected to reduce building sector emissions by 27% by 2050.
- Waste: Seattle is leading the nation in efforts to reduce waste from food and construction through composting regulations and salvage standards, achieving a 31% cut in waste sector emissions since 2008.
- Climate Adaptation: Tens of millions of dollars in capital investments to prevent flooding and sea level rise in the Duwamish Valley to help our most impacted communities begin to adapt to the climate damage we are already seeing.
“Seattle has been a global leader in climate action for decades. We have passed landmark policies to reduce pollution from buildings, made significant investments to expand access to public transportation, and found innovative ways to reduce waste; however, there is more work to do to meet the urgency of the climate crisis. This report lays out the progress we must make through new and scaled up actions, ensuring our upcoming One Seattle Climate Action Plan puts us on track towards a healthy, sustainable, and climate-resilient city.”
Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell.
Despite this progress, Seattle, like many cities, is not on track to meet our climate goals. Amongst the 2013 CAP actions, not all actions were equal in scope or impact. Some Plan actions had a direct connection and large impact on reducing emissions, while others made an impact by improving systems, data, or policies that enable future emission reductions.
Actions that were challenging to complete often had similar barriers that constrained Seattle’s ability to act faster or go further to meet the scale of the climate crisis such as high cost or challenging financing, differing priorities, limited market demand, and more. Seattle’s population growth and increased building stock also increased transportation and energy demands – even though our per capita emissions are decreasing – making it harder to reduce emissions at necessitating an increased scale for certain actions going forward.
“For over a decade, we’ve been working with community, business, and regional partners to meet the climate challenge, and we’re proud of the progress and learning. Today, thanks to tested strategies and trusted partnerships, Seattle has a strong foundation for accelerating the clean energy transition and resilience. We are energized to tackle the challenges ahead and build on our strengths and success to date.”
Michelle Caulfield, Director of Seattle’s Office of Sustainability & Environment.
Looking Ahead to the One Seattle Climate Action Plan update in 2026
Selecting the next set of climate actions for the One Seattle Climate Action Plan is one of the steps of the update process. The report provides starting points to consider policies that could be expanded or further explored during the 2026 CAP update, including:
- Integrate public health impacts, benefits, and social costs of GHG emissions into future planning to account for the impacts of climate change on individual and community health.
- Include equity-focused indicators to better highlight racial and social equity impacts of programs and policies.
- Evaluate and recommend revenue-generating policies, investment strategies, and projects that will achieve significant reductions in pollution and greenhouse gas emissions over the next 5-to-10 years.
- Retrofit existing buildings to be more energy efficient and to transition them to clean energy
- Prevent waste from going to landfill, especially in construction and self-haul sectors, to lower the amount of methane and other GHG emissions that would otherwise be released during decomposition in landfills
- Enhance and protect natural systems and tree canopy to improve habitats for native species, increase flood resilience, reduce urban heat, and more.
“It is no surprise that we are feeling climate change impacts now, which makes this assessment crucial to help us all understand the progress we’ve made and plan our path forward, together. These findings will reinforce the need to prioritize investments for communities most harmed by the climate crisis, and we look forward to bringing frontline community voices to the table as we develop an updated Climate Action Plan for the City of Seattle.”
Nina Olivier, Co-chair of the Green New Deal Oversight Board
Ongoing Community Engagement to Inform the Plan
Outside of the Progress Report, the City has begun engagement efforts through “Community Assemblies” which center on community input, to inform the new Climate Action Plan update. Local youth recently collaborated during a multi-day engagement session to develop climate solutions, with their recommendations going to planners later this year.
“We piloted the community assemblies model in Seattle for the first time last year, partnering with MLK Labor and the Urban League to create space for union members, workers, frontline communities, and advocates in shaping climate solutions. The assembly sessions were designed to lay a foundation for participatory democracy to engage youth and impacted communities in addressing how climate change impacts their daily lives. This is exactly the type of deep community engagement needed to build the civic muscle that people been have been calling for.”
