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King County
Executive Office
Ron Sims, King County Executive 701 Fifth Ave. Suite 3210 Seattle, WA 98104 Phone: 206-296-4040 Fax: 206-296-0194 TTY Relay: 711
Image: King County Exeutive Ron Sims, News Release

Aug. 2, 2006

King County and climate scientists write the book on coping with global warming

Local and regional governments will soon have a guidebook to help them take the mystery out of planning for the changing needs of their citizens as a result of global warming. The guidebook is being co-authored by the King County Executive and his global warming team, and the internationally distinguished Climate Impacts Group. ICLEI—Local Governments for Sustainability, an international non-profit group, will be a contributor and publish and distribute the guidebook to its 193 United States member cities, towns and counties.

Additionally, ICLEI will use the guidebook as a component of its Climate Safe Communities Campaign, a new project funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and being pilot tested in three U.S. cities this year.

“Governments need a practical guide to prepare for the changes in extreme weather, water supply, sea level rise and health risks that scientists say will result from global warming already underway,” said King County Executive Ron Sims. “I used to joke with my colleagues around the country that King County and the Climate Impacts Group wrote the book on coping with global warming. Now it will literally be true.

“It would be irresponsible to not take what scientists are telling us and apply it to the service needs of the people in our communities,” Sims said. “We are being warned; it is government’s responsibility to prepare.”

The guidebook draws on the Climate Impacts Group’s experience in researching and communicating information on climate impacts and planning to Pacific Northwest decision makers. The Climate Impacts Group, based at the University of Washington, is one of eight regional climate assessment groups in the nation funded by NOAA. The guidebook also uses examples from King County and other local governments to highlight how planning for global warming can occur in the day-to-day activities of local government.

“There has been an important shift in how decision makers view planning for global warming,” said Dr. Amy Snover, Research Scientist at the Climate Impacts Group. “As change becomes more evident in the region’s climate, snow pack, and rivers, decision makers are increasingly asking ‘How can I prepare for climate change?’. This guidebook helps to answer that question.”

"More and more, local governments are effectively implementing mitigation techniques to reduce the impacts of climate change,” said Michele Wyman, executive director of the Oakland-based ICLEI U.S. office. “Our partnership with King County, NOAA, and the Climate Impacts Group enables us to offer cities and counties a parallel set of tools that focus on climate adaptation and preparedness as we increasingly anticipate unavoidable climate change impacts on our communities."

The idea for a guidebook evolved out the King County conference on global warming held in the fall of 2005. It became clear from the nearly 700 attendees that governments throughout the region were eager for information to help them respond to the increasingly gloomy scientific predictions of melting glaciers and rising sea levels.

Executive Sims’s global warming team negotiated agreement with the Climate Impacts Group to co-author the book. ICLEI agreed to publish and distribute the book.

ICLEI, founded in 1990, evolved from the World Congress of Local Governments for a Sustainable Future, at the United Nations in New York. Since 1993 it has been working with local governments throughout the world to develop local solutions to global warming. More than 190 U.S. local governments, representing 60 million people (approximately 20 percent of the U.S. population) are members. Internationally, ICLEI’s works with over 770 local governments, representing approximately 300 million people in 29 countries.

The guidebook’s primary audience is regional and local government leaders grappling with how to prepare for the impacts of global warming. The intent is to take the mystery out of planning for climate impacts by specifying the steps that can be taken to plan for global warming. These steps include creating a global warming adaptation team; identifying community vulnerabilities to global warming; and identifying, selecting and implementing adaptation options.

King County department managers are using scientific projections of what 2050 will look like to make the investments and changes now to prepare for wetter, warmer winters and drier summers. While the county continues to reduce its contributions to global warming it also has developed a flood plan and is proposing major upgrades in its 119 miles of levees on local rivers. It is constructing a $28 million reclaimed water backbone system to help address expected water shortages.

“I want the county to continue to be a living lab of innovation as we use new technologies and make investments that will protect us and future generations and their quality of life,” said Sims. “This guidebook should help other governments do the same so that together we get the benefits of each other’s work.”

"We're excited that King County Executive Sims, the University of Washington Climate Impacts Group and ICLEI are drawing on their experience to lead regional governments across the US in preparing for regional climate changes,” said Dr. Chester Koblinsky, director of NOAA’s Climate Program Office. “Such practical applications of climate science are consistent with NOAA's mission, and we look forward to furthering their government-to-government exchange through the Climate Safe Communities program."

“Increased flooding and decreased summer streamflows threaten both the people of our community and our environment here in Issaquah,” said Issaquah Mayor Ava Frisinger. “The City of Issaquah applauds King County's leadership in taking the initiative and developing a guidebook on global warming. We are appreciative that there will be a useful tool to help us as we deal with what we know is happening to our climate.”

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  Updated: March 17, 2010