Another victory: Multnomah County votes for fossil fuel-free buildings!

Our movement is becoming unstoppable in the fight against fracked gas.

After permanently stopping the Perennial WindChaser fracked gas power plant yesterday—what could be the last new gas power plant in Oregon—we also won a major victory against the gas industry in Multnomah County.

Yesterday, the Multnomah County Commissioners passed a Fossil Fuel Free Buildings resolution, which bans the use of gas in new County buildings. The resolution asserts that it is now “[Multnomah] County policy to oppose the use of fossil fuels in new building projects” and to “work with energy providers to reduce the use of fossil fuels at existing buildings through efficiency and the replacement in part or in whole with less or non-emitting renewable or low-carbon alternatives.” Read more from our Press Release here.

350PDX and 16 other organizations—representing youth, environmental justice, conservation, and clean energy constituencies— submitted a letter celebrating the County’s resolution while urging for a prohibition on gas in all new buildings in Multnomah County (not just County-owned buildings) and an actionable plan to transition existing gas use to clean energy.

We urged strong regulatory action due to the extreme and disproportionate health and safety risks associated with “natural” gas from the site of extraction, through transport, and where combusted; the rapidly growing evidence of the alarming health and safety risks of indoor gas usage and the efforts of the natural gas industry (reminiscent of the tobacco industry) to hide, downplay, obfuscate, and deny these risks; disproportionate effects of indoor gas pollution on marginalized communities; and the vulnerability of gas infrastructure to expected significant seismic events and the threat this poses to Multnomah County’s residents.

Will you join us in contacting the Multnomah County Commissioners now to echo these demands? We want them to know, loud and clear, that we all support this resolution as a first step towards fully and equitably electrifying all new buildings in Multnomah County. Our community’s health and safety and our climate depend on it.

Contact your County Commissioner now!

Did you know that buildings account for about one third of Oregon’s climate pollution? And that buildings consume nearly 43% of all energy in Oregon? That makes buildings the largest source of climate pollution in Oregon after the transportation sector. (Read our letter to learn more about this.) That’s why cities and municipalities across the county are taking action to ban gas from being hooked up to new buildings, because constructing a new building today that will run on gas for decades is building new fossil fuel infrastructure that delays the necessary transition to clean and safe energy.

Let’s tell Multnomah County Commissioners where we stand by reaching out to them today. It’s time for a fully Fossil Fuel-Free Multnomah County!

With excitement,

Dineen O’Rourke,
Campaign Manager, 350PDX

P.S. — You can support our ongoing fight for a livable future by donating today. Thank you!