Eastside Cities Take Important Step Toward Coordinated Climate Action

Greenhouse gas emissions are major contributors to climate change. Understanding the data on community emissions is critical in addressing the challenges brought on by climate change, and five Eastside cities that are members of the Eastside Climate Partnership (ECP) have completed their first coordinated greenhouse gas emissions inventories. The cities of Bellevue, Issaquah, Kirkland, Mercer Island and Redmond formed the ECP in 2023 to create joint programs that reduce regional sources of climate pollution and advance collective sustainability efforts. Recently, the ECP worked with Cascadia Consulting Group to standardize a methodology to inventory greenhouse gas emissions so that all five cities could compare data. The standardization is an important milestone in the partnership’s collaborative work because it will allow the ECP cities to evaluate the efficacy of their joint programs and help residents across the five Eastside communities understand the part their city plays in regional emissions.

Overall, the five cities found that emissions were down from the first year that emissions were measured for each city, though the reasons for this reduction varied. Emissions from municipal operations have also been reduced across all five cities. Future reports will be able to show coordinated and consistent measurement of trends regionally. Redmond’s 2022 community-wide emissions decreased 14% from the 2011 baseline year, despite a 36% increase in population. Community energy consumption to heat, cool, and power residential, commercial, and industrial buildings remains the largest source of emissions, accounting for 57% of community-wide emissions.

Redmond’s municipal operations emissions were down 55% compared to the 2011 baseline. This reduction was largely driven by the City’s transition to renewable electricity sources. “The Eastside Climate Partnership is a great way for our cities to come together and work toward the common goal of creating a more sustainable community,” said Redmond Mayor Angela Birney. “By measuring our greenhouse gas emissions and sharing our findings with one another, we can take the right steps to collectively achieve our climate goals. ” Bellevue’s 2022 greenhouse gas emission inventory found that community-wide emissions were down 8% from the baseline year of 2011, despite population growth of 21% and a 13% increase in jobs.

However, emissions were up 6% from the previous 2021 inventory, largely driven by a return to pre-pandemic transportation levels. Bellevue’s municipal operations emissions increased by 7% from 2021 to 2022, also largely driven by a continued return to office and pre-pandemic commutes.