City-Level Decoupling-Case Studies

19. The Climate Action Plan of Portland, Oregon

By Stefanie Swanepoel

In 1993, Portland was the first local government in the United States of America to institute a policy around anticipated global warming. Multnomah County – of which the city is a part – joined this initiative in 2001, and the culmination of these policies was an integrated, city-based plan to prepare the region for potential climate change impacts called the Climate Action Plan (CAP). The primary goal of CAP is to reduce the carbon emissions of the county and city by 80 per cent from 1990 levels by the year 2050. 142 Perceived threats to the region include changes in weather and rainfall patterns that could affect stream flow leading to flooding and low groundwater recharge resulting in drought. 143 Specific threats include those to power supplies, food and water sources, public safety and health as well as local economic decline due to the rising cost of fuel and continued degradation to the natural resource base in and around the city. An additional ‘threat', due to its relatively cooler Pacific Northwest location, is that the region might become a favoured destination for people seeking relocation from areas affected by climate change. Recognising that climate change, deepening social inequities, degraded environmental systems and rising energy prices are related challenges, CAP sets out a range of interlinked objectives to address the inherent complexities. By reducing and redirecting existing resource flows (energy, waste and food) through the city and county, they hope to increase both the resilience and adaptability of the region to climate change as well as radically reduce carbon emissions. The first status report on the progress made by CAP was released in December 2010. The CAP initiative is the result of collaborations amongst county and city governance structures, members of the public, businesses, academic institutions, and non-profit organisations. It aims to achieve its ambitious emission reduction goal through eight core areas of action: buildings and energy; urban form and mobility; consumption and solid waste; urban forestry and natural systems; food and agriculture; community engagement; climate change preparation; and local government operations. The plan is a holistic one that integrates economic, environmental and social imperatives; it is also iterative in that there are built-in opportunities to review, revise and change the focus. When CAP started, coordinated carbon emission reduction efforts at the regional and state level were already in place and a cap-and-trade system for the larger region (the Western Climate Initiative) had recently been introduced. Portland, through sound land-use management and previous investment in public transport infrastructure, had already managed to reduce emissions close to 2000 levels. 144 The supportive environment was further enhanced by the state and local policy environment, existing transit and bicycle infrastructure, a tax credit system to encourage alternative energy consumption and production as well as progressive land-use and building codes Translating CAP into reality An enabling city, regional and state context

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