Climate Change
Climate change is occurring now. Given that the current and potential future impacts of climate change on the Lummi Nation are significant and diverse, building a climate resilient community in the face of these impacts requires coordinated and comprehensive climate preparedness planning. The Lummi Nation is preparing by taking action to reduce the causes of climate change (i.e., climate mitigation), as well as by taking action to adapt to climate change impacts that have already occurred or that will unavoidably occur in the future (i.e., climate adaptation).
This web page provides summaries of the Lummi Natural Resources Department's climate change programs. Please see Available Documents for complete plans and programs.
Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Plan
The purpose of the Lummi Nation Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Plan: 2016-2026 is to evaluate the potential impacts of anthropogenic climate change on the Lummi Indian Reservation, Lummi Usual and Accustomed Grounds and Stations (U&A), and Lummi Traditional Territories and to present both mitigation strategies that may reduce the causes of climate change and adaptation strategies that may minimize climate change impacts that cannot be avoided.
Strategic Energy Plan
The purpose of the Lummi Nation Strategic Energy Plan: 2016-2026 is to evaluate current and future energy needs and resources on the Lummi Indian Reservation and to identify options for improving energy efficiency and developing renewable energy resources over the 2016-2026 planning period. Successful implementation of the SEP will help attain the Lummi Nation's stated goals of (1) improved economic and energy self-sufficiency and (2) reduced emissions from energy production and use that contribute to global climate change, air quality degradation, and other adverse environmental and human health impacts.
Residential Energy Efficiency Pilot Program
The purpose of the Residential Energy Efficiency Pilot Program is to explore a direct approach to reduce energy use in and resultant carbon emissions from the homes of Lummi tribal members by developing and implementing a system for performing residential energy audits and energy efficiency retrofitting and/or weatherization in partnership with the Opportunity Council.
Through the pilot program, energy audits and energy efficiency retrofitting and/or weatherization were performed on 8 homes located on the Lummi Indian Reservation that are owned by Lummi tribal members. Overall, this initial project resulted in a 30 percent reduction in total energy use (kWh) and a 24 percent reduction in the total carbon emissions (tons/year) from the homes involved. The project also increased community awareness about climate change and local actions that can be taken to minimize the carbon footprint of the Reservation.
Wind Energy Development Feasibility Assessment
The purpose of the Lummi Indian Reservation Wind Energy Development Feasibility Assessment Project (2009-2012), which was funded through a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, was to determine if and at what cost wind energy development on the Reservation could help achieve the tribal goal of energy self-sufficiency.
The study concluded that, under the two scenarios that were evaluated, a wind energy project would likely not be economically viable for the LIBC.