Portland needs to develop more effective climate strategies, improve community transparency on those decisions and better coordination within city bureaus if it wants to meet its climate goals, according to an audit released Wednesday.

The city also needs to create a “realistic” funding source to ensure the committed climate work is effective and gets done; if not, the work may not happen, the analysis by city auditor Simone Rede found.

And while Portland has a voter-created billion-dollar climate fund that is dispersing hundreds of millions of dollars to programs across the city, the audit noted concerns about relying on that fund for efforts managed by the city government.

The report focused on “climate justice,” an approach that centers low-income people and underserved communities hardest hit by climate change, and looked at how the city prioritizes this work.

It found that the city is lacking clear direction, with no central authority to guide and implement climate policies. It also found the city needs to build trust with the community by better communicating about why climate plans and policies were implemented and how they affect the residents most impacted by climate change.

The report also recommended the city create a “realistic” funding plan to overcome budget challenges and help prioritize climate work. The Portland Clean Energy Fund, which estimates say will generate $1.7 billion by mid-2029, was created to support community-led projects created outside city government – yet it has been called upon repeatedly to help with city budget gaps.

“Portland is facing a climate emergency that demands effective action,” City Auditor Simone Rede said in a statement. “Strong coordination and clear communication are essential for turning the City’s climate plans into real health and resilience benefits to Portlanders, especially those most at risk.”

The audit comes one year after Portland made the switch from a small commission-led government to being governed by a much larger City Council.

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More than three decades of climate response

Portland has had a history of committing to mitigate the worst of climate change, dating to as early as 1993, when the city created its first climate action plan.

Since then, climate work has become a bigger topic of conversation within city government as the region has faced unprecedented extreme weather, like the 2021 heat dome, when nearly 70 people died of heat-related illnesses in Multnomah County.

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The city has rolled out a number of climate plans with the goal of reducing the city’s carbon emissions. The current three-year Climate Emergency Workplan is a 47-action item list intended to reduce emissions from buildings, industry and transportation, among other sectors. Of those items, 13% of them have been achieved, while 79% are ongoing and 9% have been delayed.

As part of that plan, Portland is also committed to reducing carbon emissions 50% or more compared to 1990 levels by 2030 and reducing carbon emissions to net-zero by 2050.

So far, the city has reduced about 26% of carbon emissions. It needs to double annual reductions to meet its 2030 goals — something that has not been achieved before, according to an August update.

Recommendation: Elevate the person who leads Portland’s climate response

The audit recommends elevating the Portland chief sustainability officer’s role. Vivian Satterfield, who currently holds the job, does not have a direct link to city bureaus, whose staff report to the city administrator.

“It’s been a long-standing issue in the prior form of government,” Satterfield said. “Holding people accountable laterally has been a long-standing issue.”

In her role, she develops the city’s climate plans and works with the Sustainability and Climate Commission, which advises the mayor, city council and city administrators on climate policy. If Satterfield’s role were elevated, she would be better able to track each city bureau’s climate initiatives and to hold them accountable.

“Clarifying the authority of my position, in relation to other climate practitioners embedded in the bureaus, is a strong recommendation I’m looking forward to acting on,” Satterfield said.

She’s currently working on Portland’s next climate action plan. Satterfield said funding will be critical and “without additional resources, this work does risk being largely symbolic.”

“I only have one dedicated staff working alongside me to help run the Sustainability and Climate Commission,” she said. “I think this upcoming budget conversation is going to be extremely critical if we’re going to ground it at all in the findings of this climate justice audit and in the recognition of our climate future.”

A strained city budget and a billion-dollar climate fund

Funding for climate programs was also an issue the audit highlighted.

Portland has struggled to fill the city’s budget gaps, most recently working to fill a $169 million budget shortfall. Over the past two years, the city has used an estimated $25 million from the interest generated by PCEF, which imposes a 1% tax on large retailers. The fund has committed to supporting a range of climate action efforts through mid 2029, and will funnel dollars to the city bureau’s climate projects as well as community and nonprofit organizations across Portland.

According to the most recent estimates, six city bureaus will receive about $740 million through mid-2029. That includes funding for things like Satterfield’s position.

But the audit called for a better funding mechanism to push forward climate policy at the city level, because PCEF was not designed to support city government.

Involving the public

The audit also recommended increasing community engagement and transparency around decision-making.

“We want people to know that there’s an opportunity to tighten the good work that the city has done through the transition to the new form of government,” Audit Services Director KC Jones said.

Jones said the goal of the audit was to recommend realistic strategies, while keeping in mind the city does not have unlimited resources.

“Portland is committed to taking action to fight climate change and communicating back out how that is going, and in a way that the people understand how it is helping them, protecting them and impacting their lives is pretty important,” Jones said.

City Administrator Raymond C. Lee agreed and accepted the audit’s recommendations Wednesday, and said changes should be implemented moving forward.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/02/25/audit-portland-clear-direction-strategies-meet-climate-goals/