Reducing Climate Pollution

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OEC promotes public policies to reduce climate pollution and slow global warming while sharing solutions that individuals and businesses can easily employ to protect our climate. Together, these policies will lay the groundwork for a new clean energy economy that creates good paying jobs. Our climate pollution reduction achievements include:

We passed the Clean Electricity and Coal Transition Act, a first-of-its-kind law to transition Oregon off of polluting coal-fired power while simultaneously DOUBLING the state’s commitment to clean electricity — like solar and wind — to 50% new, renewable energy by 2040. When combined with our legacy of hydropower, Oregon’s electricity mix will be more than 80% clean and renewable — some of the cleanest in the nation! Through the passage of this law, Oregon became the first state EVER to take legislative action to go coal-free. Our state received global recognition for this pioneering law, and has created a model for getting off of coal that other states can follow.
We championed the innovative Clean Fuels Standard, which will cut climate warming pollution from transportation fuels by 10%.
We helped broker the shut down of Oregon’s only coal-fired power plant and single-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions.
We helped pass of the Clean Car Standards, providing greater protections for our communities against tailpipe emissions and the dirty air and climate pollution these emissions cause.
We worked to pass our state’s greenhouse gas reduction goals, which are the second strongest such goals in the nations.

Oregon has been successful at slowing the rate of our climate pollution. But we are losing ground on meeting our near-term reduction goals. We need targeted policies that expand our clean energy options, like the Clean Electricity & Coal Transition Act, Clean Fuels Standard and Renewable Portfolio Standard, while continuing to transition away from dirty fuels. But most importantly, we need to account for the true cost of climate pollution on an economy-wide basis. We need responsibility and accountability when it comes to meeting our climate goals. Oregon has pledged to put a price on climate pollution as part of the Pacific Coast Collaborative. OEC is laying the foundation for Oregon to limit and price climate pollution and inspire other states to follow, building towards a national movement to address this harmful pollution. Existing West Coast carbon pricing programs have proven successful in reducing climate pollution while creating economic prosperity and healthy communities.