Bend City Council Adopts Climate Action Resolution

Last night, the Bend City Council adopted a climate action resolution by a vote of 5 to 2. Councilors Victor Chudowsky and Casey Roats voted against the resolution.

The adopted resolution is more aspirational than the ordinance we proposed last May. But it also lays out a clear pathway for Bend to move forward on reducing GHG emissions.

A big thank you to all the citizens and businesses who supported our months-long effort to get this resolution passed. It would not have passed without your support.

A big thank you to the members of the Climate Ordinance Working Group who spent the last 15 months thinking, researching, debating, proposing, organizing and advocating. Russ Donnelly, Joe Emerson, Skylar Grayson, Diane Hodiak, Sara Holman, Mary Fay, Jeanine Florance, Kyra Kadham, Theil Larsen, Brad Lemmon, Bob Lorenzen, Jeffrey Richardson, Nikki Roemmer, and Helen Seidler: You made this happen.

A big thank you to our Bend City Councilors—all seven of them—for their considerable time and attention, and for their thoughtful, principled and spirited deliberation, of this important issue. Your combined efforts made for a strong final product.
And finally, a HUGE thank you to the five Bend City Councilors who voted “Yes!”: Councilors Doug Knight, Sally Russell, Barb Campbell, Nathan Boddie and Jim Clinton. Your votes made this real.

This resolution will move Bend in the right direction when it comes to reducing GHG emissions. It will help the City reduce costs, save money and design a much more livable community. And it will ensure that Bend does its part to protect our climate.
And that’s an important step in the right direction, for people and the planet.