About Metro › Metro Council › Regional vision and policy › Climate change
Even though our region is a national leader in arresting the rise of greenhouse gas emissions, current efforts fall short of what is needed to meet state targets. Find out how Metro is working to address climate change while creating great communities.
Major sources of greenhouse gas emissions in the Portland metropolitan region.Since long before greenhouse gases and climate change were part of everyday conversation, Metro has been actively engaged in creating great communities through programs and strategies that result in cleaner air and the reduction of harmful carbon emissions.
Even though the region is a national leader in arresting the rise in greenhouse gas emissions, current efforts fall far short of what is needed to meet carbon reduction targets established by state law. Moreover, within 25 years, the population is expected to grow by one million more residents. As the region struggles to accommodate this growth, energy instability and climate change will prompt a rethinking of everything from where people live to where they get their food to how they get around.
Residents and businesses in the Portland metropolitan region are responsible for an estimated 31 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually. In 2010, Metro completed a greenhouse gas inventory for the region. The emissions inventory was intended to establish a snapshot of the region's carbon footprint in order to focus planning efforts to achieve long-term greenhouse gas emissions reductions.
The study found that the three greatest sources of carbon emissions in the region are the goods and food consumed, the energy used in homes and buildings, and transportation by car and truck. Nearly half of the region's greenhouse gas emissions come from the resource extraction, manufacturing and distribution associated with materials, goods and food used in homes and businesses. These life-cycle stages - generally invisible to the end user - contribute significantly to the region's carbon footprint, yet are excluded from most greenhouse gas emissions inventories.
Download the inventory report
Download the inventory fact sheet
As a regional government with responsibility for land use and transportation planning as well as waste reduction and disposal, there are many ways in which Metro is providing leadership in reducing greenhouse gas emissions:
Legislative obligations Under legislation passed in 2009 (House Bill 2001), Metro, as the Metropolitan Planning Organization for the Portland metropolitan area, must plan for reductions in transportation-related carbon emissions. The State of Oregon will provide Metro with greenhouse gas reduction targets in 2011. Metro is actively engaged with local elected officials and advisory committees to begin the scope of work on developing scenarios for consideration in 2012.Read House Bill 2001
Planning authority Metro has a central role in planning and operating the systems of land use, transportation and waste management for the region. The region's long-range planning blueprint, the 2040 Growth Concept, focuses growth in downtowns and along main streets, maintaining a tight urban growth boundary. This helps protect farmland, forests and natural areas outside the boundary and focus investments, such as transportation and transit options, in existing communities, which also reduces pollution as people are able to drive less.
Education and data provision Metro provides valuable data, like the regional greenhouse gas inventory, and technical analysis tools to inform its on-going collaborations with other regional partners in resource efficiency, economic development, planning for livability and climate action.
Metro and local communities are working to minimize regional carbon pollution emissions, but there remains a need to begin to put plans and systems in place for responding to the changes to the environment that are already inevitable. Metro is partnering with local universities and agencies to develop a climate preparedness strategy for the Lower Willamette River Basin. This strategy will identify local impacts, assess the region's risks and vulnerabilities, and develop recommendations for climate change preparation including minimizing risks to natural, built, human and economic systems.Learn more
Residents of the region appreciate that the things they can do to protect ecosystems, conserve energy and reduce harmful emissions translates into savings for their household. That's why Metro is working with regional business leaders, local government partners, educational institutions and the Portland Oregon Sustainability Institute to develop the Portland Metro Climate Prosperity Strategy. This strategy will outline actions to realize green savings, capitalize on green economic opportunities, and groom green talent - all through a carbon reduction lens.Learn more about the climate prosperity strategy
Through a variety of programs and campaigns, Metro is working to ensure that the residents of the region understand the connections between their individual behavior and its impact on the environment and the family budget. Metro's recycling information, alternative transportation tools, and conservation education programs help the region's residents know what they can do to emit less carbon from their homes and workplaces.
Dr. William Moomaw
Founding director of the Center for International Environment and Resource Policy at Tufts University
Presentation to the Metro Policy Advisory Committee and Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation at their climate change workshop on April 2, 2010 (1 hr 39min)
To view PDF files, download free Adobe Reader. To translate PDF files into text to assist visually-impaired users, visit Access.Adobe.com.
Learn about the adopted update to the region's plan for a safe and reliable transportation system. View ordinances, supporting documents and other publications developed throughout this four-year effort.
Find out how Metro acquires natural areas, protects and restores fish and wildlife habitat and plans the regionwide parks and trail systems.
Find statistics about waste that is recycled and landfilled from the metro region. These data are collected annually by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.
The Metro Council works with local leaders and people throughout the region to create sustainable and prosperous communities for present and future generations.
(http://www.pdxinstitute.org/index.php/whatwedo/pmcpp)
(http://climlead.uoregon.edu/)
(http://www.epa.gov/oswer/docs/ghg_land_and_materials_management.pdf)
(http://www.ceosforcities.org/files/PGD%20FINAL.pdf)
(http://www.portlandonline.com/bps/index.cfm?c=49989&)
(http://www.keeporegoncool.org/)
(http://www.pewclimate.org/)
(http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/TD/TP/HB2186.shtml)
(http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/TD/TP/SB1059.shtml)
(http://www.oregon.gov/LCD/target_rulemaking_advisory_committee.shtml)
(http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/TD/CLIMATECHANGE/statewide_strategy.shtml)
(http://www.oregon.gov/ENERGY/GBLWRM/Portal.shtml)
(http://www.oregon.gov/LCD/TGM/carbonfootprint/index.shtml)
