OEC and Allies Push Back Against Fossil Fuel Industry in Climate Battle
As we eagerly await the release of the final rules for Oregon’s Climate Protection Program (CPP), OEC and our partners in the Coalition for Climate and Economic Justice extend a sincere “Thank YOU” to everyone who took the time to submit public comments to help restore this vital program.
Together, we’ve taken critical, local action in the global fight against climate change.
The Power of Our Collective Voices
Oregonians across the state voiced their support for restoring a strong Climate Protection Program without delay as part of the Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) months-long public rulemaking process.
More than 100 Oregon business, tribal, consumer advocate, public health, and labor leaders testified alongside individual Oregonians at public hearings on the rules in August and September. Community members voiced concerns about rampant oil and gas industry misinformation and stressed the urgent need for climate action, citing the devastating impacts of climate change on the public health, safety, and economic welfare of Oregonians. Testimony at these hearings underscored a collective desire for climate action. Meanwhile, oil and gas industry groups continued their misguided efforts to delay climate action even though they were greatly outnumbered.
To amplify our shared goal of restoring the CPP, OEC joined forces with environmental justice, climate, and community-based partner organizations from across the state. We formed the Coalition for Climate and Economic Justice. In total, the Coalition for Climate and Economic Justice boasts nearly 50 member groups representing thousands of Oregonians. Collectively, we teamed up to push back against the oil and gas industry’s attempts to weaken our state’s critical climate protections.
Thank you to everyone for your unwavering support of this vital program.
Restoring the CPP is more than just a climate imperative – it’s also a historic opportunity for state leaders to prioritize the health and well-being of our communities. If the integrity of the CPP is upheld, fossil fuel companies will be required to cut their pollution by 90% by 2050. With the CPP in play, Oregon will also usher in a new Community Climate Investment (CCI) Program. Every year, this innovative program will invest $150+ million towards clean energy projects in rural, low-income, tribal, and communities of color across Oregon.
With the CPP, Oregon can take a significant step toward meaningfully cutting pollution and creating a vibrant and just future for all residents.
Necessary Elements For a Successful CPP
With your support, we sent the Department of Environmental Quality a clear message: It’s time for Oregon to restore a strong CPP that delivers climate justice, follows the science, and holds industrial polluters accountable.
OEC and our partners in the Coalition for Climate and Economic Justice submitted joint comments specifically urging DEQ to:
- Follow the Science: Deliver Near-term Emissions Reductions
The science is clear: in order to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, we must drastically reduce our climate pollution by the end of this decade. That’s why we strongly support DEQ’s proposed draft rules requiring regulated industries to demonstrate compliance with the program every two years. Near-term emissions reductions under the CPP will provide immediate public health benefits by reducing harmful co-pollutants, and will also deliver significant economic benefits, by encouraging investment in and creating jobs in Oregon’s clean energy economy. We have already lost three critical years of pollution reduction and community investment because of oil and gas litigation; that’s why we continued to encourage DEQ to require immediate compliance with the program. - Deliver Climate Justice: Uphold a Strong Community Climate Investment Program
We urged DEQ to maintain a strong and effective CCI program that prioritizes communities that experience climate change impacts first and worst, and ensures near-term investment, reduces harmful climate and air pollution in Oregon, and deliver public health and economic benefits to local communities. We support DEQ’s proposal in the draft rules to maintain a strong price for CCI credits. However, we expressed strong concern about rewarding oil and gas companies with additional free credits to pollute. Providing an oversupply of compliance tools will benefit fossil fuel companies’ bottom lines at the expense of communities most impacted by climate pollution, and severely weaken the CPP’s ability to deliver near-term climate, economic, and public health benefits. - Hold Industrial Polluters Accountable: Regulate Industrial Methane Gas Emissions
We support DEQ’s proposal to directly regulate natural gas emissions from large industrial polluters under the CPP’s declining cap. Including these emissions within the cap is a good way to provide certainty to Oregon-based industries, deliver meaningful emissions reductions, and improve air quality in impacted communities. However, the draft rules still excluded emissions from industrial processes from regulation under the cap. Instead, the rules would allow large industrial facilities to self-identify personalized pollution reduction plans. DEQ should hold all industrial source pollution accountable to mandatory limits under the cap to best protect Oregonians and reduce harmful co-pollutants in our air and water.
How Did Oregon Get Here?
Initially implemented in January 2022, the Climate Protection Program was a groundbreaking regulatory effort to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and deliver justice to communities in Oregon. The CPP required oil and gas companies to cut their climate emissions by 50% by 2035 and 90% by 2050. It also set up a program to enable upwards of $150 million in annual investments for clean energy projects in communities across Oregon.
At the time, the CPP was a historic victory for Oregon’s climate, local economies, and for Oregonians – especially Black, Indigenous, people of color, low-income, and rural communities who stand to benefit the most from emissions reductions and local clean energy investments.
Then, late in 2023, the CPP was derailed when an oil and gas industry lawsuit overturned the program. The lawsuit was a devastating blow to our environment, and our most marginalized communities. OEC covered the details of this oil and gas industry lawsuit at the time, and sounded the alarm. Thankfully, DEQ and Governor Kotek responded with a bold commitment to restore the CPP, and launched a rulemaking to reinstate the rules by the end of 2024.
Rollout of CPP Final Rules
Right now, DEQ is hard at work developing updated final rules for the CPP. The public comments submitted by OEC, our partners in the CCEJ, and from fellow advocates like you will be referenced as DEQ considers key elements of this program including the timeframe for increasing emissions caps, as well as the distribution mechanisms for clean energy project funds.
DEQ is expected to release final CPP rules later this month or by early-November. OEC will publish a detailed assessment of these rules along with the expected outcomes for our state.
While we await these vital regulations, we want to share our sincere appreciation to all of you who raised your voice in support of a strong CPP. Thank you for joining with us, our coalition partners, and hundreds of your fellow Oregonians to speak up on behalf of our environment and for our future!
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