CITY OF SEATTLE

ORDINANCE __________________

COUNCIL BILL __________________

AN ORDINANCE amending Ordinance 126490, which adopted the 2022 Budget; changing appropriations to various departments and budget control levels, and from various funds in the Budget; in order to advance the Seattle Green New Deal by funding actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, funding climate-resilient community spaces, and investing in net-zero affordable housing; and ratifying and confirming certain prior acts.

WHEREAS, climate change poses severe and growing threats to Seattle residents’ health, safety, and livelihoods; and

WHEREAS, a February 2022 United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report states that temperature increases of 1.5 degrees Celsius in the near term would cause unavoidable increases in multiple climate hazards and present multiple risks to ecosystems and humans; and

WHEREAS, the 2022 IPCC report states, “Vulnerability of ecosystems and people to climate change differs substantially among and within regions driven by patterns of intersecting socioeconomic development, unsustainable ocean and land use, inequity, marginalization, historical and ongoing patterns of inequity such as colonialism, and governance”; and

WHEREAS, an inadequate response to climate change will increase the risk of economic and environmental disruptions, such as more severe storms, longer and hotter heat waves, worsening flood and drought cycles, growing invasive species and insect problems, accelerated species extinction rates, rising sea levels, increased wildfires, and an increase in environmental migration; and

WHEREAS, near-term actions that limit global warming to close to 1.5 degrees Celsius would substantially reduce projected losses and damages related to climate change in human systems and ecosystems; and

WHEREAS, Ordinance 125926 established the Green New Deal Oversight Board, provided compensation for those who incur a financial hardship by their participation on the Board, and requested that the Office of Sustainability and Environment create an interdepartmental team to advance the Green New Deal for Seattle; and

WHEREAS, The City of Seattle has been committed since Executive Order 2020-01 to a Green New Deal for Seattle, which directs City departments to take actions that: reduce pollution at the rate of progress scientists say is necessary to limit average global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius; promote economic opportunity and inclusive access to stable, well-paying jobs; and advance environmental justice by ensuring the benefits and investments of the clean energy transition accrue to those communities and populations historically most burdened by the fossil fuel industry; and

WHEREAS, the Green New Deal for Seattle builds on actions by the State of Washington, the United States federal government, and the global community to address climate change, actions which include the Washington State Climate Commitment Act of 2021, the federal Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, and the 2015 Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, all of which commit the State of Washington, the United States of America, and 195 nations around the world to holding the increase in the average global temperature to under 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels; and

WHEREAS, during the 2022 Adopted Budget process, an Opportunity Fund in the amount of $6,491,539 was appropriated in Finance General for advancing the Green New Deal, pending the recommendations of the Green New Deal Oversight Board; and

WHEREAS, the Green New Deal Oversight Board is comprised of 19 community leaders representing diverse constituencies from youth, Indigenous and Native American tribes, climate and environmental justice organizations, workforce development organizations, labor unions, and climate mitigation and adaptation experts; and

WHEREAS, the Green New Deal Oversight Board met to make recommendations for investments to address the climate crisis and the disparate impacts of climate change on communities of color and the economically disadvantaged; and

WHEREAS, the Mayor of Seattle and City departments have determined a set of initial priorities to be authorized by this funding, based on the recommendations of the Oversight Board and discussions with experts, stakeholders, and climate justice advocates in and beyond Seattle; and

WHEREAS, the amounts set aside in the Green New Deal Opportunity Fund are hereby to be appropriated to various City departments to better achieve the goals of the Green New Deal for Seattle; NOW, THEREFORE,

BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY OF SEATTLE AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. In order to pay for necessary costs and expenses incurred or to be incurred, appropriations for the following items in the 2022 Adopted Budget are modified as follows:

Unspent funds so appropriated shall carry forward to subsequent fiscal years until they are exhausted or abandoned by ordinance.

Section 2. Any act consistent with the authority of this ordinance taken after its passage and prior to its effective date is ratified and confirmed.

Section 3. This ordinance shall take effect and be in force 30 days after its approval by the Mayor, but if not approved and returned by the Mayor within ten days after presentation, it shall take effect as provided by Seattle Municipal Code Section 1.04.020.

Passed by the City Council the ________ day of _________________________, 2022, and signed by me in open session in authentication of its passage this _____ day of _________________________, 2022.

____________________________________

President ____________ of the City Council

Approved / returned unsigned / vetoed this ________ day of _________________, 2022.

____________________________________

Bruce Harrell, Mayor

Filed by me this ________ day of _________________________, 2022.

____________________________________

________________________________, City Clerk

(Seal)