A group of Portland officials want the city’s public operations to run on 100 percent “clean energy,” as they put it, by 2040.
They say energy efficiency, moving to an all-electric municipal vehicle fleet and installation of more local solar power generation would help achieve that goal.
“It is important to let people know how crucial the issue of climate change is. People are focusing a lot of resources on protecting us from terrorism, which is something that won’t affect a great number of people during their lifetime. Climate change will affect us all,” says Belinda Ray, a member of the city’s transportation and sustainability committee.
If the resolution is adopted by the full city council, Portland will become the 27th U.S. city to commit to the 2040 clean energy goal.