On February 4th, 2020, the Board of County Commissioners passed a board order establishing a climate strategy for Lane County. This board order comes at a critical time for our county, as the impacts of a changing climate are already here. Wildfires, heat domes, seasonal flooding, long-term drought, and other impacts have already occurred throughout our county. Additionally, these climate trends are only projected to continue. Some of the changes in Lane County are projected to be:

• An average summer temperature increase of +10-12 degrees Fahrenheit and an average winter temperature increase of +3-5 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100.
• Wildfire surface area increase of 400-500% by 2040.
• Reduced streamflow by 40-60% by 2040 during the dry season.
• More intense precipitation events and higher stream flows in the wet season as less falls as snowpack.

These threats are complex, and to combat them and their root causes our board order directs us to develop a several-stage Climate Action Plan (CAP) as well as other strategies. As directed by the board order, Lane County will:

1. Conduct a greenhouse gas emissions inventory and develop an internal plan (Climate Action Plan - Phase 1) for County operations to establish greenhouse gas reduction targets and implementation plans to meet County targets.
2. Develop a comprehensive countywide plan (Climate Action Plan - Phase 2) with community engagement to outline aggressive goals and strategies, aligned in partnership with city climate actions, to establish countywide community targets and high priority areas of action.
3. Develop a resiliency plan (Climate Action Plan - Phase 3) to identify adaptation strategies to mitigate the risks and impacts of climate change anticipated for Lane County.
4. Develop Action Initiatives supporting green jobs, clean energy projects, and climate-friendly industries in Lane County.
5. Provide open and transparent public communications to monitor and evaluate progress toward climate action goals.
6. Establish a Climate Advisory Committee (CAC) to provide recommendations and advise the Board of Commissioners on the County's ongoing climate action work.

Throughout this page and the links on our sidebar, you can see the progress and current direction we are taking at the County to accomplish these goals.