WHIDBEY NEWS-TIMES: County to formalize commitment to climate action (AUDIO)

Karina Andrew reports from the Island County Commissioners work session on Aug. 17, 2022:

County commissioners have finalized a draft resolution declaring the county’s intent to work to mitigate climate change.

The commissioners will likely unanimously approve the resolution at a regular meeting.

The resolution is not a detailed plan for how the county will reduce its emissions or otherwise curb its environmental impact — a more in-depth climate strategy will come later. The intent of this resolution is simply to establish environmental sustainability and climate resiliency as priorities for the county moving forward and codify the county’s intent to take action in those areas.

They Said It

Commissioner Melanie Bacon’s suggestion to specify within the resolution the county’s intent to pursue zero-emission goals was shot down by Commissioner Jill Johnson, who suggested that the resolution not hone in on any one particular climate change mitigation strategy.

“I think if that’s important to you, you’ve got two votes to move it forward,” she said. “That’s a little bit too far for me.”