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    Comprehensive Climate Action Plan

    Online Open House

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  • Welcome

  • Welcome to Metro’s Comprehensive Climate Action Plan Online Open House. Here you can learn about:

    • What Metro and other partners are doing about climate change.
    • The leading sources of climate pollution in our metropolitan area.
    • Our Comprehensive Climate Action Plan and how you can help shape it.

    Most importantly, you can tell us which proposed climate actions you feel are the most crucial to include in the plan.

  • This online open house site has “stations” to visit:

    • Go directly to a station by using the navigation buttons at the top of each page.
    • Click or tap "Next" to move through the stations in order.

    Please watch the video and visit the stations to learn about the project and share your thoughts.

    Be sure to click or tap “Submit” at the end to record your responses.

    The survey questions will be open through January 6. They take about 10 minutes to complete.

  • Climate change 101

  • What climate change is 

  • Climate change refers to long-term shifts in global temperatures and weather patterns due to heat trapped in the atmosphere.

    That heat is trapped by carbon pollution — known as greenhouse gas emissions — from burning fossil fuels like coal and gasoline for energy. Over the last century, we have dramatically increased our use of fossil fuels. At the same time, the forests that filter carbon from the atmosphere are threatened by development and wildfires.

    Climate change brings climate hazards such as extreme heat, drought, wildfires, smoke, extreme rain or snow, flooding and landslides.

  • What we can do about it  

  • We can join communities worldwide in implementing climate actions — changing our habits to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This could slow the pace of climate change, minimize its impact, or even avoid the most severe hazards entirely.

  • How climate actions differ from other environmental work

    Environmental work protects plants, animals and the places they live. Climate actions do this specifically by reducing greenhouse gas emissions — the harmful pollution that traps heat in our atmosphere.

    Governments, businesses, and residents can all play a part in:

    • Using more renewable sources of energy instead of fossil fuels.
    • Making it easier to get around without driving.
    • Reducing the amount of energy our homes and buildings use.
    • Making it easier to repair and reuse products.
    • Recycling and composting as much waste as possible.

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  • These actions not only fight climate change but also promote healthier, more sustainable communities. They can create new jobs, save people money, clean the air, protect natural areas, and improve health and quality of life for everyone, including our most vulnerable community members.

  • Project overview

  • Metro is working with public agencies, community groups and businesses to create a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the Portland-Vancouver metropolitan area, which includes Clackamas, Clark, Columbia, Multnomah, Skamania, Washington and Yamhill counties.

  • This Comprehensive Climate Action Plan will identify actions that can help us meet climate goals over the next 20 years. The plan will focus on actions that:

    • Contribute significantly to meeting local, regional and/or state climate goals, which focus on keeping emissions low enough to avoid the most serious climate hazards.
    • Have other important benefits, such as creating jobs, saving people money, and improving health.
    • Can be accomplished within the next 20 years and can get underway as soon as possible, to help avoid the most serious impacts of climate change on our communities.
    • Have the potential to bring more state and federal funding to our region to fight climate change.
    • Can be led by governments, community groups, businesses, non-profits, and other organizations in the metropolitan area.

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  • The last point above is especially important. Metro’s plan is funded by a Climate Pollution Reduction Grant opens in a new tab from the federal Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA. EPA has also provided grants to state agencies in Oregon opens in a new tab and Washington opens in a new tab to create statewide climate plans. These plans are focused on actions that state agencies are well-positioned to lead, such as requiring cleaner vehicles, fuels and energy to be sold in Oregon and Washington. Metro’s plan is focused on the actions that governments, businesses, and non-profits in the Portland-Vancouver metropolitan area can lead, and that complement state-level climate actions.

  • The greenhouse gas inventory 

  • Knowing where greenhouse gas emissions come from helps us understand which actions are most effective at combating climate change. The plan includes a greenhouse gas inventory that estimates how many emissions come from different sources within the metropolitan area. (Future updates will also account for emissions that are produced outside of the metropolitan area when residents consume goods or services.)

    As we built the inventory, we learned that most of our emissions come from transportation. Other categories follow in this order: commercial and industrial building energy and processes, residential buildings like houses and apartments, and finally, food, goods and services.

  • Bar chart showing the sources of emissions for the Portland-Vancouver region in 2022, with a total of 25,391,987 metric tons of CO2 equivalent emissions. The chart has four categories: Transportation (36%, represented by a car icon), Commercial and Industrial Buildings & Processes (35%, represented by a factory icon), Residential Building (26%, represented by a house icon), and Food, Goods, & Services (3%, represented by icons of a truck and shopping cart). Each category's percentage is visually represented by proportional blocks. opens a new window

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    The chart’s measurement unit is metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent
    (MT CO2e).

  • Transportation — 36%

    This category includes emissions from producing and burning the gasoline and diesel fuel used in cars, trucks, buses, trains and other vehicles. It also includes emissions from generating electricity used by electric vehicles.

    Commercial and industrial buildings and processes — 35%

    This category includes emissions from generating the electricity used for heating, cooling, electronics, and lighting in commercial and industrial buildings. It also includes emissions from producing and burning natural gas for heating, cooking and industrial processes; refrigerants used in air conditioners, refrigerators and freezers; and chemicals used in industrial processes and manufacturing.

    Residential buildings — 26%

    This category includes emissions from generating the electricity used for heating, cooling, electronics, water heating, cooking and lighting, as well as from producing and burning natural gas for heating and cooking in residential buildings like houses, apartments, condos and manufactured homes.

