Today, Multnomah County staff and community partners presented a first-ever draft Climate Justice Plan (CJP) to the Board of County Commissioners, opening an opportunity for everyone in our community to contribute to a collaborative vision for a safer, healthier and more climate-resilient future.
Staff from Multnomah County’s Office of Sustainability and Health Department created the plan alongside organizations representing communities affected first and worst by the harms of climate change to help guide the strategy for facing the crisis over the coming decade. The Climate Justice Plan will serve as a shared roadmap for achieving our collective vision of climate justice in Multnomah County.
“Every planetary signal is flashing red. The hottest 10 years on record have been the past 10 years," said John Wasiutynski, director of the Office of Sustainability. “Despite all of this, or maybe because of it, we’re here today to present a different vision. The Climate Justice Plan takes the bold step of imaging a better future.”
The draft Climate Justice Plan presents solutions that address the needs of people experiencing the worst harms from disasters including heat waves, wildfires, smoke and extreme weather. Each of these events and conditions has intensified because of our community’s continued reliance on burning fossil fuels, threatening our community’s health, our region’s forests and our children’s future.
By following the plan and working together for increased access to cleaner air and water, more trees and shade, renewable and clean energy, and a sense of shared purpose and participation, our entire community will be better off — crucially, without leaving anyone behind.
Public Health Director Kirsten Aird told the Board that climate change is already impacting community health. The year 2024 was the fourth straight year that Multnomah County had heat deaths — after decades in which the County typically saw zero heat deaths in a given year. Mosquitoes that carry the deadly dengue and Zika infections have now been found in Oregon. And, County epidemiologists have now linked higher summertime temperatures to more pre-term births with the highest being in Black women.
“As the Local Public Health Authority we are responsible for engaging with the community to develop climate adaptation plans. This Climate Justice Plan fulfills this responsibility," Aird said.
Online survey, forum will collect community feedback before final plan is presented
While Multnomah County has long worked with community members around the shared goals for a safer, healthier community, the Climate Justice Plan is taking an even more intentional approach in that vision for the future, said Environmental Justice Director Taren Evans of the Coalition for Communities of Color.
“Traditionally planning had either by done by government or community producing its own separate plan," Evans told the Board. “What we aim to do here is different.”
“Climate justice is not just about surviving climate change it's about building a future where people are not only surviving but living well where they're grounded in safety and opportunity."
Community members can download the plan and are invited to provide feedback through an online survey. In addition, County staff will host an online forum to review the plan and guide a discussion with people who are interested. Visit the Office of Sustainability website for more details.
The public comment period is open until Friday, May 11, 2025. Staff and the plan’s Steering Committee will then revise the plan based on community feedback and present it to the Board of County Commissioners for final approval in summer 2025.
The Steering Committee includes representatives from the following organizations: APANO, Coalition of Communities of Color, Community Energy Project, Multnomah Youth Commission, Portland NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Committee, Neighbors for Clean Air, NW Energy Coalition, Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility, Rahab’s Sisters, Self Enhancement Inc., Unite Oregon, and Verde. The City of Portland’s Bureau of Planning and Sustainability also contributed.
“The climate crisis and its harms have moved from an abstraction to a reality — and we know those impacts are not felt equally,” said Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson. “Our North Star in addressing this crisis has been turning to those experiencing those harms as partners in creating solutions. This new Climate Justice Plan centers those most at risk of climate impacts to take bold, collaborative steps that reimagine how justice, shared vision and a new roadmap help everyone take action to make this community safer and more sustainable.”
Steering committee members seek resiliency, justice by working together
People who served on the steering committee shared why they volunteered so much time to develop the plan.
"In a time of uncertainty, the dedication, optimism and collaboration shown by the Climate Justice Plan Steering Committee proves that our local communities are well-poised to continue the journey towards a just and resilient future," said Xitlali Torres, Verde’s air quality and climate coordinator. "The plan seeks to support our most vulnerable communities first, so as the expert of your own community, I encourage you to participate and steer the County in the direction that prioritizes your utmost needs and values."
"As the climate crisis worsens and intensifies, community-driven planning plays a vital role in building a future that is healthy, resilient and just for everyone," said Samantha Hernandez Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility’s Healthy Climate Program director. "We are seeing social, economic and health inequities exacerbated as a result of fossil fuel-driven climate change. The solutions in this year’s Climate Justice Plan center the needs of those most impacted, which led to the collaborative creation of innovative goals and strategies rooted in the expertise and lived experience of frontline communities. There is a lot of work to do, but we have the plan to help guide us and measure accountability."
"Guests of Rahab's Sisters are completely unprotected from the effects of climate change at the most basic level — shelter, clothing, food and water. The disproportionate effects experienced by this community is of an exponential magnitude as many have mobility issues, chronic health conditions, and no access to reliable transportation,” said Desiree Eden Ocampo, the organization’s executive director. “This Climate Justice Plan is about addressing systemic causes and issues that prioritizes the most vulnerable and impacted communities, and ultimately creates a more livable and sustainable place for all. The diverse communities and lived experience represented by the steering community bears witness to the enduring harm of climate change and this Climate Justice Plan takes a bold step for taking big actions today that will have a lasting impact for generations to come.”
“Community Energy Project has witnessed firsthand how climate change disproportionately affects our frontline community members. This Climate Justice Plan is a necessary tool that centers unheard voices and their experiences in shaping a clean, just and equitable energy future,” said Siraat Younas, Climate Justice Associate for the organization.
Board lauds approach, supports even broader involvement
Board members responded to the presentation with support, suggesting even broader involvement and strategies that fall under County jurisdictions.
“It would be good to reach out to the farmers that are out there, the folks that own the nurseries… I know they would like to be part of the conversation," said Commissioner Vince Jones-Dixon, who represents East County.”Everything else is extremely inspiring, and I love the intentionality as far as connecting with public health, so thank you."
Commissioner Meghan Moyer, who represents southwest Portland and downtown, said that she appreciated the diversity of those participating.
“We’ve had a history in this state, region and country of disproportionately negatively impacting minority populations when we have located things such as where we do some of our heavy industrial, things that have been large pollutants and have had impact on public health."
Commissioner Shannon Singleton, who represents north and Northeast Portland, said she sees an opportunity to leverage transportation investments to invest in cooling corridors.
“I would also encourage outreach to really connect more explicitly with street outreach folks, and I would very much encourage you to look at East County separate from Portland. We have many times when I was running JOIN where East County was having a smoke emergency and downtown Portland was fine, so it looks really different on what the climate impacts can be for folks when they’re stuck sleeping outside depending on where they sleep in our county.”
Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards who represents southeast and east Portland, said she knows that climate change is a threat in her district in the major heat islands around the I-205 and 82nd Avenue corridors.
But she hoped that when the plan returns to the Board for a vote it is clear what areas the County has jurisdiction over and can impact.
“I really like that [description of the Climate Justice Plan as a community toolkit] because I think it provides some strategies that the community can help move in a variety of different forums,"’ she said, “But I also think that by having Multnomah County items that we have jurisdiction over and can control provides focus, when we have our own list… then we are accountable for… moving through those things that we actually can control and fund and make changes.”
Chair Vega Pederson ended the presentation by calling out how different the process was for developing this plan, versus other climate action plans the County and City of Portland have developed.
“The power of this and really the intention of this was having a community-created justice plan — not just about emissions, not just about some of the more technical or administrative or policy changes — but what is needed universally to create climate justice for community, and was written by our community.”
You can watch the full presentation to the Commissioners here.
