Eugene Clean Energy Fund (ECEF) is a ballot initiative to tax the profits of the largest businesses in Eugene to fund local climate justice projects.
What is ecef?
where will funding go?
The funds created by the Eugene Clean Energy Fund will support four main categories of use.
Renewable energy & energy efficiency programs: 60%
Clean energy jobs training, apprenticeships, & contractor support: 25%
Green infrastructure programs that result in carbon gas sequestration: 10%
Future innovation: 5%
We already know this model works
Portland passed the Portland Clean Energy Fund (PCEF) in 2018. Since that time, it has generated $1.71 billion in funding for climate programs. In 2024, PCEF invested $92 million in grants to 71 community-led programs.
In 2025, PCEF, which has become the Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund, announced $64.3 million in grants awarded to 60 community projects.
That all comes from just a 1% surcharge on Portland’s largest retailers.
The details
Eugene is behind on its climate goals
Since 2010, the City has reduced fossil fuel emissions in its own operations by 24%. The goal is to reach a 50% reduction by 2030. That leaves just four years to reduce emissions by an additional 26%.
Community fossil fuel emissions have decreased by just 11% since 2010, leaving a 39% gap to close in order to achieve a 50% reduction by 2030.
Similarly, community greenhouse gas emissions have decreased by only 10%, with another 90% needed to achieve the goal of a 100% reduction by 2050.
Eugene residents want progress
Polling shows that 63% of Eugene voters would support a fee on large retailers to fund clean energy jobs and job training in low-income Eugene neighborhoods. Portland’s PCEF passed with 65% support.
Currently, Eugene’s existing clean energy transition incentives are underfunded and limited. The Eugene Clean Energy Fund will not only create funds for local climate justice programs, but serve as a launch pad for long-term organizing for a clean energy future.
It will build a network of regular, everyday people who want to reestablish Eugene as a city that stands for community, environment, labor, and justice.