    Food, goods and services — 3%

    The emissions in this category come mainly from processing waste and from farms and livestock within the metropolitan area. Our inventory does not account for the emissions that come from the many farms, factories and businesses outside of our metropolitan area that produce the food, goods, and services that we consume here. We know that these “imported” emissions are significant, and that we need to reduce them to meet our climate goals, so the survey includes several actions that focus on reducing imported emissions. Metro is working to update our inventory to fully account for these emissions, and we expect to find that foods, goods and services contribute a greater share of the metropolitan area’s emissions than the 3 percent shown here.

  • Actions to reduce transportation emissions

  • Here are some actions that could help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation. Think about how each action could benefit you and your community and choose the three actions that would bring the most benefit.

    Note that this list focuses on actions that organizations within the metropolitan area can lead, and does not include actions that are typically led by state agencies, such as requiring fuels and vehicles to be cleaner. These actions are the focus of parallel plans being developed by state agencies in Oregon opens in a new tab and Washington opens in a new tab.

    • Expand transit service to neighborhoods that lack it
    • Expand transit service to employment centers that lack it
    • Make transit faster, more convenient, and more reliable
    • Create compact and walkable communities
    • Make walking and biking safer and more enjoyable
    • Install more electric vehicle chargers in publicly accessible locations and at multifamily housing
    • Purchase cleaner vehicles and fuels for public agency and business fleets
    • Place time limits or fees on parking
    • Charge people more to drive, and use the funds to provide more transit and other alternatives

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  • Tell us what you think 

  • Actions to reduce emissions from commercial / industrial buildings and processes

  • Here are some actions that could help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from commercial and industrial buildings and processes. Think about how each action could benefit you and your community and choose the three actions that would bring the most benefit.

    Note that this list focuses on actions that organizations within the metropolitan area can lead, and does not include actions that are typically led by state agencies, such as requiring electricity to come from cleaner sources. These actions are the focus of parallel plans being developed by state agencies in Oregon opens in a new tab and Washington opens in a new tab.

    • Provide information on how much energy buildings consume so that businesses can consider this information when purchasing or leasing property
    • Educate businesses on steps that they can take to conserve energy and reduce emissions in commercial and industrial buildings
    • Use cleaner construction equipment to reduce emissions from constructing large buildings
    • Increase energy efficiency of commercial and industrial buildings
    • Install solar panels or other equipment that generates clean energy on commercial and industrial properties
    • Reduce energy use and/or generate clean energy in buildings owned by public agencies
    • Build all-electric new commercial and residential buildings that do not use natural gas
    • Support new, local renewable energy development projects 

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  • Tell us what you think 

  • Actions to reduce emissions from residential buildings  

  • Here are some actions that could help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from residential buildings. Think about how each action could benefit you and your community and choose the three actions that would bring the most benefit.

    Note that this list focuses on actions that organizations within the metropolitan area can lead, and does not include actions that are typically led by state agencies, such as requiring electricity to come from cleaner sources. These actions are the focus of parallel plans being developed by state agencies in Oregon opens in a new tab and Washington opens in a new tab.

    • Upgrade older home heating, cooling, and hot water heating systems with newer, more energy-efficient models
    • Upgrade the windows and walls of older homes so that they stay cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter
    • Require new homes to have energy-efficient appliances and/or meet energy efficiency standards
    • Install solar panels or other equipment that generates clean energy on homes and multifamily buildings
    • Provide information on how much energy homes consume so that people can consider this information when buying a home
    • Educate people on steps that they can take to conserve energy and reduce emissions at home
    • Make affordable housing units more energy efficient to reduce pollution, improve health, and lower costs for residents most in need

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  • Tell us what you think 

  • Actions to reduce emissions from food, goods and services 

  • Here are some actions that could help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from food, goods and services. Think about how each action could benefit you and your community and choose the three actions that would bring the most benefit.

    As discussed in the greenhouse gas inventory section, Metro is currently working to better account for emissions from foods, goods and services, which will enable us to better understand the benefits of many of the actions listed below. Note also that this list focuses on actions that organizations within the metropolitan area can lead, and does not include actions that are typically led by state agencies, such as regulating the sale of food and other goods. These actions are the focus of parallel plans being developed by state agencies in Oregon opens in a new tab and Washington opens in a new tab.

    • Make climate-friendly, plant-forward diets well understood and accessible to everyone
    • Help people and businesses reduce food waste by changing purchasing practices
    • Recover more food waste for donation, energy and composting
    • Increase reuse of building materials in construction projects, and salvage valuable materials when buildings are demolished or retrofitted
    • Design and build more homes and businesses with low-carbon concrete and other climate-friendly building materials
    • Increase opportunities for repair, reuse, and community sharing of household items like clothes, electronics, furniture and appliances
    • Help local businesses implement innovative waste reduction strategies

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  • Tell us what you think 

  • Next steps

  • Thank you for your time and input, and for helping us develop a Comprehensive Climate Action Plan for the metropolitan area. Metro and other project partners will use this feedback to help focus the plan on the actions that most benefit the people who live and work here.

    Visit Metro’s project website opens in a new tab to sign-up to receive project updates, follow our progress and learn about future opportunities to weigh in. Please share the link to this open houseopens in a new tab with others in your community and help us spread the word!

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  • Demographic information

  • These questions are optional. Responses to these questions help decision-makers at Metro know if they are hearing from a representative group of people reflecting the region’s diverse communities and broad range of experiences.

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