The Bainbridge Island City Council learned about work performed by the Climate Change Advisory Committee last year and future updates to its intended work for 2025 at the governing body’s April 15 meeting.

Kevin Thomas, CCAC chair, presented an overview of the Energy Transition Initiative Partnership project, also known as E-TIP.

“The committee really began the year working on a…grant that the city secured,” Thomas said. “(It) was a big grant given to island communities to actually look at various aspects of how to respond to climate change, but then also to look at, perhaps even more importantly, resiliency.”

Bainbridge has set a goal of becoming 100% carbon-free by 2040, per the city’s Climate Action Plan. Thomas said the committee partnered with scientists and analysts, many from the Department of Energy, to explore clean energy alternatives.

“They did an extensive amount of study looking at how to create energy independence for the island, and then different projects that could be undertaken to bolster and strengthen the infrastructure for resiliency across the board,” he said.

Thomas said the inter-county climate partnership has allowed Bainbridge Island to collaborate with other cities working toward their own climate goals.

“It turns out that Bainbridge is pretty far ahead of a lot of other communities, and so they’re seeking advice,” Thomas said. “We see this as a really interesting opportunity to leverage what we’ve been able to do here and spread the word and help others.”

In March, the council discussed a proposed ordinance aimed at transitioning to zero-emission landscaping tools, which CCAC supported, along with an electrification expo.

“Members of the staff collaborated with (Race Equity Advisory Committee) to look at all of the implications of the original ordinance,” Thomas said. “We came back with a number of different recommendations about how to strengthen that, how to potentially roll it out, and how to engage with the community.”

Councilmember Leslie Schneider said she would like additional tools, such as a data dashboard, to better inform the public about environmental impacts. Thomas said the committee hasn’t explored that specifically, but it is looking at relevant metrics to help people engage with and understand environmental impacts.

Councilmember Clarence Moriwaki expressed concern about the health impacts of gas-powered tools on workers.

“People are doing it hourly, daily. I’m really concerned about their well-being, and that’s an environmental equity issue,” he said.

“These leaf blowers are just generally pretty awful. I think everyone can agree on that,” Councilmember Joe Deets said.

Councilmember Kirsten Hytopoulos said she would like to collect Bainbridge-specific data to better inform future city planning.

“I think that having a set of baseline metrics that we’re constantly coming back to and looking at — and then asking ourselves, ‘How do we move the dial, or not?’ — I think that would be great,” Thomas said.

The council also discussed the challenges of measuring greenhouse gas emissions, particularly from air travel.

“We do have a lot of folks here who travel,” Moriwaki said. “And the carbon impact of going everywhere, as opposed to some other communities where people rarely travel by air — it does add to the balance, even though we’re not adding to the carbon load right above Bainbridge Island.”

“We’re not going to be controlling people’s flights,” Deets said, adding that he prefers to focus on natural systems such as water conservation.

Other priorities for the CCAC this year include a “Kicking Gas” heat pilot program, an e-bike voucher program, and continued support for the Climate Change Framework.

The committee also plans to support and provide updates related to the CAP, Comprehensive Plan and Winslow Subarea Plan.