Coalition Voices Support for Governor John Kitzhaber's Ten-Year Energy Plan

Portland, OR—Governor John Kitzhaber today challenged all Oregonian’s to reach beyond our current energy goals to achieve even greater advances in energy conservation and renewable energy use. A diverse coalition of environmental, clean energy and public interest groups is issuing the following joint response:

Governor Kitzhaber’s Ten-Year Energy Plan acknowledges the critical role energy plays as we build a strong economy and healthy communities. The Governor’s Plan comes less than a month after the historic announcement by he and other west coast leaders of the Pacific Coast Collaborative on the importance of confronting climate change, including “...how best to consider and then account for the cost of carbon and our costly reliance on carbon-intensive energy sources.” Comprehensive energy planning for Oregon requires both near-term and long-term vision and action. Oregonians are increasingly concerned about the harm climate change is causing to our environment, economy and communities. Combined with the State's "Roadmap to 2020" climate action plan, and the Department of Transportation's "Greenhouse Gas Reduction Strategy," the Governor's plan represents an important opportunity to accelerate our region’s transition from a fossil-fueled past to a clean energy future.

Angus Duncan (angusduncan@b-e-f.org)

Citizens’ Utility Board of Oregon (Jeff Bissonnette, jeff@oregoncub.org) 

Climate Solutions (Ann Gravatt, ann@climatesolutions.org)

Environment Oregon (Sarah Higginbothan, sarah@environmentoregon.org) 

NW Energy Coalition (Wendy Gerlitz, wendy@nwenergy.org)

Oregon Environmental Council (Jana Gastellum, janag@oeconline.org) 

Renewable Northwest Project (John Audley, john@rnp.org)

The Sierra Club (Brian Pasko, brian.pasko@sierraclub.org)