City Code Section
- A. The City of Portland has adopted numerous climate action goals. These goals affirm the importance of environmental justice; community-based efforts to decrease greenhouse gas emissions; and maximizing the social, economic, and environmental benefits of transitioning away from fossil fuels.
- B. To meet the City’s goals there is an urgent need to fund and accelerate greenhouse gas emissions reductions and sequestration, especially within low-income communities and communities of color.
- C. Climate change has a disproportionate impact on the health and financial well-being of low-income communities and communities of color.
- D. To implement the City’s climate action goals and this Chapter, there is a critical need for more skilled workers. Members of historically disadvantaged groups, including people with disabilities, people experiencing gender or sex-based discrimination in the workplace, women, and people of color are under-represented in the skilled work force, and therefore offer an enormous untapped resource to meet the City’s climate action goals.
- E. Large retail businesses are a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. They encourage consumption of heavily packaged and non-recyclable products, have carbon intensive shipping, manufacturing, and supply chain practices, and share responsibility for generating a substantial portion of the City’s overall greenhouse gas emissions when customer traffic and facility operations are considered. These businesses have an inherent responsibility and the financial capacity to support the goals of this Chapter, and an incentive to remain in the City to engage in retail activities here.