RES NO. 2020-05 RELATING TO CLIMATE EMERGENCY
RESOLUTION NO. 2020-05
A RESOLUTION of the City Council of Bainbridge Island,
Washington, hereby declaring the existence of a Climate
Emergency, reaffirming the City’s commitment to Climate
Action, and to establish a program and procedures to ensure
future City plans and City approved projects and actions are
evaluated consistent with its adopted climate goals and
policies.
WHEREAS, in April 2016, world leaders from 197 countries from around the globe
recognized the threat of climate change, that it is caused by human related greenhouse
gas emissions, and the need to urgently combat it by adopting the Paris Climate
Agreement, and working to limit global temperature increase to no more than 1.5°Celsius
from pre-industrial levels; and
WHEREAS, on September 12, 2017, the Bainbridge Island City Council adopted
Resolution No. 2017-20, affirming the City of Bainbridge Island’s commitment to meet
or exceed the greenhouse gas goals established in the Paris Climate Agreement; and
WHEREAS, in 2018, the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(“IPCC”) warned that it would not be possible to meet the 1.5°Celsius goal unless global
greenhouse gases were reduced 45 percent below 2010 levels by 2030 and reaching net
zero by 2050, requiring an unprecedented transformation of every sector of the global
economy over the next 11 years; and
WHEREAS, global temperatures having increased approximately 1.1°C above pre-
industrial levels, causing overall climate disruption and global warming, resulting in
higher temperatures, altered precipitation patterns, rising seas and acidified oceans, which
in turn are causing increased and more intense wildfires, floods, loss of habitat, new
ranges for diseases and pests, adverse human health effects, economic hardship,
homelessness, species extinctions, food and potable water shortages, droughts, and
extreme weather; and
WHEREAS, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently recognized that climate change
is occurring at a rapidly increasing rate and that our elected officials have a moral
responsibility to seek solutions; and
WHEREAS, Bainbridge Island is an island surrounded by a sea, which is predicted to
rise significantly in the coming years due to climate change; and
WHEREAS, Bainbridge Island's Comprehensive Plan, which serves as the City’s
Sustainability Plan, calls for the protection of the Island’s finite environmental resources,
the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and adaptation to the effects of climate
change; and
WHEREAS, in 2017 the City Council took a step towards implementing the goals and
policies contained in the Comprehensive Plan by creating a Climate Change Advisory
Committee to assist in implementing the Comprehensive Plan’s climate related goals,
including a reduction of our Island’s greenhouse gas emissions and an increase in our
Island’s adaptation to the effects of climate change; and
WHEREAS, at its annual retreat in January of 2019 the City declared the creation and
implementation of a Climate Action Plan one of its highest priorities for the coming year;
and
WHEREAS, the City’s Climate Change Advisory Committee is working on developing
a Climate Action Plan and strives to present a draft plan to the City Council in late Spring
2020; and
WHEREAS, the City is working to develop a Sustainable Transportation Plan, to
promote a shift in transportation modes, with an overall goal of a net reduction in
transportation related greenhouse gas emissions, as well as a host of additional related
benefits; and
WHEREAS, the City will appoint a Green Building Task Force to develop a green
building program where buildings are designed to reduce the overall impact of the built
environment on human health and the natural environment by efficiently using energy,
water and other resources; and
WHEREAS, despite the current climate-related planning there are additional short-term
actions that should be taken to advance progress on the overall goals of climate change
mitigation and adaption even prior to final adoption and implementation of the City’s
climate-related plans; and
WHEREAS, the longer we delay taking action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the
greater the threat posed by climate change to current and future generations, and the more
costly it will be to protect and maintain our community and natural environment; and
WHEREAS, the longer we delay taking action to prepare for and respond to climate
change effects, the fewer options we will have and the more expensive those options are
likely to be to adapt to climate change; and
WHEREAS, the City of Bainbridge Island takes pride in being a model City for
progressive environmental legislation and sustainability, and has demonstrated itself to be
a leader in this front through numerous adopted Ordinances and Resolutions; and
WHEREAS, on September 20, 2019, the City’s youth and young adults joined with their
companions around the world to call for a global climate strike and greater, more urgent
climate leadership from their elected officials and public institutions.
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NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAINBRIDGE
ISLAND DOES RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The City declares that our Island, region, state, nation, and the natural
world are experiencing a Climate Emergency. The City Council hereby expresses a
renewed commitment to ensure its actions and decisions going forward are in line with
reducing the impact of that emergency;
Section 2. The City commits to take immediate actions to safeguard against the
current, inevitable, and potential consequences of climate change and to encourage the
full participation of the entire Bainbridge community in climate mitigation and adaptation
efforts;
Section 3. The City commits to developing a procedure and process whereby the
City’s plans and City approved projects will be evaluated through a “Climate Lens”, such
as through a Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Certification, or similar process,
prior to approval to ensure they are consistent with the City’s adopted climate goals and
policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reduce our vulnerability to climate
change;
Section 4. The City commits to educating Island residents and the business
community about the Climate Emergency and organizing and advocating for climate
emergency mobilization efforts at the local, regional, state, national, and global levels to
provide maximum protection for the Island as well as all the people and species of the
world; and
Section 5. The City commits to calling on higher levels of government to provide
financial and regulatory assistance to support the City’s efforts to respond to this Climate
Emergency.
PASSED by the City Council this 9th day of June, 2020.
APPROVED by the Mayor this 9th day of June, 2020.
ATTEST/AUTHENTICATE:
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FILED WITH THE CITY CLERK: March 13, 2020
PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL: June 9, 2020
RESOLUTION NO. 2020-05