The departments of ecology, agriculture, *community, trade, and economic development, fish and wildlife, natural resources, and transportation shall develop an integrated climate change response strategy to better enable state and local agencies, public and private businesses, nongovernmental organizations, and individuals to prepare for, address, and adapt to the impacts of climate change. The integrated climate change response strategy should be developed, where feasible and consistent with the direction of the strategy, in collaboration with local government agencies with climate change preparation and adaptation plans.
The department of ecology shall serve as a central clearinghouse for relevant scientific and technical information about the impacts of climate change on Washington's ecology, economy, and society, as well as serve as a central convener for the development of vital programs and necessary policies to help the state adapt to a rapidly changing climate.
The department of ecology shall consult and collaborate with the departments of fish and wildlife, agriculture, *community, trade, and economic development, natural resources, and transportation in developing an integrated climate change response strategy and plans of action to prepare for and adapt to climate change impacts.
[ 2009 c 519 § 10; ]
The integrated climate change response strategy should address the impact of and adaptation to climate change, as well as the regional capacity to undertake actions, existing ecosystem and resource management concerns, and health and economic risks. In addition, the departments of ecology, agriculture, *community, trade, and economic development, fish and wildlife, natural resources, and transportation should include a range of scenarios for the purposes of planning in order to assess project vulnerability and, to the extent feasible, reduce expected risks and increase resiliency to the impacts of climate change.
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By December 1, 2011, the department of ecology shall compile an initial climate change response strategy, including information and data from the departments of fish and wildlife, agriculture, *community, trade, and economic development, natural resources, and transportation that: Summarizes the best known science on climate change impacts to Washington; assesses Washington's vulnerability to the identified climate change impacts; prioritizes solutions that can be implemented within and across state agencies; and identifies recommended funding mechanisms and technical and other essential resources for implementing solutions.
The initial strategy must include:
Efforts to identify priority planning areas for action, based on vulnerability and risk assessments;
Barriers challenging state and local governments to take action, such as laws, policies, regulations, rules, and procedures that require revision to adequately address adaptation to climate change;
Opportunities to integrate climate science and projected impacts into planning and decision making; and
Methods to increase public awareness of climate change, its projected impacts on the community, and to build support for meaningful adaptation policies and strategies.
[ 2009 c 519 § 11; ]
The departments of ecology, agriculture, *community, trade, and economic development, fish and wildlife, natural resources, and transportation may consult with qualified nonpartisan experts from the scientific community as needed to assist with developing an integrated climate change response strategy. The qualified nonpartisan experts from the scientific community may assist the department of ecology on the following components:
Identifying the timing and extent of impacts from climate change;
Assessing the effects of climate variability and change in the context of multiple interacting stressors or impacts;
Developing forecasting models;
Determining the resilience of the environment, natural systems, communities, and organizations to deal with potential or actual impacts of climate change and the vulnerability to which a natural or social system is susceptible to sustaining damage from climate change impacts; and
Identifying other issues, as determined by the department of ecology, necessary to develop policies and actions for the integrated climate change response strategy.
[ 2009 c 519 § 12; ]
State agencies shall strive to incorporate adaptation plans of action as priority activities when planning or designing agency policies and programs. Agencies shall consider: The integrated climate change response strategy when designing, planning, and funding infrastructure projects; and incorporating natural resource adaptation actions and alternative energy sources when designing and planning infrastructure projects.
[ 2009 c 519 § 13; ]
The legislature finds that in chapter 14, Laws of 2008, the legislature established greenhouse gas emission reduction limits for Washington state, including a reduction of overall emissions by 2020 to emission levels in 1990, a reduction by 2035 to levels twenty-five percent below 1990 levels, and by 2050 a further reduction below 1990 levels. Based upon estimated 2006 emission levels in Washington, this will require a reduction from present emission levels of over twenty-five percent in the next eleven years. The legislature further finds that state government activities are a significant source of emissions, and that state government should meet targets for reducing emissions from its buildings, vehicles, and all operations that demonstrate that these reductions are achievable, cost-effective, and will help to promote innovative energy efficiency technologies and practices.
