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Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Strategies for Local Governments

This page provides resources and examples to assist Washington State local governments in reducing greenhouse gas emissions in areas such as transportation and land use, buildings, municipal operations, procurement, and waste reduction.

It is part of MRSC's series on Climate Change.

Overview

Greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) trap heat in the earth’s atmosphere and are a primary contributor to a changing climate. GHGs include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and chlorofluorocarbons, among other gases. A significant human source of GHG emissions is from the burning of fossil fuels for transportation, energy use, and industrial processes. GHG emissions also occur because of deforestation and agricultural production.

Local governments can limit GHG emissions and mitigate climate impacts using a range of actions and strategies across sectors. In evaluating what actions to take, a local government should consider such factors as the resources required to implement the action, the emissions reduction potential of the action, community context, actions and plans already being implemented, and the co-benefits of the action. Co-benefits can include cost savings, public health, improved mobility, climate justice, environmental health, and others. Reducing GHG emissions is considered a climate mitigation measure.

Climate action plans (CAPs) typically list emissions reduction strategies by sector (such as buildings, transportation, land use, etc.), and there are many options for reducing emissions within each sector. The Washington Climate Partnership, a joint effort between the Washington State Department of Commerce (Commerce) and Department of Ecology (Ecology) released the Washington Comprehensive Climate Action Plan (2026), which outlines pathways to meet required GHG reduction limits through 2050 using 36 identified strategies and 135 measures.

Below are several strategies for local governments to employ to reduce GHG emissions, along with associated examples and resources.

Land Use

RCW 36.70A requires any local government planning under the Growth Management Act to include a climate change and resiliency element (climate element) within their comprehensive (comp) plans. The climate element must include one or both of the following sub-elements:

  • a resilience sub-element
  • a GHG emissions reduction sub-element

For a full list of impacted cities and counties, see 1.3 Who Must Create a Climate Element from Commerce's 2023 guidance on the climate element.

Below are a few examples of locally adopted climate elements:

Commerce’s Climate Element Planning Guidance (2025) can help local governments create climate elements, and its Climate Policy Explorer offers examples of climate resilience and mitigation measures that have been adopted across the state.

Linking Land Use and Transportation Planning

Better coordination of land use and transportation planning results in compact, mixed-use communities that foster walking, biking, and transit. Specific land use strategies that achieve these goals include urban villages or centers, downtowns, and transit-oriented development (TOD).

Below are examples of local policies linking land use and transportation planning:

  • Bellingham Urban Villages – Supports the creation of vibrant mixed residential and commercial neighborhoods to boost economic development and encourage safe and attractive pedestrian environments.
  • Issaquah Land Use Code Sec. 18.400.030 – Zones– Establishment of zones. Outlines seven urban village zones in order to encourage innovative uses, sites, and comprehensive planning of large areas.
  • Puget Sound Regional Council Centers – Identifies regional growth centers as centralized locations with a mix of uses/activities connected by efficient transportation.
  • Redmond Centers, Corridors, and Neighborhoods – Describes how the city is reevaluating its centers for growth, capacity, and character, and transitioning these locations to pedestrian-oriented urban forms; focuses development along major corridors.

Our webpages on Complete Streets and Transportation Planning offer more examples on how to link land use and transportation planning, as do the resources below:

Transportation

According to Ecology's inventory of GHG emissions statewide, transportation remains the largest contributor in the state. Local governments can target the transportation sector through vehicle miles traveled (VMT) reduction strategies, such as linking land use and transportation planning, promoting multimodal transportation options, and creating policies that support use of electric vehicles, including the conversion of existing municipal fleets to green fleets.

Transportation Planning

Multimodal transportation plans and policies can encourage options like walking, biking, and transit, which produce fewer GHG emissions but also improve air quality and public health outcomes. Below are a few examples of local multimodal transportation plans and policies:

  • Bellingham Pedestrian & Bicycle Master Plan Updates (2024) – Establishes citywide bicycle and pedestrian networks, identifies and recommends infrastructure improvements, applies community-identified priorities, and develops a fiscally constrained list of projects. 
  • Bellevue Mobility Implementation Plan (2022) – Includes performance measurement and a prioritization system that aligns transportation investments with the city’s land use vision; provides a platform for the city to meet its multimodal goals in the comp plan.
  • Bothell Citywide Bike Plan (2022) – Offers a vision for a state-of-the-art bicycle system throughout the city.
  • Yakima Pedestrian Master Plan (2021) – Builds on recommendations from the city's prior transportation system and bicycle master plans.

