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Environment Oregon is working to convince the governor and leaders of the state Legislature to adopt a statewide cap on global warming pollution, and adopt policies to put in place the energy technologies that will help reduce pollution.

The Issue

Global warming is here. And it’s not just shrinking snowpack on Mt. Kilimanjaro and disappearing ice floats in the Arctic. Snowpack in Oregon’s own Cascade Mountains is down 35%, sea levels are rising on the Oregon Coast, and the incidence of severe wildfires is rising sharply.

The consequences for Oregon are significant. Shrinking snowpack means lower river flow levels. Oregon’s farmers depend on rivers for irrigation, our salmon depend on rivers for migration, and 40% of our electricity depends on rivers for hydropower generation. Fifty Oregon economists have warned that global warming poses a serious threat to at least four economic sectors – agriculture, forestry and forest products, tourism, and hydroelectricity. These sectors make up 25 percent of Oregon’s economy, and provide $35 billion in annual economic output.

The good news is that solutions are at hand. The two biggest sources of global warming pollution in Oregon are transportation and electricity generation.  Current technology enables significant pollution cuts from both sources.

Transportation
Oregon has already stepped out and taken the lead in cutting global warming pollution from the transportation sector. In 2006, after a campaign led by Environment Oregon and the Clean Cars for Oregon coalition, the Environmental Quality Commission adopted the Clean Cars program. This program encourages automakers to use existing technology to cut emissions – and reduce gas consumption – from passenger vehicles. Starting with model year 2009, automakers will have to sell cars in Oregon with reduced global warming pollution. By 2016, new cars and trucks will emit 30 percent less global warming pollution.

In addition to cleaning up new cars and trucks, we need federal gas mileage standards to save on gas consumption. In addition, land use policies like Oregon’s, that keep communities dense and preserve open space, also allow people to be less dependent on cars. More use of mass transit and bicycling cuts global warming pollution from our transportation sector.

Global Warming Pollution from Electricity Generation
Oregon is already acting on the first step to reduce global warming pollution from our electricity use. Environment Oregon’s top priority for 2007, the Renewable Energy Standard requiring that our energy be 25 percent renewable by 2025, will make a major dent in global warming pollution from electricity sources. And we get the added benefits that come with renewable energy – energy independence and economic development.

Now Oregon needs to act on two more critical steps toward cutting global warming pollution.

First, Oregon should enact a Power Plant Performance Standard. Such a law, proposed by House Bill 2859, prohibits Oregon utilities from building any new power plants, or buying power from other utilities’ new plants, if they have significant global warming pollution.

Second, Oregon needs to require global warming pollution reductions from electric utilities and other major industrial sources. All Oregon emitters of global warming pollution should be required to meet the goals established by Governor Kulongoski based on scientists’ recommendations – reduce global warming pollution to 10 percent below 1990 levels by 2020 and 75 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. This can be accomplished through a “cap and trade” program that lets companies for whom cutting pollution is expensive pay companies for whom it is less expensive to exceed their goals. House Bill 3545 would establish such a program in Oregon.

Regional Solutions
Oregon can and should continue to use its leadership on environmental issues to blaze a trail toward global warming solutions. And we can leverage our influence even further by joining with other states.

Governor Kulongoski has adopted that strategy by initiating the Western Regional Climate Action Initiative. The Governor is working with his counterparts in Washington, California, Arizona, and New Mexico to set a regional goal for global warming pollution reductions and develop a market-based mechanism, like a “cap and trade” program, for meeting those goals.  Environment Oregon is working with allies in all 5 states to support and encourage this process.