The City Council is considering requiring owners of commercial buildings to report their energy usage in an effort to cut carbon emissions.
BY JACOB PALMER | DIGITAL NEWS EDITOR
The Portland City Council is considering requiring owners of commercial buildings to report their energy usage in effort to cut carbon emissions.
Housing, parking, religious, industrial and schools would be exempt, the Portland Tribune reports.
“The world’s leading scientists consistently conclude that climate change caused by human emission of greenhouse gases is among the most significant problems facing the world today and potentially poses the greatest economic, environmental, and social challenge of the 2lst century,” the ordinance [submitted by Mayor Charlie Hales] says.
The proposed policy allows the city to fine building owners who do not comply with it up to $500 for ever 90 day violation. An impact statement submitted with the ordinance says similar policies have been adopted by three states and 11 other cities, including Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, and Minneapolis. It claims a building energy use has been reduced 3 percent a year in Washington DC since a similar policy was adopted.
The impact statement indicates the city expects a mixed response from building owners.
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