PLANNING 101
Planning for Climate Change and Resiliency
Planning for climate impacts and reducing greenhouse gas emissions
Regulatory Context
In 2023, Washington State passed House Bill 1181, requiring cities and counties to use their comprehensive plans to build community resilience and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
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In response, the City of Airway Heights is preparing a new Climate Change and Resiliency sub-element as part of its 2026 Comprehensive Plan update. This element will evaluate the potential impacts of climate change on natural hazards that pose the greatest risks to the city’s people, infrastructure, and economy.
What is Climate Resilience?
According to Washington State, climate resilience is “the ongoing process of anticipating, preparing for, and adapting to changes in climate and minimizing negative impacts to our natural systems, infrastructure, and communities.” (RCW 70A.65.010)
Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (CRVA)
As part of this effort, the City is working with consultants to conduct a Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (CRVA). This assessment evaluates the impacts of seven types of hazards: biodiversity change, extreme cold, extreme heat, drought, wildfire, windstorms/tornadoes, winter storms.
Adaptation and Mitigation
In climate planning, adaptation and mitigation go hand in hand:
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Hazard Mitigation, as defined the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) “any sustained action to reduce or eliminate long-term risk to people and property from natural hazards and their effects.”
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Adaptation is “the process of adjusting to new (climate) conditions in order to reduce risks to valued assets,” which can include everything from roads and buildings, to health and well-being, to forests and streams.
Climate Goals and Policies in Progress
To build climate resilience, the new Climate Change and Resiliency Element will include a mix of preparedness, response, and recovery policies—such as mitigating natural hazards, adapting to unavoidable impacts, and restoring degraded natural areas that provide key ecosystem services.