For more information on VMT reduction options, see WSDOT's VMT Targets – Final Report (2023).

Electric Vehicles

According to Commerce's 2023 Transportation Electrification Study, the transportation sector represents 39% of the state's decarbonization efforts. Move Ahead Washington, passed in 2022, set a non-binding target of reaching 100% new electric vehicle (EV) sales by 2030. 

Local governments can encourage the installation of public EV charging infrastructure to help speed up the adoption of EVs by private individuals, which may require updates to local building or electrical codes. Local governments can also purchase EV and other low emissions vehicles for municipal operations (i.e., green fleet). For more information, see our Electric Vehicles webpage.

Buildings

Ecology's inventory of GHG emissions statewide shows buildings as the second largest contributor of GHG emissions in the state. Accordingly, the state legislature passed the Clean Buildings Act (Act) in 2019, introducing energy performance standards for commercial and some multi-family buildings (see Chapter 194-50 WAC). 

The Act also included incentives and requirements to encourage energy efficiency in new and existing buildings (e.g., energy efficiency standards, retrofit incentives, utility programs, building codes) and reporting requirements to benchmark and calculate building energy use intensity (EUI). These benchmarks are as follows:

  • Buildings categorized as Tier 1 can either meet an energy use intensity target (EUIt) based on the site-based EUI average using benchmarking tools like ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager or the “investment criteria” pathway, which includes performing energy audits and implementing energy efficiency measures.
  • Buildings categorized as Tier 2 buildings must submit benchmarking, energy management, and operations and maintenance planning documentation by July 1, 2027 (RCW 19.27A.250).

All buildings are also required to develop an energy management plan as well as an operation and maintenance (O&M) program. From 2021–2025, participation was voluntary, and in 2026, it will be mandatory.

Reducing GHG emissions from buildings can be addressed through several approaches, including electrification, green building incentives, energy performance standards, and renewable energy efficiency upgrades. Here are two examples of local plans that include GHG reduction strategies targeting buildings:

Commerce’s webpage on Climate Data and Policy Tools can help cities and counties explore additional options.

Building Electrification

Washington’s State Energy Strategy found that electrifying (or eliminating the use of natural gas in) buildings would be the most cost-effective way to meet statewide climate goals of achieving 95% reduction in GHGs by 2050 (compared to a 2005 baseline). Some local governments in Washington have adopted ordinances requiring building electrification in certain building types, while others are considering similar or more ambitious policies.

Here are some examples of local building electrification policies and provisions:

  • Bellingham Ordinance No. 2022-02-004 (2022) – Adopts changes to the city’s building code to require electrification and energy efficiency standards for certain buildings.
  • Seattle Energy Code – Eliminates use of fossil fuels for heating/cooling and to require the use of energy-efficient technologies and renewable energy sources in commercial and multi-family buildings.
  • Shoreline Ordinance No. 948 (2021) – Bans the use of fossil fuels in new commercial and multi-family construction projects.

For more information, see Clean Energy Transition Institute's Scaling Building Decarbonization in Washington State (2022), which presents scaled decarbonization strategies for agencies to implement.

Green Building Incentives Offered by Local Governments

Improving building efficiency and sustainable design cuts long-term operating/maintenance costs for both private and public facilities and significantly reduces energy consumption and GHG emissions. Local governments can encourage the construction of buildings meeting LEED certification, Energy Star, or other energy efficiency standards and certification programs by incorporating incentives into development codes, promoting pilot or demonstration projects, and adopting performance standards for new buildings.

Here are some examples of local incentive programs, performance standards, and projects:

C-PACER: Financing Energy Efficient Upgrades for Commercial Properties

Pursuant to (Chapter 36.165 RCW), counties can help facilitate financing of energy efficiency upgrades by participating in the Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy and Resilience (C-PACER) program. 

