620-2021

In June 2020, Portland City Council recognized the accelerating climate emergency and acknowledged that it affects our community inequitably. Black and Indigenous people, people of color, immigrants, refugees, children and youth, women, people living with disabilities, the elderly, people experiencing homelessness, and low-income people are often the communities least responsible for contributing to climate change — yet are disproportionately affected by its impacts. These communities will continue to bear a disproportionate burden unless government policies, investments, and solutions center their voices and priorities.

Many of these same communities were disproportionately impacted by economic hardship and lack of social safety nets as the world succumbed to a deadly virus and racial justice movements erupted. The past year and a half will go down as one of the most challenging epochs in modern history, but through the protests, deadly wildfires -- and the loss of friend, colleague and community activist in Tony Lamb -- members of these same communities came together with staff to build new climate justice initiatives.

With them, we advanced our climate justice commitment in various ways, including two flagship efforts: the Climate Justice Initiative and Build/Shift. These are new models of collaborative and community governance for climate action that the City is standing behind, supporting, and learning from.

The attached Exhibit A is the full one-year report on the progress, implementation, and continued work we are doing to contribute to carbon reduction.