King County moves forward with climate action plan

King County is moving forward with a plan—called the King County Cities Climate Collaboration—to reduce the county’s overall greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent of 2007 levels by 2050. According to KPLU, the plan does so by “targeting some of the biggest sources of emissions: transportation and energy used by buildings and through committing to things like doubling transit ridership over the next 25 years.”

Supporters of the plan have applauded it as “one of the boldest in the United States.” But, that’s not the only absurd claim supporters have made about the plan. KPLU,

“But what really makes the plan stand out for county environmental advisor Megan Smith, is the way it has unified three quarters of the local population, through something called the King County Cities Climate Collaboration.

“‘And this is a voluntary group of about a dozen cities in King County. We work together to get a common emissions reduction goal and to map out the specific actions to get there,’ Smith said.”

Here’s the thing about Smith’s claim: nobody knows about King County’s plan. The fact that supporters like Smith brag about the plan being “voluntary” and uniting three quarters of the population” is, simply put, ridiculous.

The truth is, the public has never heard discussions on the plan because the county has not held public discussions on the plan.