Next month, the Portland City Council will meet to discuss Portland’s Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund (PCEF). The future of this fund is not guaranteed, as some have suggested that PCEF needs to go back on the ballot. We need PCEF as it stands to provide funding for the rapid transition to a more equitable, sustainable, and resilient city. Will you help Portland achieve our climate goals by emailing Portland City Commissioners and urging them to keep PCEF strong and climate-focused?
PCEF is crucial in helping Portland achieve its climate goals and address environmental injustices. Its passage in 2018 marked a turning point for the city, as for the first time, Portland has the funds to invest in the workforce and infrastructure needed to create a thriving green economy and more resilient neighborhoods and communities.
The results of this initiative’s investments are already flourishing. So far, here’s what PCEF has helped Portland accomplish:
- Community center upgrades to respond effectively to severe weather events
- Installation of over 10,000 efficient cooling units to elderly and low-income Portlanders homes
- The Equitable Tree Canopy project to create jobs and plant thousands of trees to cool local heat islands
- Vital improvements in ventilation systems in our children’s schools
- Healthier environments for workers and greater energy efficiency in small commercial buildings
- A community garden for Native Americans in partnership with NAYA Family Center
- Significant energy efficient upgrades to homes of low-income and Portlanders of color
- Workforce development and creation of jobs in the green energy sector, especially for low-income underrepresented populations
If you want to know more, check out PCEF’s website by clicking here.
As the effects of climate change are ever-more increasingly felt in Portland, from record-breaking summer heat, extended wildfire seasons and lethal winter storms, PCEF is critical for equipping Portland with the ability to respond to climate emergencies and prepare residents for rising energy costs.
Now is not the time for Portland to take a step back from all of the climate goals we are closer to reaching, thanks to this initiative. If anything, we need bigger and bolder investment in PCEF at this crucial time, for our city, neighborhoods, communities, and the health of all Portlanders. Send City leaders a message to express your support for PCEF and urge them to preserve it now!
Thank you for your action.