The Port is seeking public input through June 7th on a Draft Climate Action Strategy to address the urgent challenges of climate change with an early focus on greenhouse gas mitigation and sea level rise.
The Climate Action Strategy identifies and prioritizes potential actions the Port can to take to protect Whatcom County’s infrastructure from a changing climate, safeguard the local economy, and maximize environmental and social sustainability. The Port has already taken significant steps on these issues, by improving energy efficiency and reducing waste across its extensive aviation, maritime and real estate operations, and beginning to integrate new sea level rise and coastal storm modeling in capital projects. The Climate Action Strategy will help the Port further build on these important actions to enhance community, environmental and economic health for future generations.
The Port’s Climate Action Strategy was developed in collaboration with climate change experts and includes a Greenhouse Gas Inventory, a Coastal Vulnerability Assessment and a list of potential actions to mitigate for, and adapt to, the effects of climate change.
After reviewing public comments, Port staff will finalize the Climate Action Strategy for consideration of formal adoption by the Port Commission in August 2023.