Faduma Fido of People’s Economy Lab
The City’s next engagement is on October 1st with Juneau Street Resilience Pod and Townhall Seattle as part of the Town Green Series. The event will gather climate justice leaders to reimagine Seattle’s climate future through storytelling and learn about the One Seattle Climate Action Plan update.
The Climate Action Work Group will launch in October to coordinate city efforts, while the CAP Advisory Panel will bring together community experts before year-end. The One Seattle Climate Action Plan is expected to be released Q3 2026. Check out the OSE Website for more information about the One Seattle Climate Action Plan update.
What city department leaders are saying:
“City Light forecasts unprecedented energy demand driven by population growth, new business demands, and climate strategies such as transportation, building, and steam electrification over the next three decades. Meeting this demand requires crucial investment in renewable energy resources and infrastructure modernization. While we made significant progress during the last Climate Action Plan, our continued success depends on working across all City departments to create informed yet flexible policy that considers customer affordability, grid reliability and power supply.”
Dawn Lindell, CEO & General Manager of Seattle City Light
“Transportation makes up over half of Seattle’s carbon emissions, making reliable, affordable travel options like transit, biking, and walking more important than ever to achieve the City’s climate goals. While emissions dropped from 61% to 58% from 2013 to 2022, we must do more to make sustainable travel the first choice. That means continued investment in high-quality transit service, expanding EV charging infrastructure in partnership with utilities to incentivize a faster shift to cleaner vehicles, and planting more street trees that improve air quality, provide shade, and create more welcoming streets. Every trip matters, and we’re excited to get there together to build a more equitable, climate-resilient transportation system for today and the future.”
Adiam Emery, Interim Director, Seattle Department of Transportation
“Seattle Public Utilities is proud to be a leader in advancing the City of Seattle’s strategy to strengthen our resilience to climate change and become carbon neutral. SPU has a core role in protecting current and future generations from the harmful impacts of climate change by working with our communities to reduce food waste entering our landfills, protecting our communities from extreme storms, and promoting water conservation.”
Andrew Lee, General Manager and CEO of Seattle Public Utilities
“As we look back at Seattle’s 2013 Climate Action Plan progress, Seattle Parks and Recreation is proud of the tangible steps we’ve taken to build a more resilient City and sustainable park system. Through our Thriving Environment Initiative, we are actively stewarding our City’s green spaces for future generations. In 2024 we planted over 7,600 native trees to enhance our urban forest, equipped 85% of our park irrigation systems with smart water-saving technology, released a comprehensive Climate Resiliency strategy and were recognized by the United Nations Environment Programme as a ‘Role Model’ City for community-centered ecological restoration through our Green Seattle Partnership. We will continue to decarbonize our community centers by replacing old gas-powered furnaces with heat pumps, like those at Hiawatha and South Park Community Centers and expand our use of electric equipment and fleets. These efforts are critical to our mission and demonstrate that when ‘Seattle Shines,’ it shines because of our collective commitment to protecting and nurturing the environment that sustains us all. We are dedicated to continuing this vital work as we move toward the One Seattle Climate Action Plan in pursuit of a more livable, healthy and vibrant blue-green City.”
AP Diaz, Seattle Parks and Recreation Superintendent
“We know that climate change increases the frequency and intensity of the natural hazards leading to disasters and disproportionately impacts communities impacted by structural inequities. Emergency Management is now more proactive, and resilience focused. OEM is both proud of and thankful for the city’s efforts to reduce climate impacts as those actions will lessen the impacts of climate change related disasters and save lives.”
Curry Mayer, Director, Seattle Office of Emergency Management
“Seattle has long been a national leader in energy reduction policies, continually advancing the City’s Climate Action Plan. Seattle’s energy codes set standards which became a model for state requirements. These efforts, along with incentive programs for the built environment, have driven measurable progress toward our climate goals. SDCI will continue to collaborate and innovate so Seattle can meet its future climate commitments. We remain committed to advocating for strong building and energy codes and supporting incentives that accelerate the transition to a clean energy and low-carbon future.”
Kye Lee, Interim Director, Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections