Multnomah County presents public discussion draft of climate justice plan; public comment open through May 11

Multnomah County staff and community partners on April 2 briefed commissioners on the county’s public discussion draft of a climate justice plan that county leaders described as a community‑driven, equity‑centered update to the county’s 2015 climate plan.

John Bachitinski, director of the Office of Sustainability, said the draft replaces the 2015 plan and updates county greenhouse‑gas targets to align with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change pathways for 2030 and 2050; he said county emissions in 2022 were roughly 21 percent below the 1990 baseline but that the reduction trajectory is not yet steep enough to meet targets.

Public Health Director Kirsten Aird framed climate change as a public‑health issue and highlighted recent local impacts — including repeated heat‑related deaths, detection of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in Oregon and links between high temperatures and preterm births. Aird said public health contributed to the planning work and that the division stands ready to support implementation that protects health outcomes.

Taryn Evans of the Coalition of Communities of Color and Monique Smiley from the county’s sustainability engagement team described the steering committee process: a year of monthly meetings, one‑on‑one relationship building with frontline organizations, collaborative workshops and an Earth Day convening that produced a “climate justice zine” and a 12‑goal framework. The steering committee included predominantly Black, Indigenous and people‑of‑color community leaders and guaranteed formal participation agreements, staff said.

Presenters emphasized three planning pillars drawn from the National Association of Climate Resilience Planners: visioning (community vision), solutions development (community‑tailored strategies) and power building (collective power to implement solutions). County staff said strategies will include actions the county can take directly, actions requiring intergovernmental or legislative changes, and community‑led solutions; they proposed expanded advisory and oversight roles and recommended measurement using quantitative metrics disaggregated by race and other demographics.

The draft plan is open for public comment through May 11 on the county website; staff said they will host an Earth Day webinar and other targeted outreach with BIPOC and youth climate groups. Commissioners asked about outreach to smaller cities in the county, technical expertise engaged in the process, leveraging transportation and housing investments for co‑benefits such as cooling and resilience hubs, and a clearer delineation of what the county will itself commit to versus activities it will seek from partners. Staff said they will return with more detailed implementation priorities, fiscal impacts and county commitments for board consideration.

Ending: The briefing closed with staff asking for public input. The county will collect comments through May 11 and return to the board with refined implementation guidance and, as appropriate, budget requests.