54 results for tag: climate

Oregon’s New Building Codes Are a Win for Home Energy Resilience

Last week marked an important step forward for healthy, affordable, resilient housing in Oregon. The Oregon Building Code Division’s Residential and Manufactured Structures Board (RMSB) voted to approve much-needed updates to the state’s residential energy code. Thanks to the foundation laid by two bills that OEC championed alongside our coalition partners in Building Resilience – the Build Smart from the Start Act in 2023, and the Oregon Climate Action Plan in 2020 – the new rules will make all new Oregon homes 27% more efficient than under the previous code. Heat pumps are the key A key provision in the new building code is a requirement ...

Trump’s Reckless Deregulation: What the Endangerment Finding Repeal Means for Oregon

On February 12, 2026, the Trump Administration irresponsibly and cynically sidelined federal climate protections. Standing alongside EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin at the Roosevelt Room podium, Trump formally repealed the endangerment finding – the scientific conclusion that greenhouse gases pose a threat to public health. The endangerment finding is the legal basis for the Clean Air Act, and for the U.S. government to regulate pollution that harms communities and accelerates climate change. Simply put, the move is one of the most reckless deregulatory acts in U.S. history, driven by the type of climate denialism that’s hard to fathom in 2026. ...

Oregon’s Transportation Crossroads: How to Protect What Works While Building for Tomorrow

The 2026 legislative session is underway, and transportation is front and center. Right now, legislators are making decisions that will shape how Oregonians get around for years to come – whether that’s driving on safe roads and bridges, riding transit to get to work or school, or walking and biking around neighborhoods.  OEC is a founder and steering committee member of Move Oregon Forward, a coalition fighting to protect the transportation programs that thousands of Oregonians rely on daily. Together, we pushed for policies that will bring greater accountability and transparency to the way our state manages transportation dollars. Here’s ...

Upgrade & Save and Community-Based Power — Explained

One of our biggest climate priorities this legislative session is making the biggest polluters pay for the damage they’ve caused in our state. While the climate impacts of everyday people pale in comparison to major oil and gas corporations, individual action still matters. Switching to clean energy at home saves you money on utility bills, reduces your carbon footprint, and even bolsters the electric grid (more on that below). The problem is, clean energy upgrades are still out of reach for many Oregonians. That has to change. Clean energy upgrades are crucial for both easing the pain of the affordability crisis affecting thousands across the ...

The Toll of Climate Change on Oregon’s Transportation Infrastructure

Oregon's transportation system is at a crossroads. While the state recently passed emergency funding to address an immediate budget shortfall, the larger challenge remains: climate change is fundamentally altering how we must think about transportation infrastructure. At the same time, a potential referendum threatens to suspend the very funding needed to maintain safe roads and bridges. As Oregon looks toward long-term solutions, the stakes have never been higher. Climate Change Is Rewriting the Rules for Infrastructure Across the country, extreme weather is damaging infrastructure at an alarming rate. According to a recent Bloomberg analysis, ...

New Staff Q&A: Jessie Kochaver

We’re thrilled to introduce our new Clean Grid Campaign Director, Jessie Kochaver! Jessie hails from Boise, ID, where she spent her childhood backpacking, skiing, and getting off the grid in the family van. After graduating from college in Salt Lake City, Utah, she packed up her car and moved to Oregon, spending time in Hood River and Bend before finally settling in Portland. Her passion for environmental advocacy led her to join OEC’s Emerging Leaders Board in 2022. At the same time, she was cutting her teeth in the legislature as a Climate Policy Analyst for Representative Mark Gamba’s office in Salem—working in coalition with leaders ...

Joining Oregon’s Climate Advocates in Washington DC

This month, I joined a Climate Action Campaign advocacy trip to DC—my first time participating in this critical work since the coalition began organizing these efforts 13 years ago. This "big green" coalition has real influence, having helped pass the Inflation Reduction Act, and brings together advocates from across the country to push for federal climate action. Together, our mission was clear: Fully fund federal agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in upcoming budget appropriations Push back against the Trump ...

You Can’t Put a Price on Saving Lives

Oregon state lawmakers are entering the final weeks of the legislative session. As our elected officials make tough decisions about what bills will pass or die this session, one thing is clear: there’s not enough money to go around. Against this budget-constrained backdrop, already this month Oregon has already faced a heatwave, wildfires, and a smog warning. People across our state need home cooling, clean air, and energy security. These aren’t luxuries. They’re life-saving essentials in the face of extreme climate events. Only four years ago, a heat dome claimed the lives of hundreds of Oregonians, many of them elders, living alone ...

The Clean Grid Explained: Key Terms for Understanding How Electricity Moves in Oregon

Clean energy is the backbone for reaching our climate goals and helping to cut climate pollution in buildings, transportation, and industry. In the upcoming 2025 legislative session, OEC will collaborate with partners to keep moving forward on our clean energy goals. As climate-fueled disasters like wildfires, scorching heat, and drought in our own backyard become increasingly hard to ignore, it’s more important than ever that we accelerate our progress. Enter: The electricity grid. You’ve probably heard the term – though you’re not alone if you don’t know what it really means. Broadly speaking, the grid is the entire ...

Oregon’s Climate Protection Program is Restored!

Oregon just scored a major environmental victory! In a unanimous vote, the Environmental Quality Commission (ECQ) adopted the newly revised Climate Protection Program, reinstating the landmark policy at a time when climate action is critical. This marks the most significant climate action taken in the wake of the federal election.  Now, Oregon’s most influential climate policy is back on the books thanks to the thoughtful work of Governor Kotek's office and the Department of Environmental Quality staff. It couldn’t have been done without collective dedication and grit. Thousands of Oregonians, including OEC members and action takers, stood up ...