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City of Tacoma Highlights Environmental Progress and Community Investments in 2025 Climate Action Report

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The City of Tacoma has released its 2025 Climate Action Plan Progress Report, demonstrating its ongoing commitment to a healthier, more resilient, and sustainable community. Building on foundational planning and investments made in 2024, the latest report highlights tangible, on-the-ground achievements in expanding the urban tree canopy, advancing clean mobility, and reducing waste.

"We're seeing meaningful momentum in reducing emissions and strengthening our city's commitment to climate action, but we know there is more work ahead to meet the urgency of this moment," said Mayor Anders Ibsen. "We will continue to build the programs and partnerships that will allow us to keep this momentum and meet our climate goals."

The Climate Action Plan serves as the City's roadmap to reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, while simultaneously moving Tacoma forward through investments that improve community health, safety, job opportunities, and equity by 2030.

A key achievement highlighted in the City's 2025 progress report include the measurable growth of Tacoma's urban forest. A recent Light Imaging Detection and Range (LIDAR) analysis revealed that Tacoma's overall tree canopy has increased by 1 percent since 2017, bringing the city-wide canopy to 21 percent. Importantly, the City's targeted equity efforts yielded a 2 to 4 percent canopy increase in priority census blocks. By utilizing a tree planting prioritization tool that incorporates urban heat island and equity data, the City is seeing to it that the health and cooling benefits of trees are reaching the communities that need them most.

"Building our city's resilience to climate change requires focused efforts to decrease our carbon footprint, and I am excited about the progress we are making toward this goal by implementing our Climate Action Plan," said District 1 Council Member John Hines. "I am particularly proud to see the great work we are doing enhancing our tree canopy, along with diverting wood waste from our landfill. Trees are not only a vital part of livable neighborhoods, but they are also key to managing our stormwater runoff, decreasing urban heat islands, and ensuring better air quality across our city. Tacoma is a city that is proud to reuse and repurpose items and we are making great strides in providing our community with new ways to get involved in the circular economy. I have no doubt that our continued work to enhance Tacoma's tree canopy and expand our circular economy will further enhance our resilience."

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"Tree canopy remains the top priority I hear about, and this report shows we are moving in the right direction," said District 2 Council Member Sarah Rumbaugh. "Across our community, people value Tacoma's neighborhoods and business centers, yet many feel we still lack the tree coverage we need, from our streets and sidewalks to the places where people live and gather. I am focused on the next phase of conversations around private property regulations and on advancing solutions, and I am committed to taking on the hard work needed to move this forward."

Following critical planning milestones established in 2024, the City Council officially adopted the Home in Tacoma zoning updates in February 2025. This landmark update allows for a wider variety of housing options within areas historically zoned for single-unit development, supporting the creation of compact, walkable neighborhoods near transit corridors. In December 2025, the City Council also adopted the Tideflats Subarea Plan, which identifies specific land use actions to protect local lands and increase green jobs.

To make sustainable transportation more accessible, the City launched an e-bike rebate program in Spring 2025. Funded by a Washington State Department of Ecology grant, the program distributed e-bikes to 213 Tacomans. In alignment with the City's equity goals, 95 percent of the rebates were awarded to low-income individuals, providing them with reliable, zero-emission transportation.

"Our Climate Action Plan is a vital guide for how we are addressing the accelerating impacts of climate change, including increased urban heat, air pollution, and rising sea levels," said At-Large Council Member Kristina Walker. "I am particularly pleased to see the work we are doing to expand sustainable transportation and enhance our urban forest in historically marginalized communities that are disproportionally harmed by rising temperatures and polluted air. While Tacoma cannot solve climate change alone, we are making progress building a more resilient city to keep our residents safe and healthy."

"I see communities around the country being impacted by climate change in devastating ways," said District 3 Council Member Jamika Scott. "From overwhelming fires to unprecedented flooding, we cannot ignore how rising temperatures are leaving many cities in crisis. In Tacoma, we are already struggling with the impacts of urban heat islands and air pollution, both of which can lead to health problems for our residents and limit the ways we all live, work and play. The progress we are making with our Climate Action Plan is much needed, and we have a lot more to do. I commend everyone working hard to help us successfully build our resilience, and I invite our community to find ways that each of you can help as well in your daily lives. From planting trees to limiting greenhouse gases, we must do this work together."

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"Building Tacoma's resiliency to the impacts of climate change is of vital importance to the health and well-being of our community members," said At-Large Council Member Latasha Palmer. "While we are making progress in many ways, I am concerned that we are still too far behind on many of our goals and that our progress isn't happening fast enough. I am particularly concerned about our ability to reach our 2030 goals for increasing green jobs, planting trees in high heat neighborhoods, and reaching municipal carbon neutrality. Increasing the resiliency of all our neighborhoods is going to require new approaches to close gaps toward our goals, as well as robust collaboration with our community. I am committed to exploring options that would help better position us to achieve our goals on time. I also want to stress that we need to have our community involved and invested in our shared success. I urge our community to take a close look at the Climate Action Plan dashboard so that they can also participate in the work we need to do."

The City's Solid Waste Management team launched Beyond the Bin in 2025 to further local waste reduction initiatives. Through eight community reuse events hosted over the summer, Tacoma community members successfully diverted and donated over 16,000 pounds of reusable items to local nonprofit partners, keeping valuable materials out of the landfill.

On the energy front, Tacoma continues to transition residential homes to clean electricity. Building on momentum from 2024, the City and Tacoma Power utilized state grant funding to install free heat pumps and hybrid heat pump water heaters, successfully switching 72 low-income homes from natural gas to clean electricity over the 2024-2025 period.

As part of its long-term strategy to protect people and infrastructure from worsening climate impacts, the City initiated the Commencement Bay Restoration and Resilience Master Plan in 2025. Supported by grant funding, this effort brings together key local partners—including the Puyallup Tribe of Indians, the Port of Tacoma, Pierce County, and Parks Tacoma—to develop collaborative strategies to adapt to sea-level rise. Set to be finalized in late 2026, the plan will identify opportunities to protect critical infrastructure from flooding while improving natural shoreline habitats.

The City continues to release annual Climate Action Plan progress reports to remain transparent and accountable to the public as it works alongside community members and the Climate & Sustainability Commission to meet these critical future-focused goals.

Details on the 2025 progress report posted on the City's website were presented to the City Council during its May 5 Study Session.

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