Climate advocates rally to oppose budget cuts at Multnomah County’s Office of Sustainability

More than 50 groups representing environmental, climate and health justice called on the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners Thursday to oppose efforts to gut the county’s environmental and climate action office.

Dozens of people rallied in front of the Multnomah Building to oppose slashing funding for the Office of Sustainability as a way to help address a significant budget shortfall.

“The Office of Sustainability has provided direct service to those of us on the front lines of climate change supporting community-driven, justice-centered solutions,” said Nakisha Nathan, the co-executive director of Neighbors for Clean Air. “By doing so, they’re serving all of us.”

Last week, Commissioners Meghan Moyer, Shannon Singleton and Julia Brim-Edwards all brought forth proposals that would cut funding from the office. But it was Moyer’s proposal that caught the attention of demonstrators Thursday. Her proposal would eliminate four out of the five positions in the Office of Sustainability, which would equate to a little over $676,000 in available funds. The department’s operating budget is just over $1 million. The proposal to cut funding for the Office of Sustainability comes as commissioners are working to fill a $77.3 million budget gap.

Moyer’s suggested cuts prompted more than 50 groups to send a letter to the commissioners, outlining their opposition. Former Multnomah County Commissioner Susheela Jayapal also sent a letter to the board, stating that cuts to the office would “inflict a profound and lasting disservice to county residents and a region as a whole.”

Moyer recently did an interview with KGW defending her proposed cuts. She said they are not an elimination of sustainability, but insisted the programs under the office should be embedded in all departments across the county. Moyer also accused the sustainability office of “greenwashing” or giving misleading information about the environmental benefits of their work. She pushed back on the idea that the work the office has done has been “incredibly effective.”

Nathan criticized that stance.

“Commissioner Moyer and others want to pit housing against climate, homelessness against environmental health. Let’s be clear, that is a false choice,” Nathan said. “It’s a false argument to say we can’t fund both. It’s a false argument to say sustainability work undermines housing, and it’s a false argument to accuse the office of greenwashing while the county uses its climate progress as a badge of honor.”

In April, county Chair Jessica Vega Pederson proposed a $4 billion budget that prioritized homeless services and mental health programs. The budget also reflected no cuts to the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office or jails, but did propose some cuts to the district attorney’s office, which drew notable backlash from Multnomah County District Attorney Nathan Vasquez.

According to the county, it’s facing budget shortfalls because of declining property tax revenues. Inflation also has impacted the county’s budget.

Cuts to the Office of Sustainability would be certain to affect its efforts around county policy. The office describes itself as the county’s “effort to adopt sustainable internal government operations” that respond to and solve environmental justice issues in the county.

The office focuses on several efforts, including creating strategies for responding to extreme weather events. The office also applies for federal and state grant funding that can be used in the county.

In the last two years, the office secured millions in grants for the county from the U.S. Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and the Oregon Department of Energy. That money went to efforts like replacing wood-burning stoves and planting trees.

Extreme heat has been a notable focus of the Office of Sustainability in the years following a deadly heat dome in 2021. The office quickly released preliminary findings in mid-July that included an estimate on heat-related deaths and suggested steps to avoid more heat deaths in the future. In 2022, it released a study looking at urban heat islands, places near concrete or industrial buildings with little to no tree canopy.

In 2023, it released the county’s first heat vulnerability index, which identified the county’s most vulnerable areas to heat.

The Office of Sustainability also recently released its updated Climate Justice Plan, a roadmap to achieve what it describes as climate and environmental justice by 2030.

“We cannot afford to retreat now, not when the federal government is actively trying to gut the Clean Air Act and lock us into a future powered by dirty, cancer-causing fossil fuels,” Nathan said. “A budget shortfall should not be used to retaliate, divide or falsely frame sustainability and homelessness as competing priorities.”

Moyer was present during the county budget hearing but left during questioning without providing any comment or details about her proposal. Vega Pederson said Moyer had an excused absence.

Her office did not respond to a request for comment for OPB.

In a social media post, Vega Pederson said she does not support additional cuts to the Office of Sustainability.

“Climate and environmental justice are key priorities in the executive budget I proposed on April 24, which protects the work and focus of Multnomah County’s Office of Sustainability with the reduction of just one vacant position,” she wrote on Instagram. “I do not support additional cuts to Multnomah County’s critical work to fight climate change.”

The board is expected to vote on a final budget package on June 12.