(The Center Square) – The Washington State Department of Natural Resources is working toward many climate goals, such as providing “equitable tree cover,” reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving state forests.
The DNR released a three-year update to its Plan for Climate Resiliency on Aug. 2. According to the update, the department is reaching its goals with the help of nearly $41.4 million from Washington’s carbon auctions, established by the Climate Commitment Act.
“Our plan created a commitment to lead and a roadmap to address climate risks with climate action,” DNR Commissioner Hilary Franz said in a news release. “The actions we take toward climate resilience in our state will have an effect across the globe.”
The department aims for statewide “equitable tree canopy cover,” according to the update, hoping to set all demographics at least on a path to a “tree equity score” of 75 or higher by 2040. The nonprofit American Forests sets the score, which runs from zero to 100, DNR Policy Director Csenka Favorini-Csorba said to The Center Square.
“Lower income, or places where there’s more communities of color, disproportionately have less tree cover,” she said. “This is to make sure that there’s equitable tree cover across the state in our urban areas.”
The DNR’s Urban and Community Forestry program signed an agreement with American Forests in April to work toward “tree equity,” this session receiving $6 million from the state legislature and $6 million in federal funding, according to the update.
The department also hopes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its fleet and facilities by 75% by 2040. It plans to take steps like buying electric vehicles, evaluating buildings for energy efficiency and reducing commutes with things like remote work.
The DNR plans to improve more than 3 million acres of forest land by 2040, Favorini-Csorba said. The department is planning to treat 1.25 million acres for forest health and risk reduction by 2037, conserve 1 million acres of at-risk forest land and reforest 1 million acres of such land by 2040, according to the update.
The department is taking many other measures to reach its climate goals, including conserving 10,000 acres of state forests for “carbon market opportunities” by 2024. It plans to lease 5,000 acres of new solar power, and evaluate 2.9 million acres of land to assess more solar sites, by 2025. The DNR will also require consideration of “climate actions” in aquatic leases by 2040.
“At this point, I think it’s providing consideration,” Favorini-Csorba said. “In the future, it might turn into more specific criteria.”
The Washington Policy Center previously alleged the state’s carbon auction program contributed to the state’s high gas prices, but Inslee blamed oil companies for the price hikes.
