I was torn on whether to support the use of the Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund to remodel the Moda Center, (“Moda Center renovation request will slam into clean energy fund power struggle,” Feb. 14).
I was a strong supporter of — and voter for — PCEF when it was billed as a climate and community fund. I hesitate to divert those funds as Portland is falling behind in its effort to meet 2050 climate goals.
But the actual climate performance of PCEF has been abysmal. It seems to have turned mainly into a social equity fund, with climate objectives retained largely in name only. The direction of the fund continues to pull away from measuring success on how many metric tons of greenhouse gases are reduced…