Cutting Global Warming Pollution in Oregon
OR SB 80
Oregon is at a crossroads when it comes to global warming. The 2009 legislature has the opportunity to put Oregon on a path toward making significant reductions in global warming pollution while at the same time providing energy security and creating good jobs for Oregon families. But powerful interests are encouraging legislators to take a “wait and see” approach on cutting carbon dioxide and other pollutants that contribute to global warming.
Senate Bill 80, the centerpiece of Governor Ted Kulongoski’s climate agenda, would establish a cap on Oregon’s global warming pollution. The bill received a public hearing in the Senate in early February and will be up for a hearing in the House on April 9.
Recently, Senators Vicki Walker and Jackie Dingfelder and Representatives Ben Cannon, Jules Bailey, and Tobias Read drafted a series of proposed amendments to Senate Bill 80, in an effort to forge a compromise on how Oregon will move forward in meeting the state’s goals for reducing global warming pollution, enacted into statute in 2007. Their proposal would establish a deliberative, public process for crafting a comprehensive approach that will meet Oregon’s reduction goals. In the interim, it would adopt a program to fund early carbon reduction measures and offset global warming pollution from electricity generation by investor-owned utilities and the transportation sector.
Threats to Oregon from Global Warming
If global warming is not curbed, Oregon’s unique and fragile ecosystems face serious threats. Warming temperatures will increasingly stress salmon and trout populations, prolong droughts that destroy farmers’ crops, and rapidly grow insect populations that attack forests. A recent study by the University of Oregon indicates that if nothing is done to reduce global warming pollution, each Oregon household, on average, could incur annual costs of $1,930 per year in 2020 to deal with the impact of global warming.
