Oregon Lawmakers Pass Bill Directing State Pension to Address How Climate Change Threatens Public Workers’ Retirement Savings

SALEM, OR- Oregon legislators have passed a billdirecting the Oregon Investment Council and the Oregon State Treasurer to take certain actions to address how climate change threatens public workers' retirement savings with the state's public pension, Public Employees Retirement Fund, or PERS.The bill now heads to Gov. Tina Kotek's desk to be signed into law.

The Sierra Club's Sustainable Finance campaign and Oregon Chapter applaud this first-of-its kind bill for drawing attention to the ways that climate change will cause massive damage to the economy and threaten everyday peoples' retirement savings. In 2024, Oregon's state pension joined several peers, including pensions in New York City, New York State, and California (CalPERSand CalSTRS) in passing sustainable investing plans for their state pensions, but this is the first time one of those plans has received the backing of a state legislature.

"We applaud Oregon's legislators for passing this clear mandate to our state's public pension to implement its sustainable investing plan. Oregon's communities are already preparing for and responding to extreme wildfires - a clear signal of the worsening climate crisis. We are thankful that the Oregon Legislature sees climate change as both an environmental and economic issue, and that sustainable investing of public money is an important solution," said Damon Motz-Story, Director of the Sierra Club's Oregon Chapter.

"Climate change is not just an environmental crisis, it's an economic crisis too. Without urgent action, the climate crisis will cause massive damage to our economy and people's financial security. We applaud the Oregon Legislature for recognizing how climate change threatens the economic security and the retirement savings of its public workers, and for directing the State Treasurer to act accordingly to tackle those threats by holding polluters accountable and investing in climate solutions," said Allie Lindstrom, Senior Campaign Strategist in the Sustainable Finance campaign at the Sierra Club.

BILL TOPLINES

The bill directs the state to:

• Report on and analyze the risks of the levels of emissions of fossil fuel investments in the state's public pension fund
• Analyze the risks that climate change poses to the state's public pension fund
• Reduce the carbon footprint of the state's public pension fund by preferencing investments that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and participate in the energy transition
• Report every other year on progress toward an investment strategy that addresses the impacts of climate change on the state's public pension fund

REPORT: HIDDEN RISK IN STATE PENSIONS

In February 2025, the Sierra Club released its annual report "The Hidden Risk in State Pensions: Analyzing U.S. Public Pensions' Responses to the Climate Crisis in Proxy Voting". The report analyzes the proxy voting guidelines, 2024 proxy voting records, and voting transparency of 32 public pension funds in the U.S., including the Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund (PERS). As major investors, pensions like Oregon PERS cast votes every year at the shareholder meetings of major corporations, Each pension's proxy voting guidelines help determine how it will vote on shareholder proposals and whether to approve boards of directors.

The 2024 report ranked Oregon PERSsixth out of 32 pensions, giving it an overall "B" grade- a grade that incorporates its proxy voting guidelines ("C" grade), its 2024 proxy voting records ("A" grade), and the availability of its voting records (only available through FOIA).

Oregon PERS was one of only 8 pensions that received an "A" gradefor its 2024 proxy voting records, indicating that the state is taking a thorough approach to risk management. Oregon PERS received a "C" gradefor its proxy voting guidelines, which included good marks for its guidelines on climate-related votes on directors, and poor marks for its statements on systemic risk and its just transition guidelines.

About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America's largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit https://www.sierraclub.org.