Trying to add a payment method? You can do this on the 
QuickTake:
The initiative crossed a major hurdle in its race to the November ballot, as supporters officially submit petitions to the City Recorder office for verification.
A new initiative that would require corporations to pay fees to fund green projects is a step closer to qualifying for Eugene’s November ballot.
The coalition behind the Eugene Clean Energy Fund on Tuesday, July 21, submitted over 14,000 signatures to the City Recorder’s office nearly a week before the deadline to get on the ballot. That’s 5,000 more signatures than the 8,726 valid signatures the city requires the campaign to submit.
Although the verification process could take up to 30 days, organizers anticipate the signatures will be verified within a week.
A coalition that includes Beyond Toxics, Breach Collective, Oregon Just Transition Alliance and Sierra Club of Oregon registered the Eugene Clean Energy Fund initiative in February. The local coalition modeled the initiative on the 2018 Portland Clean Energy Fund.
Here’s a look at what the Eugene proposal aims to do and how its companion policy in Portland has played out, seven years after its inception.
What the Eugene initiative seeks to do
If the initiative goes to voters and passes this November, it will place a 2% fee on corporations earning more than $1 billion in profits annually in the United States, and over $500,000 in profits within the city of Eugene.
Early estimates project the initiative would raise at least $15 million in Eugene, according to Aya Cockram, co-chief petitioner to the initiative and Oregon energy transition organizer with Breach Collective, a climate justice nonprofit based in Oregon.
“The Portland Clean Energy Fund ended up generating much more than originally projected, and it is entirely possible that we could see this fund generating $20 million or even $30 million,” she said.
The goal is to use the money to pay for clean energy projects.
An elected nine-member committee of Eugene residents will recommend allocations to the Eugene City Council, based on the guardrails outlined in the measure:
- 60% to renewable energy and energy efficiency, such as structural energy upgrades in residential homes, small businesses and public schools.
- 25% to developing local clean energy jobs and apprenticeships.
- 10% to green infrastructure including wetlands restoration, tree canopy expansion, and vegetated stormwater facilities.
- 5% to future innovation, which the oversight committee would have some flexibility to designate.
Dylan Plummer, campaign adviser at the Sierra Club and one of the primary organizers of the initiative, emphasizes the clean energy fund will be used for projects such as heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems for communities and people who are low-income and also Black, Indigenous, and people of color.
“We want to have funds available so that every household has the option to get air conditioning and better indoor air quality,” he said. “This isn’t just a luxury, but actually can save lives.”
Initial polling done by the coalition in 2024 found that 64% of Eugene voters were in support of the initiative and would vote yes if it appeared on the ballot.
Plummer said the Eugene Clean Energy Fund represents an opportunity for the city to catch up with its long-term fossil fuel reduction plans. The city has decreased its fossil fuel use by 11% since 2010, well off its goal of 50% reduction by 2030.
The Portland blueprint
In November 2018, Portland voters passed that city’s clean energy fund with 65% approval.
The fund charged Portland businesses that make over $1 billion nationally and at least $500,000 within the city annually a 1% local revenue surcharge. It was initially predicted to generate $50 million annually. However that number has ballooned to approximately $200 million annually, according to the city of Portland’s Bureau of Planning and Sustainability.
Since it was enacted, it has generated about $1.7 billion. The money is intended to go into climate and sustainability investments, such as funding solar arrays on affordable multifamily buildings, or investing in citywide electric vehicle charging stations.
The five-year Climate Investment Plan, created by the Portland City Council and the Portland Clean Energy Fund Committee in 2023, outlines 37 specific areas designated for funding, including:
- $75.9 million to green stormwater infrastructure and watershed health.
- $50 million to climate-friendly public schools.
- $30 million to streetcar replacement.
- $29 million to city electric vehicles and charging networks.
- $25 million to clean energy in small commercial buildings.
The Portland Metro Chamber has actively supported the Portland Clean Energy Fund and has worked to defend the fund from being diverted from its initial purpose.
Last April, the Metro Chamber, along with two local nonprofit organizations, sent a letter urging the city to leave the fund untouched, according to Willamette Week.
Currently, the Eugene Chamber of Commerce has not taken a public stance on the Eugene initiative.
“Our team is actively evaluating the measure and doing our due diligence, and if it qualifies for the ballot, our board will convene to determine our position and level of engagement,” Brittany Quick-Warner, president of the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce, said in an email.
What supporters say
When the Portland proposal passed in 2018, it triggered an immediate desire to replicate the fund in Eugene, Plummer said.
“We can absolutely take inspiration from the successful projects in Portland. This fund was created so that it can be responsive,” he said.
Organizers point out that climate projects often stall due to a lack of funding. “One of the roadblocks that environmental activists and community justice advocates have really run into is the lack of funding. So the question became, ‘How can we generate that?’” Cockram said.
The coalition believes following Portland’s lead is the answer.
“We believe that the format of the [Portland] Energy Fund is a model that we should be aspiring to, because it has shown time and time again that it is not only taking those funds and investing them back in the community to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and address the climate crisis,” Plummer said.
What opponents say
Despite directing millions of dollars to community-led initiatives, the Portland fund’s first seven years have been defined by growing political contention on how the money should be spent, and arguments that the fund should be used to patch other desperate needs for the city.
The Oregonian/OregonLive editorial board recently called out the City Council for aggressively protecting the fund from being used outside of climate projects. The editorial advocated for a new fund to be put on the ballot, which would give voters a choice to reinvest some of the money.
“Would voters have supported the original clean energy measure had they known how much of the city’s tax dollars would be directed to fund only nonprofits, even as public services are being cut back?” the board wrote.
In June, Portland Mayor Keith Wilson used $27 million from the fund to help fill a $170 million budget hole, noting that there were other growing demands in the city that needed to be addressed.
Most recently, debates have emerged after Wilson proposed using $75 million from the fund to help pay for Moda Center renovations. City councilors and climate activities alike expressed opposition.
Lessons from Portland
Organizers of the Eugene proposal say they’ve learned from Portland’s experiences.
“One of the things that we heard was that there was a desire, in hindsight, to have brought in labor partners sooner … to make sure that labor protections were baked into the initiative language,” Plummer said.
This means labor unions were involved in the drafting phase.
“One of the major complaints about that they had up in Portland was they were generating massive amounts of funding, but getting that funding out the door wasn’t happening fast enough,” he said. “One of the things that we put into our version of the initiative was to have a percentage of the funds go straight to existing programs,” including the Eugene Water & Electric Board and other entities.
