Oregon Public Policy Leadership

Global warming has emerged as one of the foremost concerns of our time, and Oregon, like other states in the U.S., has a key role to play in demonstrating that solutions are at hand. State action and local government action to slow global warming will not only reduce Oregon’s contribution to global warming, but also help compel our federal government into taking decisive action. Click here to learn more about Oregon's progress in slowing global warming.

Over the last several months, stakeholders from conservation groups, Oregon’s consumer owned and investor-owned utilities, ratepayer advocates, the industrial and forestry sectors and business associations met to find areas of compromise and agreement for amending the Governor’s original cap-and-trade proposal (SB 80). The bill as currently amended is a product of those discussions and represents a balanced and comprehensive approach to tackling the climate challenge we face today.

Key changes:

• Establishes a new Climate Policy Advisory Council to coordinate state climate efforts and ensure we have the most effective strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions
• Shares planning between state agencies, including DEQ, ODOT, ODOE and OPUC
• Uses sector by sector planning for the most cost-effective strategies to achieve our statutory goals adopted by the Legislature in 2007, including specific paths for consumer-owned and investor-owned utilities
• Directs state agencies to use existing authority to develop and adopt rules for greenhouse gas emissions where necessary
• A process to determine the best use of carbon offsets within a regulatory system

•  Read more about the SB 80 amendments [PDF].

Prologue

The Oregon Environmental Council has been a leading voice for state action on global warming since the mid 1990s. OEC staff members have served on the Governor’s Global Warming Advisory Group, Tailpipe Emissions Task Force, and Climate Change Integration Group. OEC spearheaded Clean Cars for Oregon, a coalition of over 100 businesses, leaders in the health and faith communities, labor and environmental organizations, and several hundred individuals that successfully advocated for the tailpipe emissions standards adopted in 2006. Most recently, Governor Kulongoski appointed Executive Director Andrea Durbin to represent the environmental community on the Oregon Global Warming Advisory Committee, a permanent body established by the passage of the Climate Change Integration Act of 2007.

We invite you to help us help Oregon meet its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 75% below 1990 levels by 2050. Sign up for OEC Action Alerts. Learn more about what you can do to reduce your individual carbon footprint. And if you represent an organization or business or are an elected official, join our Cool Oregon coalition.