Two Important Steps to Tackle Climate Change in Oregon
While Oregon figures out when to shutdown its coal power plant, Western state governors adopt an action plan to address climate change’s inevitable impacts.
Everyone knows that the Boardman coal-power plant, which is the single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the state, has got to close. The only question is when. PGE, which owns the plant, proposes to shut it in 2020 in exchange for adding a very limited amount of pollution controls. The Environmental Quality Commission rejected that proposal because it wouldn’t meet air pollution standards set by the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Yesterday, the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) proposed three draft closure options that will meet EPA requirements for PGE to consider—suggesting a closure as soon as 2015 and as late as 2020. The key is that the options require more pollution controls the longer the plant stays open, which balances our need to protect Oregonian’s health and the environment with rate payer concerns.
It’s vital that we figure out a strategy for transitioning away from coal not only in Oregon, but throughout the U.S. And it’s important that we figure it out sooner rather than later. Climate impacts are already being felt, and the science indicates that it will get worse faster than was previously expected. Leaders in Western states are taking this threat seriously. The Western Governors Association just released a report on climate adaptation. The message of the report is that we have to prepare for climate change’s inevitable impacts on the West—from a looming water crisis to its affect on the rangelands, forest lands, and habitats that not only define the character of this region but also play a significant role in its economic activity.
The window of opportunity to prevent the most catastrophic consequences of climate change is closing. We have to start preparing ourselves for the effects of climate change and simultaneously make tangible progress on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Oregon should lead by removing coal from its electricity mix as soon as possible.
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