[Portland, OR] – As the speed and intensity of the climate crisis get worse, powerful Portland groups wish to undermine our best resources for climate resilience.
Global climate scientists agree that warming, sea level rise, and ecological collapse are all accelerating as we hurtle closer to irreversible tipping points like mass coral bleaching and halted ocean currents. Despite this grim reality, the Portland Police Association has joined wealthy downtown property owners to announce an initiative petition for the November 2026 ballot that would, if successful, ask Portland voters to consider redirecting 25% of the Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund’s annual revenue to hiring police officers.
There is no scientific or public safety basis for proposing this shift: Portland needs every dollar possible to prepare communities for increasingly extreme weather events and transition away from using fossil fuels. Furthermore, Portland police have consistently struggled to fill positions for which they already have sufficient funding. As energy bills rise due to demand from data centers, projects like rooftop solar and energy efficiency home upgrades paid for by the Portland Clean Energy Fund have become even more essential in keeping people housed and safe during high heat, extreme cold, and wildfire season.
In response to the police union and wealthy property owners’ proposal, Sierra Club Oregon Chapter Director Damon Motz-Storey released the following statement:
“We in the environmental community condemn all efforts to roll back progress on climate justice and clean energy transition. Portlanders enthusiastically approved creating the Portland Clean Energy Fund during Trump’s first term in office, demonstrating the power of local community organizing in the face of federal rollbacks to climate and environmental laws. At a time when we desperately need local environmental resources, Portlanders should reject any proposal to whittle away Portland Clean Energy Fund dollars, especially for a police department that struggles to comply with federal law and cannot attract applicants for already-funded open positions.”
The Sierra Club Oregon Chapter thanks Portland City Council President Elana Pirtle-Guiney for her comments on this proposal: “We should not be diverting these voter-approved funds to unrelated budget needs.”
For more information on the Portland Clean Energy Fund, visit https://www.portland.gov/bps/cleanenergy.