Milwaukie Mayor's Plan to Bring Climate Urgency and Expertise to the Legislature

Mayor Mark Gamba passed the strongest municipal climate action plan in the state. As a candidate for the legislature, he believes Oregon can better regulate construction, forests, and emissions.

Mayor Mark Gamba and Senator Jeff Merkley. Courtesy of Mark Gamba.

Will we do what needs to be done?

This question has been the driving force behind my entire journey in politics. I joined the City of Milwaukie’s Planning Commission 13 years ago because I did not see the government or businesses taking the threat of climate change seriously. Everywhere I looked, we were not doing nearly enough to prepare for the coming heat domes, firestorms, floods, and the other catastrophes we are now seeing.

Since then, it has been my mission to spur the changes we urgently need. As a city councilor and mayor, I am proud of the progress we made in Milwaukie by passing one of the strongest climate action plans in the state, reimagining our pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, and changing the way we construct public buildings so they push us closer to carbon neutrality, not further from it.

This last accomplishment is one that urgently needs to be replicated, and expanded upon, at the state level. Oregon’s public and private building stock is the second-highest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the state. Despite this, important legislation failed to pass earlier this year that would have resulted in lower emissions from our buildings sector. The “Reach Code Bill” would have allowed us to require new construction to meet a better energy efficiency standard than is currently permitted. However, what ultimately came out of the Legislature was not the significant change we need to our building practices, but a task force to study the issue and hopefully arrive at recommendations for the 2023 legislative session. 

Another area that presents tremendous opportunities for us to make real headway on climate change is the way in which we manage our once bountiful forests. Three decades ago, changes were made to our tax code that encourage short-term profiteering and result in our forests being net-carbon emitters instead of what a healthy forest would be: a net-carbon sink. However, with longer growth cycles, tons upon tons of greenhouse gasses could be absorbed out of our atmosphere and stored in this natural, biological process. Mother Nature would regain some ability to heal herself.

On a final note: One of the greatest dangers we face is the growing use of methane gas as a heat and energy source. Methane is the main component of natural gas, which has seen rising use in recent years. The problem: Methane is 86 times more destructive in terms of climate change than carbon dioxide, which is what most of our climate science is based upon. Some industries will object, but we urgently need to end our reliance on this dangerous fossil fuel.

The scientific community tells us we have no more than eight years left until the worst impacts of climate change become irreversible because of tipping points that will have been breached; we simply cannot afford to wait any longer for solutions. State legislators must commit to work together to do what needs to be done.