Welcome back to King County's climate action newsletter! It's been a busy start to the year and we have a lot to share with you.

This month, we’re finding strength and inspiration in community and partnership. King County has groundbreaking goals to reduce emissions and support resilient frontline communities, but it cannot do the work as a government alone. 

In this month’s issue, you’ll meet a community member whose lived experience with environmental injustice drove her passion for climate action. You’ll hear about how local schools, small businesses and others are working together to help young adults find careers that pay living wages and support clean energy. And you’ll find out about the new King County Parks Levy, which voters will weigh in on later this year. 

It’s just a small sampling of the people, groups and coalitions working together to promote a clean future and healthy communities in King County. Are there ways your family, neighborhood, business or organization is working to promote climate action that the rest of us could learn from? Tag us on Instagram @kingcountyeco, LinkedIn or send us an email at climatechange@kingcounty.gov and let us know. 

This newsletter is written by the King County Executive Climate Office (ECO) in coordination with departments across the county. You can learn more about us at the bottom of this newsletter. 

Alright... let’s get into it! 

This month, councilmembers approved a proposal by Executive Dow Constantine to extend an agreement with Puget Sound Energy (PSE) that energy purchased for county operations come from renewable sources. Along with saving at least $1 million in costs, the agreement will lengthen a commitment to reducing the county’s carbon footprint. 

PSE’s Green Direct program offers government and corporate customers the opportunity to purchase their energy from new wind and solar facilities in Washington state. Since 2020, GHG emissions from King County government operations have dropped by 16% as a result of purchasing renewable electricity from PSE. Previously, King County entered into a 10-year contract; now, it will move to a 20-year contract.   

Read more here. 

The U.S. Green Building Council highlighted projects in King County as it announced Washington state earned the fourth spot on its prestigious Top 10 states for LEED in 2024.The rankings celebrate states leading the nation in green building, and USGBC says Washington delivered an “exceptional 90 project certifications” in 2024.  

They highlighted the King County Loop Vehicle Maintenance Facility in North Bend, sharing it demonstrates how infrastructure can be “both functional and sustainable.” The article credited energy-efficient systems, native landscaping and community-driven design choices.  

Meanwhile, local NBC station KING 5 featured King County JumpStart, a workforce development program aimed at helping people aged 18-24 enter clean energy roles and the skilled trades. If you missed the story, you can check it out here. 

Operated through the King County Executive Climate Office in partnership with the King County Department of Community and Human Services, JumpStart works with local training partners and contractors to connect participants with education programs and paid work experience. The program also provides mentorship, climate workshops and wrap-around services throughout the process. 

You can read a feature or watch a video explaining how the program works here.

If you’re interested in becoming a participant or involved contractor, visit http://kingcounty.gov/jumpstart

This month, King County leaders proposed plans to protect and expand parks, trails, recreation and open space in King County through the 2026-2031 King County Parks Levy. In addition to the built-in benefits for climate, the levy described several very specific investments toward climate action. 

• Climate Response Fund: This would be the first Parks Levy to establish a climate response fund that would help communities adapt to emerging climate risks. The funds would be available for such programs and actions as splash pads and sprinklers at parks, cooling and heating systems at trusted community spaces, and playgrounds better designed and built for extreme heat.  

• More urban forest parks: King County Parks would be able to create more urban forest parks similar to Glendale Forest in North Highline where children and families can stay cool, safe, and connected during extreme heat events. This aligns with recommendations in the county’s first Extreme Heat Mitigation Strategy, which lays out actions municipalities and partners can take to prepare frontline communities for growing exposure to heat waves.  

• Forest restoration and protection: The levy would also sustain funding for Parks’ growing forest stewardship program, which has allowed the Department of Natural Resources and Parks to accelerate large-scale restoration projects to prepare county forests for a warming climate, as well as add staff dedicated to urban forestry and wildfire planning and preparation. 

You can learn more about the Parks Levy here.

“It has been heartbreaking to see LA in crisis and inspiring to see how folks are working together to meet the moment,” Aho said. “As we roll up our sleeves and get to work, I am humbled to learn with and from Angelenos, this interdisciplinary team of commissioners and researchers, climate resilience and recovery experts and climate event survivors near and far." 

Aho previously served as Chief Resilience Officer for the City of Los Angeles, where she developed and implemented the “Resilient Los Angeles” strategy to prepare for catastrophic events and address chronic stressors. 

Along with providing her time and expertise to the commission, Aho will be able to bring the lessons learned back to inform ongoing climate preparedness and resilience work at King County. To learn more about the Blue Ribbon Commission, click here. 

King County Executive Dow Constantine recently announced $107 million in land conservation awards, approved by the King County Council, to protect open space for climate resilience, farmland access, environmental justice, recreation and habitat restoration.  

The county has accelerated conservation in recent years, advancing goals laid out in the county’s Strategic Climate Action Plan, Land Conservation Initiative, Local Food Initiative and Clean Water, Healthy Habitat strategies. 

To learn more about the approach and this year’s awards, click here.

The King County Energize program celebrated installing its 100th heat pump this week! Energize is meant to reduce emissions while increasing access to clean heating and cooling that can increase comfort and reduce energy costs. The program covers all or most of the cost of heat pump installation and other upgrades in areas that have historically faced pollution and are expected to face more extreme heat as the climate changes.  

Thanks to funding from the Climate Commitment Act, the program is expanding to more homes and into family home child cares and adult family homes. To learn about eligibility or how to apply, visit http://www.kingcounty.gov/energize 

Funding Acknowledgement: 

Energize is supported with funding from Washington’s Climate Commitment Act. The CCA supports Washington’s climate action efforts by putting cap-and-invest dollars to work reducing climate pollution, creating jobs, and improving public health. Information about the CCA is available at www.climate.wa.gov 

Are you familiar with the King County Executive Climate Office (ECO)? Here’s a little more about who we are, and what we do: 

Departments across King County implement climate action within their work. King County ECO elevates, coordinates and accelerates those efforts and manages several in-house programs. That includes work on building decarbonization, climate preparedness, climate justice and building a clean energy workforce. Our agenda is set based on the approaches laid out in the 2020 Strategic Climate Action Plan. 

You can learn more about us at our website here.