Background
At the direction of Portland City Council, PCEF is developing a 5-year Climate Investment Plan to guide the investment of PCEF funds to achieve major carbon reductions in ways that benefit those most impacted by the climate crisis.
The CIP will include feedback from a variety of stakeholders, especially those most impacted by climate change in Portland; input from a range of technical experts; and information from community studies and technical reports.
Learn how to engage in the CIP process
Funding priorities
Funds will be spent on the 10 priority areas below, which are based on the original funding categories in the ballot initiative and allocations set by City Council in October 2022:
- Energy efficiency, renewable energy, and embodied carbon* in housing and small commercial buildings ($300 million over five years)
- Building upgrades for government and nonprofit owned buildings that provide services in climate emergencies (also referred to as “community resilience hubs”) ($30 million over five years)
- Transportation decarbonization or efforts to reduce greenhouse gases in transportation ($100 million over five years)
- Low-cost access to capital for carbon-reducing projects ($100 million over five years)
- Building community-based organization operational capacity for organizations that have a meaningful connection to advancing climate and racial justice goals ($8 million over five years)
- 82nd Ave planning and early investment for low carbon equitable communities ($10 million over five years)
- Growing a diverse and well-trained workforce and contractor pool to perform work that reduces or sequesters greenhouse gases (to be determined)
- Regenerative agriculture and green infrastructure** projects that reduce or sequester greenhouse gases within the City and focus on priority populations (to be determined)
While the CIP is in development, City Council directed that PCEF launch two strategic programs immediately based on timeliness, need, community impact, and greenhouse gas savings opportunity:
- Growing an equitable tree canopy to support the City’s 2035 tree canopy cover goals - $40 million over five years.
- Raising the bar on efficiency and renewable energy upgrades in new and redeveloped regulated affordable multifamily housing - $60 million over five years.
Learn more about the two fast-tracked programs
*Energy efficiency in housing and buildings may include heating and cooling systems, choice of appliances, and even efficient architectural design. Renewable energy comes from natural sources like sunlight and wind. Embodied carbon are carbon emissions associated with materials and construction process throughout the whole lifecycle of a building or infrastructure.
**Regenerative agriculture is a holistic way of approaching land management to restore the soil and ecosystem health, address inequities, and reduce negative impacts to the climate. Green infrastructure, like regenerative agriculture, takes a holistic approach to managing water by protecting, restoring, and mimicking natural water cycles.
What will be included in the CIP?
- Outcomes and goals for each funding priority
- Allocation and priorities for community responsive grants
- Allocation, program elements, and eligibility information for strategic programs
Learn the difference between community responsive grants and strategic programs
Project steps and timeline
Step 1: Project overview and accessibility survey (completed January 2023). Before launching efforts to write a plan, we listened to what you needed to participate in the Climate Investment Plan process. Read the recap of what you told us and how we’ve responded.
Step 2: Community visioning and priorities (January to February 2023). At this stage, we want to hear a diverse range of ideas from all stakeholders and develop a vision of what’s possible when we invest in community-grounded solutions to address the climate crisis. To get input, we invited residents, nonprofits, and subject matter experts to share what solutions would achieve major greenhouse gas reductions that advance racial, social, and climate justice.
Step 3. Preliminary draft (March to April 2023). Using information collected from workshops, surveys, subject-matter roundtable discussions, community studies, research, and best practices, a preliminary draft of the Climate Investment Plan will be available for public review and comment. The preliminary draft will contain proposed funding allocations, strategies, and goals.
Step 4. Full Climate Investment Plan draft (May 2023). After considering comments from the preliminary draft, PCEF staff will refine a full draft of the Climate Investment Plan and circulate it for public review and comment. The full draft will contain more detail on program elements.
Step 5. Committee deliberation (June and July 2023). The PCEF Committee will deliberate, make changes to, and recommend a final Climate Investment Plan to City Council.
Step 6. City Council approval (September 2023). City Council is anticipated to approve the recommended Climate Investment Plan.
Step 7. Implementation of the Climate Investment Plan and reflection and evaluation townhall (Fall 2023). Following City Council approval, a community responsive grant solicitation is anticipated to be released and strategic programs may begin initial planning. A townhall will be held to discuss how decisions were made during the process and collect recommendations for the next update of the plan.