C-PACER allows commercial property owners access to private financing for qualifying energy efficiency, renewable energy, water conservation, and resiliency improvements for their buildings. It requires adoption of an implementing ordinance by counties in order for commercial property owners to access the financing.

Below is information specific to local C-PACER programs:

Renewable Energy Strategies

The Clean Energy Transformation Act commits Washington to reaching 100% renewable energy by 2045. Local governments can help reach this goal and their own climate action objectives by promoting and incentivizing the use of renewable energy resources, such as use of solar energy in homes, commercial buildings, and public facilities.

Below are examples of how local governments have incentivized the use of rooftop solar panels in residential and industrial settings:

Here are recommended resources on renewable energy adoption:

Municipal Operations

Local governments can mitigate emissions from their own operations in conjunction with reducing community emissions. GHG reduction strategies for municipal operations can include managing fleets to reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT), installing renewable energy sources in capital facilities, providing employee bus passes, and allowing for remote work.

Below are a few examples of local plans targeting general municipal operations.

  • Lake Stevens Climate Sustainability Plan (2023) – Includes policies directed at building performance standards, improved transportation modalities, water conservation measures, reduction in waste consumption, and building resilient communities.
  • Redmond Environmental Sustainability Action Plan – Includes policies to increase water conservation, reduce waste generation, divest from fossil fuel in the city investment portfolio, adopt a building energy performance standard, and more.
  • Snohomish County Sustainable Operation Action Plan (2021) – Includes policies to promote green public buildings, green fleets, GHG tracking, resource conservation, waste reduction, and green purchasing.
  • Tacoma Office of Sustainability – Includes resolutions, proclamations, and ordinances related to green public facilities, waste diversion, and sustainable purchasing.

Telecommuting and remote work programs allow employees to work from home (or a neighborhood office) rather than commute to a more distant work site. Telecommuting can reduce an agency’s GHG emissions by reducing employees’ VMT and decreasing the physical space required for operations. For more information and policy examples, see our page on Telecommuting and Remote Work.

Sustainable Purchasing

According to the National Association of State Procurement Officials, sustainable purchasing refers to:

purchasing a product that has a lesser or reduced negative effect or increased positive effect on human health and the ecological environment, when compared with competing products that serve the same purpose.

State agencies are directed to increase environmental purchasing by both executive order and legislation, and the Washington State Department of Enterprise Services (DES) hosts an interactive Green Purchasing Guide. While the focus is on state agencies, local governments will find the guide offers applicable green purchasing specifications for a variety of products. 

Below are sample local programs related to green or sustainable purchasing:

Waste Reduction

Reducing waste, recycling, and composting are effective ways to reduce GHG emissions, both by reducing the energy used in the production of materials and by reducing the flow of materials to the landfill where anaerobic decomposition produces methane, a potent GHG. Many Washington local governments have adopted ambitious waste reduction policies, and some are working toward the goal of zero waste.

MRSC’s Solid Waste Collection, Recycling, and Disposal webpage provides examples of solid waste and demolition waste programs, including those incorporating recycling practices, and newer statutory requirements related to organic waste management.

Below are samples of local waste reduction plans:

  • Pierce County Sustainability 2030 (2025) – Includes detailed strategies for reducing waste in construction and demolition, waste diversion efforts, and decarbonizing waste operations.
  • Tacoma Waste Characterization Strategy (2023) – Analyzes the city’s four primary waste streams to determine progress toward waste reduction and diversion goals and to identify additional diversion opportunities.

Urban Forest/Tree Canopy

Integrating trees and green space into urban areas mitigates GHG emissions and reduces exposure to harmful effects of climate change, such as heat. These adaptations are important for building climate resiliency in vulnerable areas. Local governments can integrate policies on urban forestry into their CAPs and comprehensive plans.

MRSC’s Urban Forestry webpage includes information on establishing urban forests, street trees, tree preservation ordinances, forest or tree stewardship plans, and relevant examples and statutes for local governments.


Last Modified: May 07, 2026