[ 2009 c 519 § 1; ]
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From January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2049, a climate resiliency and mitigation surcharge is imposed on specified financial institutions that are bankers of fossil fuels. The surcharge is equal to the gross income of the business taxable under RCW 82.04.290(2) multiplied by the rate specified under (b) of this subsection (1). The surcharge is in addition to any other fees or taxes imposed on specified financial institutions.
Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, the rate for the climate resiliency and mitigation surcharge is determined by the total amount of adjusted fossil fuel financing provided by a specified financial institution's consolidated financial institution group, as a percentage of total financing for all industries provided by the institution's consolidated financial institution group, for the prior calendar year, based on the following schedule:
Adjusted Fossil Fuel Financing as Percent of Total Financing
Climate Resiliency and Mitigation
Surcharge Rate
4.0 percent or more
0.50 percent
2.5 percent or more to 4.0 percent
0.375 percent
Less than 2.5 percent
0.25 percent
c. The rate under (b) of this subsection for a specified financial institution must be adjusted July 1, 2024, and each July 1st thereafter, if: (i) The specified financial institution's consolidated financial institution group's adjusted fossil fuel financing percentage, as determined by the most recent Washington fossil fuel financing report, requires a different rate under (b) of this subsection; or (ii) the specified financial institution is no longer a banker of fossil fuels.
The department of revenue shall administer the climate resiliency and mitigation surcharge imposed under this section in a manner consistent with the financial institution surtax under RCW 82.04.29004. The conditions and requirements in RCW 82.04.29004 (3) and (4) apply to this section.
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By October 1, 2022, the department of commerce must publish a report assessing the adjusted fossil fuel financing, as a percentage of total financing for all industries, for each specified financial institution's consolidated financial institution group in calendar year 2021. To make this determination, the department of commerce shall use league tables published by a well-established financial data analytics and services firm that provides financial, economic, and government information covering industry sectors. The report published under this subsection (3)(a) must be used to set the rate under subsection (1)(b) of this section for calendar year 2023.
By April 1, 2024, and by each April 1st thereafter, the department of commerce must publish a similar report for use in the climate resiliency and mitigation surcharge rate determination under subsection (1)(b) of this section by assessing the adjusted fossil fuel financing, as a percentage of total financing for all industries, for each specified financial institution's consolidated financial institution group, for the prior calendar year. The report published under this subsection (3)(b) must be used to set the rate under subsection (1)(b) of this section, as adjusted under subsection (1)(c) of this section, for fiscal year 2025 and thereafter.
The surcharge collected under this section must be deposited into the climate resiliency account in RCW 43.79.545.
The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this section unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
"Adjusted fossil fuel financing" means league table credit for financing fossil fuel companies less league table credit for financing renewable energy companies.
"Banker of fossil fuels" means a specified financial institution that is part of a consolidated financial institution group listed in the Washington fossil fuel financing report as receiving league table credit financing one or more fossil fuel companies in excess of $1,000,000,000, in the aggregate, in the prior calendar year.
"Financing" means lending or underwriting of corporate bonds, government bonds, or equity issuances.
"Fossil fuel company" means a business listed in one of the following industry classifications as provided in a league table:
Coal operation;
Oil and gas exploration and production;
Integrated oils;
Oil and gas services and equipment;
Oil and gas pipelines; and
"League table" means a table aggregating the lead financing provided by financial institutions to various industry sectors.
"Renewable energy company" means a business listed in the renewable energy classification, which includes biofuels, renewable energy equipment, and renewable energy project development.
"Specified financial institution" has the same meaning as provided in RCW 82.04.29004.
"Washington fossil fuel financing report" means the report developed under subsection (3) of this section.
[ 2021 c XXX § 2; ]**