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An updated plan to reduce carbon emissions in Portland and Multnomah County seeks to encourage the construction of more highly efficient buildings.

City and county officials this week released a draft of their joint 2015 Climate Action Plan, an update of one created in 2009, and are seeking public comment. The plan outlines a strategy to put Portland and Multnomah County on the path to achieve a 40 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2030 and an 80 percent reduction by 2050. This includes various goals that pertain to the design and construction industries, such as reducing the total energy use by all new buildings and homes, and ensuring that major remodels can adapt to the changing climate.

The draft 2015 plan came out of a project that involved reviewing the current plan and identifying actions that should continue, be dropped or added. Proposed changes include applying an equity lens to the policies and plans, and adding a section on how consumers help and hinder carbon emission levels.

In June, following a six-week public comment period that ends April 10, the 2015 plan will be considered for adoption by the Portland Planning and Sustainability Commission, the Portland City Council and the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners.

There are a lot of similarities between the 2015 and 2009 plans, said Michael Armstrong, senior sustainability manager with the Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability. Strategies outlined in the current plan appear to be working because carbon consumption in the city and county has decreased even as population has increased, he said.

鈥淎 lot of key building blocks (in the 2015 plan) are pretty similar,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e are making progress.鈥�

It’s encouraging, Armstrong said, that sustainable construction strategies like those employed to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards have become mainstream in Portland and Multnomah County. However, he added, the updated plan sets the higher goal of promoting new construction and retrofit projects that achieve net-zero energy usage. This could include providing incentives for the construction of net-zero energy buildings, demonstration projects and educational efforts.

鈥淟et’s get more people looking at these net-zero buildings and see what’s possible and what the challenges are,鈥� Armstrong said.

City officials also hope to raise awareness and promote green building certifications that have more stringent energy efficiency requirements than LEED, such as the Living Building Challenge and passive house, he said. Other BPS actions outlined in the 2015 Climate Action Plan include involvement in revising the state building code to achieve net-zero energy performance in all new buildings by 2030 and establishing minimum energy performance targets for new construction and major renovations in Portland.

Along with promoting more efficient new construction, the plan sets the goal of reducing total energy use of all buildings built before 2010 by 25 percent.

鈥淭he biggest challenge is 80 percent of the environment that’s going to be around in the next 20 years is already built,鈥� said Kent Snyder, co-chairman of a steering committee that assisted with the plan update. 鈥淵ou’ve got to retrofit.鈥�

In April, the Portland City Council will consider adopting an energy tracking and reporting policy for large commercial buildings. If approved, city officials will work with building owners and managers to improve the energy performance of commercial buildings that are larger than 20,000 square feet.

The draft plan outlines a similar goal for residential buildings, requiring energy performance ratings for all homes so that owners, tenants and prospective buyers can make informed decisions about energy costs and carbon emissions.

Another goal calls for doubling the number of solar installations in Portland and increasing the rate of home weatherization projects.

An important part of updating the plan involved ensuring that benefits of reducing carbon emissions and responding to climate change are evenly distributed, Armstrong said. The plan calls for city and county officials to establish a clean energy fund to invest in energy efficiency and renewable energy projects and expand financing tools that increase the accessibility of such upgrades to the owners of commercial and residential properties in underserved communities.

鈥淲e tried to be more deliberate and engaging in communities that aren’t normally at the table,鈥� Armstrong said. 鈥淲e need to develop new financing tools to encourage clean energy retrofits.鈥�

One goal will be providing clean energy financing that helps owners of smaller commercial properties afford efficiency upgrades, said John Wasiutynski, director of the Multnomah County Office of Sustainability.

鈥淗ow do we make that process easier for those commercial property owners so they can lower energy usage?鈥� he said.

Also important will be investing in creating more efficient affordable housing, Wasiutynski said.

鈥淲e’re building a green economy,鈥� he said. 鈥淟et’s make sure we’re making smart investments that are going to make us safer and happier moving forward.鈥�

The updated plan emphasizes investing in projects that support active transportation and anticipate the environmental impacts of climate change, such as hotter summers and more precipitation in the winter and spring, Armstrong said. TriMet’s Tilikum Crossing demonstrates this goal because when it opens this summer it will carry only public transit, bicyclist and pedestrian traffic, he said. The bridge’s height was designed to accommodate a potential rise in the level of the Willamette River.

鈥淭he new bridge is a really good idea of what we’re looking for,鈥� Armstrong said.

2015 Climate Action Plan

City of Portland and Multnomah County officials are seeking public comment through April 10 on the draft plan. A copy of the draft plan and online comment form is available at .

The public can provide feedback in person during two open houses this month:

鈥� March 19, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., at Velo Cult Bike Shop, 1969 N.E. 42nd Ave., Portland

鈥� March 24, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., at June Key Delta Community Center, 5940 N. Albina St., Portland

Also, comments can be emailed to [email protected] or mailed to RE: 2015 Climate Action Plan, City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, 1900 S.W. Fourth Ave. #7100, Portland, OR 97201