Noah Rott, noah.rott@sierraclub.org
Portland, OR - Portland Public Schools (PPS) voted last night to pass some of the most ambitious climate policy of its kind in the country, and to join Multnomah County and the City of Eugene in pushing for a transition to clean, renewable electricity. The Climate Crisis Response, Climate Justice and Sustainable Practices Policy includes sweeping commitments to reducing emissions, investing in community resilience, and offering students education on climate justice.
The policy aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 50 percent by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2040 while increasing sustainability-focused education in the district. It mandates that all new PPS buildings be constructed 100 percent electric, and that existing buildings be retrofitted by 2050, among other strong actions for climate.
PPS's decision follows ongoing advocacy from young people and local climate advocates, calling on Portland officials to do their part to stabilize the climate. The effort was kicked off after massive student-led climate strikes in 2019.
Danny Cage, student representative to the PPS Board of Education Policy Committee, said:
“This policy is big and bold and yesterday the board took action on their biggest climate action plan yet. This is the first step in truly committing to climate justice and the longevity of our students and future generations to come.”
Jackson Weinberg, PPS Student Representative, said:
“This policy is a foundation for PPS to build our climate crisis response from. It outlines bold goals and aspirations for our district and our students. I am especially proud of the third pillar of this policy that addresses educating our students on the climate crisis and engaging them in our climate solutions. This policy, especially the third pillar shows that PPS is willing and ready to be a climate leader.”
Amy Higgs, Eco-School Network Director and PPS parent, said:
“The nation looks to Portland as a climate action leader and school districts around the country can now look to PPS as a model. With this trail blazed, I hope thousands of other districts find the will to be bold like PPS.”
Jane Comeault, a PPS parent, said:
“I’m heartened to see such an ambitious policy to address the climate crisis coming from PPS. And I’m excited to see it move from policy to implementation. Thank you PPS for taking action on behalf of our students.”
PPS did not implement changes suggested by NW Natural during the public comment period, which encouraged the district to implement energy efficiency measures, offsets and use "renewable natural gas," a term promoted by the gas industry to maintain and expand fossil fuel infrastructure. In an interview with Oregon Public Broadcasting, School Board Member Julia Brim-Edwards stated that “the committee uniformly decided that we weren’t going to make [the] changes [suggested by NW Natural]… we made a decision that we were not going to weaken the policy.”
Dylan Plummer, Senior Campaign Representative with the Sierra Club, said:
“Despite lobbying from the gas industry to weaken this policy, Portland Public Schools rejected false solutions like ‘renewable natural gas’ and has committed to taking the bold action needed to reduce emissions and invest in resilience for its students and its community.”
Local governments across the state are increasingly taking action to electrify. On March 15, Lane County will vote to finalize its draft Climate Action Plan, which includes strong provisions around electrification, including mandating that all new publicly owned buildings be built 100 percent electric. The City of Eugene will also likely have the next vote in its ongoing efforts to pass a first-in-the-state policy to mandate that all new construction be 100% electric at its upcoming City Council work session on April 13, 2022.
Watch the recording of the school board meeting here.
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.