Climate Data & Planning
Seattle is a recognized leader in climate action and we will continue to pursue bold strategies that demonstrate how a low-carbon city is also a prosperous, healthy, and vibrant city.
Climate Data & Reporting
Seattle implements data-driven policies and programs designed to have the greatest impact in equitably reducing our city's Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, which are gasses that are released into the atmosphere primarily as a result of human activities.
The more GHGs we release, the more our climate is impacted. We measure our greenhouse gas emissions using emissions inventories to better understand the scope and scale of our local climate footprint, the impact of our actions, opportunities for progress, and the challenges ahead.
Greenhouse Gas Inventory
Seattle tracks, measures, and reports our GHG emissions across transportation, buildings, and waste sectors every two years.
Climate Portal
The One Seattle Climate Portal is a publicly available map-based website that houses more frequent and granular data indicators of emissions in Seattle.
Consumption Based Inventory
The City of Seattle has developed a consumption-based emissions inventory (CBEI) which estimates emissions associated with all the goods and services consumed within the community, no matter where they are produced (including the extraction of raw materials, manufacturing, and global transportation). This inventory looks at all of the emissions associated with the food we eat, the things we buy, how we travel, and the homes we live in.
Climate Planning & Executive Orders
The City of Seattle is already working on many solutions needed to reduce our climate impact. Now is the time to accelerate our climate work and deepen investments in historically underserved communities who will face disproportionate climate impacts.
2013 Climate Action Plan
The Seattle Climate Action Plan, adopted in June 2013, focuses on city actions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and also support vibrant neighborhoods, economic prosperity, and social equity. Actions are focused on areas of greatest need and impact: road transportation, building energy, and waste. The plan also includes actions that will increase our community's resilience to the likely impacts of climate change.
Climate Change Response Framework
The Seattle Department of Transportation released the first-ever Climate Change Response Framework (CCRF), a vision for reducing transportation emissions and making it easier for Seattleites to choose more efficient, shared, and sustainable travel options.
Transportation and Climate Justice Executive Order
In 2022, Mayor Harrell signed an Executive Order directing City departments to work together to prioritize and expand actions that equitably reduce or eliminate greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) within the transportation sector.