Skip to main content
King County Logo
Apr
14

Strategic Climate Action Plan

King County’s Strategic Climate Action Plan (SCAP) is a 5 year blueprint for County climate action. It outlines King County’s priorities and commitments for climate action to residents and partners. 

The Strategic Climate Action Plan (SCAP) integrates climate change into all areas of County operations, as well as our work with cities, partners, communities, and residents. 

2025 Strategic Climate Action Plan

King County’s Strategic Climate Action Plan (SCAP) has been described as one of the most ambitious climate action plans in the United States, and was awarded the most equitable climate plan by the U.S. Federal Transit Administration (FTA) in 2022.

The SCAP is both a long-term plan and a five-year roadmap for County climate action. It integrates climate action into all areas of County services, operations, and work with King County cities, partners, communities, and residents. It outlines the County’s priorities and commitments for climate action for decision-makers, employees, partners, and the public, and for County operations and for King County communities. The SCAP also sets performance measures to track progress and create accountability.

King County is currently updating our Strategic Climate Action Plan for 2025-2030, with an expected transmittal to County Council in spring of 2025. As part of the engagement process, King County coordinated with external partners including the Climate Equity Community Task Force and Community Equity Working Group, partners in the King County-Cities Climate Collaboration, participants in three in-person SCAP workshops, participants of community roadshow events with nonprofits and commissions, and attendees at two virtual public meetings.

King County convened three in-person workshops with approximately 150 participants in July, August, and October 2024. Participants represented community-based organizations, students, academia, environmental, and climate organizations as well as local cities, counties, regional agencies, and state and federal partners. Participants were organized into working groups focused on specific countywide opportunity areas such as building energy and green building, transportation and land use, climate equity, climate preparedness, forest and agriculture, consumption and waste, and green jobs and the economy. Working group members were encouraged to recommend new actions that were urgent and impactful, actions that served as a critical next step or barrier buster, and actions that could be implemented at scale or replicated.

King County also launched an online public survey from August–October 2024. Finally, Climate Team members conducted “road show” presentations during the latter half of 2024 on the SCAP to share emerging proposals and gather input with targeted organizations, commissions, and other thought-partners and implementers with expertise and key roles related to specific focus areas. Ten groups were asked for input including the Re+ Community Panel, Regional Code Collaboration, K4C, King County Agricultural Commission, King County Forestry Commission, King County Urban Forestry Forum, and internal workgroups including the Capital Project Management Working Group and Steering Committee, Green Building Taskforce, Building Energy Taskforce, and Fleet Planning Committee.

Subscribe here to be notified when the 2025-2030 SCAP is available for viewing.

2020 Strategic Climate Action Plan

King County updated its Strategic Climate Action Plan (SCAP) in 2020.

King County’s SCAP is updated every 5 years to reflect the County’s continuous learning approach to climate action. The updates to the 2020 SCAP were rooted in the understanding that climate change is an urgent local and global challenge and that climate change is a threat multiplier that creates complex challenges, particularly for communities affected by historic and current inequities. 

There were 3 key sections:

  • Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions
  • Sustainable and Resilient Frontline Communities 
  • Preparing for Climate Change

Reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions

This section includes commitments and performance measures to reduce GHG emissions countywide and from County government operations. Focus areas were determined based on major GHG emissions sources and opportunities for reductions and carbon sequestration. All focus areas include commitments that advance both GHG emissions reductions and racial justice and equity, as part of the SCAP’s commitment to lead with this guiding principle.

Many targets and commitments in this section were co-developed with partners of the King County-Cities Climate Collaboration (K4C). These actions are also reflected in the K4C’s Joint Climate Action Commitments (2019) which represent a shared vision for countywide progress to reduce GHG emissions. Countywide targets also build on technical analysis completed to support the 2020 SCAP that assessed recent trends in countywide GHG emissions and identified major opportunities for reductions.

Sustainable and Resilient Frontline Communities (SRFC)

As part of King County’s commitments to action on climate change and equity and social justice, the 2020 SCAP includes a new section focused on climate equity and community-driven policy. 

The SRFC framework was developed through a community-driven process where leaders of frontline communities, as part of the Climate Equity Community Task Force (CECTF), established the goals and identified the priority areas for climate action based on climate justice values and community needs. Frontline communities are those communities that often experience the earliest and most acute impacts of climate change, face historic and current inequities, and have limited resources and/or capacity to adapt. The CECTF identified eight focus areas that offer pathways to a more equitable and just climate future for all — a future and vision that is emergent from the unique lived experiences of frontline communities across King County. 

Preparing for Climate Change

This section identifies climate preparedness actions, organized under a new strategic framework that help King County government and communities prepare for the impacts of climate change and increase climate resilience. The actions represent important next steps in an ongoing and necessary pivot toward becoming a more climate-resilient King County. 

King County’s climate preparedness actions address a range of climate impacts, including those related to heavier rain events, hotter summers, lower snowpack, increased flooding, sea level rise, and changes in the potential for wildfire. Because climate change exacerbates many existing environmental, health, and safety challenges, the actions the County takes now to prepare for climate change will also create near-term benefits. 

A key objective in the 2020 climate preparedness section is mainstreaming climate action by making it part of daily work at King County. Climate preparedness will be operationalized through the development of methods and guidelines that incorporate climate considerations into day-today agency processes such as policy development, strategic planning, capital planning, and project implementation. 

2023 Biennial Update

The 2023 Biennial Update: King County’s 2020 Strategic Action Climate Plan provides an update on all commitments made in the 2020 Strategic Climate Action Plan. It includes status updates on all priority actions and updated data on performance measures. The status report paints a familiar picture: the County is working to reduce emissions, leading on climate equity, and preparing for the impacts of climate change but we need to do more to invest in the County and community we want to leave to future generations. 

The report provides updates on strategies, priority actions, and performance measures across the 3 sections of the 2020 SCAP, while adding a short update on the recently adopted Green Jobs Strategy. 

Each of the four sections is organized in the following format:

  • Accomplishments: Provides a high-level summary of key accomplishments for the Section since adoption of the 2020 SCAP.
  • Looking Ahead: Includes a snapshot of key priorities and issues looking ahead to the next two years.
  • Measuring Progress and Performance: Includes a dashboard of overall performance ratings for all priority actions, an update on each priority action across the section focus areas, and updated data on performance measures. 

As part of King County’s 2020 Strategic Climate Action Plan, King County staff worked with technical and community partners to convene a Joint Aircraft Emission Technical and Community Task Force aimed at beginning to address climate emissions and non-CO2 warming around airport communities across King County. The Joint Aircraft Emissions Technical & Community Task Force Report outlines key considerations and high-level recommendations in this hard to decarbonize sector.

Other King County climate plans and reports

expand_less