Cities all over the world are taking the lead on responding to climate change. In the United States over 1,000 Mayors have signed the Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. Unfortunately there is a lack of funding at the local level to implement the types of renewable energy and energy efficiency projects that could meaningfully reduce greenhouse gas emissions while creating family-wage jobs. So Portlanders are getting together to pass the Portland Clean Energy Fund next fall, an initiative that will create the city's own clean energy future, where new renewable energy and energy efficiency investments improve our homes, improve the city’s environment, train workers, and support businesses. The Portland Clean Energy Fund, the first ballot measure in Oregon initiated by communities of color, will support a community-led vision that builds resilience and wealth in the face of climate change and federal inaction.
On this episode of Locus Focus we talk with Cary Watters and Maggie Tallmadge, two leaders within the campaign to put the Portland Clean Energy Fund on the city ballot in November 2018. Cary Watters is the Community Engagement Manager at the Native American Youth and Family Center and Maggie Tallmadge is the Environmental Justice Manager at the Coalition of Communities of Color. Both organizations serve on the Steering Committee for the Portland Clean Energy Fund campaign and are part of the community of color that created the vision and language for the measure. Watters and Tallmadge will talk about how the Portland Clean Energy Fund will address the disproportionate impact of climate change on low-income residents and people of color while investing in resilience to climate change for all Portlanders.
- KBOO