• Policy Team

The Climate Justice Policy Team builds on 350PDX’s work to advocate for strong policy development and legislation that moves us toward a just and sustainable future.

We encourage elected officials to integrate a climate justice focus into all policy decisions at all government levels, with a particular focus on the city and state. Through the Policy Team, we can build and leverage our collective power — showing legislators that a large number of voters advocate for strong climate action in city and state politics.

Resources:

  • Climate Justice Platform for Portland 2024: we advocate about these and other priorities in Portland.
  • Climate Justice Voter Guide 2024: check out what city council members (and other candidates) said about their climate priorities during the campaign.
  • Contact Cherice Bock (cherice at 350pdx dot org) to get involved in advocacy around transportation, PCEF, the Sustainability & Climate Commission, energy and grid issues, and the Make Polluters Pay campaign.
Irene Tejaratchi Hess

Our Work:

2025 marked the first year of a new form of government at the City of Portland. We have been advocating for better climate and environmental justice policies that move forward the goals of our 2024 Climate Justice Platform, including protecting PCEF, seeing the launch of the Sustainability & Climate Commission, supporting better river and public health protections, and hosting “climate chats” with city councilors. We also supported stronger climate policies at the state level.

In 2024, we helped organize hundreds of people to call, email, and meet with their representatives during the Oregon legislative session. We brought climate justice into the historic 2024 Portland elections by: educating candidates about climate and environmental issues through tours designed to show areas of concern (and exciting possibility), hosting candidate forums, and creating a climate justice platform.

In 2023, we helped pass a Climate Resilience Package dedicating $90 million to climate action, and in 2022 we gathered thousands of signatures to help pass Measure 26-228 for city charter reform.

Previously, we helped organize to pass the 100% Clean Energy Bill and to support the creation of the Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund (PCEF).

Through the Policy Team, we’ll build on this momentum to create a powerful block of Portlanders organizing for strong climate policies. The Policy Team also supports our other campaign teams at 350PDX, uplifting work to defend Oregon forests, fight fossil fuels, help build a just transition to renewable energy, and more.

Favorite Tactics

  • Diving deep into the policies and plans
  • Reviewing and providing comments on draft resolutions and progress reports
  • Working in coalition with community partners
  • Meeting with city and county staff
  • Helping to mobilize the community to show up and testify at public hearings
Join the Policy Team!