“It does need to be addressed globally, but local leadership really matters."

- Multnomah County Commissioner Jeff Cogen following the Portland City Council meeting last week where the council approved a 40-year plan to slash greenhouse gas emissions, voting 4-0 to enact one of most ambitious programs in the nation, if not the world, to counter global warming. 

Now that's the kind of action we were hoping for here last spring.

According to the Portland Tribune, the Climate Action Plan, a joint effort by the city and Multnomah County, commits the area to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. That’s the amount many scientists calculate is needed to avert dramatic impacts from climate change.

Among the goals in the plan for 2030:

•Assure new homes and buildings have “zero net greenhouse gas emissions.”

•Reduce energy used in all current buildings by 25 percent, via energy efficiency measures.

•Design neighborhoods so 80 percent of county residents, and 90 percent of city residents, can easily walk or bicycle to meet all basic, non-work needs, and have safe pedestrian or bicycle access to transit.

•Reduce daily miles driven in vehicles by 30 percent, per person.

•Reduce total solid waste by 25 percent, and recycle or reuse 90 percent of the waste

•Significantly increase the consumption of locally grown food

•Expand the urban forest canopy to cover one-third of Portland

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