America's first billion-dollar climate fund sparks spending debate in Portland

Geoff Bennett:

In 2018, voters in Portland, Oregon, approved a first-of-its-kind climate and justice fund aimed at investing in projects in historically marginalized communities. Since then, the fund has grown and so has the debate over how that money should be spent.

Stephanie Sy reports as part of our series Tipping Point.

Woman:

Our community members die 10 years younger than everywhere else because of the lack of clean air.

Stephanie Sy:

At a city council hearing last month in Portland, Oregon...

Woman:

And making sure that we make more progress on decarbonization of our transportation sector.

Stephanie Sy:

... climate change and environmental justice were on the agenda.

Woman:

This is going to cause an issue. This is going to cause a delay in some of these programs. Tell the truth.

Stephanie Sy:

The debate on this day, how to spend about $15 million from a roughly $1.6 billion pool of money, known as the Portland Clean Energy Fund, or PCEF.

Monica Samayoa, Oregon Public Broadcasting:

There is no other fund like this in the nation.

Stephanie Sy:

Monica Samayoa is a climate and environment reporter for Oregon Public Broadcasting.

Monica Samayoa:

So, the Portland Clean Energy Fund is a 1 percent tax that is imposed on large retailers in the city. The purpose of the fund is to address social, racial and climate justice, as well as to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Stephanie Sy:

When Portland voters created this fund eight years ago, Samayoa says it was expected to generate about $60 million annually.

But when the pandemic hit and more people turned to large retailers online, the fund had an unexpected windfall.

Monica Samayoa:

It's actually generating $200 million a year. And that threw off everyone, because they were thinking, what are we going to do with these large amounts of money?

Stephanie Sy:

The money, earmarked for both large and small climate-related projects in underserved communities...

Kari Rowe, Portland, Oregon, Resident:

Can I have a piece?

Stephanie Sy:

... has been a crucial lifeline for families like 40-year-old Kari Rowe and her two young children. Rowe, a photographer, bought her first home two years ago.

Kari Rowe:

Yes, we moved in and the house was awesome, cute, small, and then a few days later, a 14-day ice storm hit. And in that moment, I realized like, oh, my gosh, my walls are not insulated because there was ice. It was cold to the touch on every single wall.

Stephanie Sy:

After qualifying for a program that helps Native Americans make energy-efficient upgrades to their homes:

Kari Rowe:

They insulated every wall that would adjoin a living space.

Stephanie Sy:

Rowe was able to use more than $20,000 in PCEF funds to insulate her walls, weatherize her doors, and air-seal her attic.

Kari Rowe:

They insulated all the space between the house and the foundation.

Stephanie Sy:

She says her total energy usage has dropped by half since this work was completed, saving her about $80 a month in utilities.

Kari Rowe:

We'd still be freezing in the winter and sweating all summer long, so I'm beyond grateful.

Stephanie Sy:

But for the last few years, reporter Monica Samayoa has been tracking efforts to use PCEF dollars outside of climate-related projects.

Man:

Now, at 5:00, a controversial ballot measure that would divert climate tax dollars to fund police staffing in Portland.

Stephanie Sy:

That includes a proposed ballot measure to divert 25 percent of the fund's annual revenue to hire 400 additional police officers. Voters here will likely vote on the measure in November.

Monica Samayoa:

Supporters say, well, we need more police officers on our streets. There's not enough. A second proposal that has got a lot of attention right now is coming from Portland Mayor Keith Wilson. He has floated around this idea that PCEF would provide at least $75 million to renovate the Moda Center.

And that is our sports arena where the Portland Trail Blazers play.

Keith Wilson:

The Portland Trail Blazers are a part of our DNA. That's so important to keep in Portland.

Stephanie Sy:

Mayor Keith Wilson says upgrades to the Moda Center are needed, not only to keep the Trail Blazers in Portland, but also to make the stadium more sustainable environmentally and economically.

Keith Wilson:

It's going to hit the three key pillars of PCEF. It's going to reduce emissions,it's going to reduce energy usage, and it's going to provide a benefit to community in need.

Stephanie Sy:

How is it serving underserved communities to put $75 million from PCEF into these renovations?

Keith Wilson:

The Moda Center is right in the middle of what we call our Albina District. It is a district that has been underserved for decades.

We built a freeway right through this vibrant community and displaced whole communities. And what we're doing is, we're partnering with the Albina District to rebuild that neighborhood, and the Moda is going to be the center point of that.

Jessica Carmona, Bonneville Environmental Foundation:

When you're talking about renovating a sports center, I don't think that's the -- like, how can you tie that to climate action and community services? You're essentially saying anyone can take money from PCEF with no purpose.

Stephanie Sy:

Jessica Carmona is a senior program manager for the Bonneville Environmental Foundation, a nonprofit that manages more than 2,000 solar panels near Portland's airport. Funded from a $4 million PCEF grant, Carmona believes this is how the money should be spent.

Jessica Carmona:

There's unlimited need and opportunity for climate action projects in many different ways that benefit the community.

Stephanie Sy:

The solar panels have been up and running since September and now provide about 150 low-income residents with so-called energy credits. Carmona says they will help lower utility bills up to 40 percent over the next two decades.

Jessica Carmona:

You make it accessible for people who move around a lot because they don't have stable housing sometimes. So they can subscribe and they can take the subscription with them. They don't have to own their home.

Stephanie Sy:

Just across the street, PCEF funding also financed rooftop solar panels inside this community of roughly 60 formerly homeless people who live nearby.

Sam Baraso, Program Manager, Portland Clean Energy Fund:

Our frontline communities, those that face the greatest and worst impacts of climate change, should be at the center of creating those solutions.

This is a competitive grant-making program.

Stephanie Sy:

Sam Baraso is the program manager for the Portland Clean Energy Fund. He says the projects that PCEF is funding will be transformative for the city.

Sam Baraso:

I mean, we have retrofit hundreds of homes that now see bill savings of $1,000-plus per year. We have planted countless trees across the community, invested in getting folks on the e-bikes and so forth. And we have distributed almost well over 20,000 portable heat pump cooling units.

Stephanie Sy:

But Baraso admits, like many cities, Portland is facing a challenging moment when it comes to local government revenues.

Sam Baraso:

There's always been competing priorities and desires to spend the resources in other ways. So I think there are these trade-offs that are always there, and we try to balance those trade-offs in a way to get at ultimately, how do we make sure that this fund addresses our climate, creates real tangible benefits for the folks that are here?

Stephanie Sy:

Trade-offs now being weighed by Portland City Council and ones that Monica Samayoa says carry enormous consequences for America's first-of-its-kind billion-dollar climate fund.

Monica Samayoa:

That money's allocated. So Mayor Wilson's proposal is going to be interesting if it moves forward, because the city's going to have to decide, do you remove money from the city bureaus that are needing this money or from the community that also needs this money? So that's a tough decision that's going to have to be made.

Stephanie Sy:

Decisions that will become only more difficult in the years ahead.

For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Stephanie Sy in Portland, Oregon.