Issue: Climate Policy

In November 2018, residents of Portland, Oregon, made history by passing The Portland Clean Energy Fund (PCEF), a breakthrough initiative that will raise an estimated $44-$61 million annually to support local clean energy and economic justice initiatives. The fund passed with 65 percent of the vote and support from a long list of local businesses and community organizations, including faith leaders, labor unions, and more. This Executive Summary captures toplines on what the campaign learned about what it takes to win.

82% of respondents said that the US government should do at least a moderate amount about global warming—an all-time high for public opinion on the issue. 70% of respondents (across all categories) believe that the US government, governments in other countries, businesses, or average people should do more to deal with climate change. 75% of respondents said they had personally observed effects of global warming. 64% of respondents said that world temperatures had been higher during the past three years than before—an all-time high and a 10 percentage point increase from 2018. 43% of respondents said that weather patterns in the county where they lived were more unstable during the last three years than before that.