Greenhouse Gas Reduction and Climate Resilience: State Resources and Local Approaches
Location: Online via Zoom
Cost: PAW Member – $30 | Non-Member – $40 | Student – FREE
For PAW membership info, please click here.
CM: 1 credit | Activity #9282502
Climate resilience and greenhouse gas reduction is a rapidly evolving field for planners in Washington. This webinar will provide resources for planners as they work to tackle new comprehensive plan requirements for the Climate Change and Resiliency Element. Commerce staff will present an overview of Commerce’s updated climate element planning guidance. Cascadia Consulting will provide information on their approach as a consultant working to support jurisdictions across the nation including defining carbon neutrality for King County and developing tools to assess past and future greenhouse gas emissions for the City of Bellevue.
Michael Burnham
Climate Policy Manager | Washington State Department of Commerce
Michael Burnham helps local governments mitigate and adapt to climate change as the Washington Department of Commerce’s Climate Program Manager. Michael’s prior planning work includes contributing to the Thurston Regional Planning Council’s climate and sustainability plans and Intercity Transit’s net-zero emissions and bus rapid-transit initiatives. Michael worked previously as a journalist in Washington, D.C., where his reporting about energy and environmental policy and technology appeared in Greenwire, The New York Times, and Scientific American and won awards from the National Press Club and Society of Environmental Journalists. Michael holds masters’ degrees from Portland State and Northwestern universities and a climate and health certificate from Yale.
Andrea Martin
Climate Action Director | Cascadia Consulting Group
As a scientist-turned-practitioner, Andrea’s passion is to help translate and simplify complex environmental concepts into action-oriented plans and strategies. Since joining Cascadia in 2011, Andrea has led sustainability, climate mitigation, and climate resiliency analysis and planning projects for a range of local government clients. She is currently managing the development of Columbia, Missouri’s Climate Action and Adaptation Plan—a multi-stakeholder, public-facing planning process that includes conducting a greenhouse gas analysis, climate vulnerability assessment, and multi-criteria strategy assessment. She also co-manages regional transit agency Sound Transit’s On-Call Sustainability Services contract—which has included development and implementation of the agency’s Climate Adaptation Strategy, Sustainability Plan, and greenhouse gas inventory. Andrea holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Management with a focus in Environmental Economics and Policy from Duke University and a B.S. in Biology with Honors from the University of North Carolina. On the weekends, you can find Andrea walking along the beach with her daughter, Juniper, near her home in Charleston, South Carolina. Cascadia Consulting Group is a 100% women-owned consulting firm specializing in environmental and sustainability solutions.