Oregon reinstates climate policy to cut CO2 emissions
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An Oregon climate policy that set aggressive carbon dioxide reduction goals for oil and gas companies was reinstated Thursday after being put on hold for nearly a year by a court ruling.
Why it matters: The policy, called the Climate Protection Program, aims to bring the state's emissions close to net zero by 2050, an important benchmark that experts have said is crucial to keeping global warming beneath 1.5° Celsius.
- Warming past that point raises the risk of passing climate "tipping points," which would exacerbate things like drought, wildfires and sea level rise.
Flashback: Then-Gov. Kate Brown created the program through an executive order in 2020 after attempts to pass the law through the Legislature were derailed by a Republican walkout.
- Several gas utilities and other industry groups sued over the program, and late last year, a court invalidated the program over administrative errors in the rulemaking process.
- Since then, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has been working to redo that process and have the program reinstated.
How it works: The program sets a declining cap on greenhouse gas emissions — enforceable through fines and penalties — with goals of reducing emissions by 50% by 2035 and by 90% by 2050.
- The state distributes allowances, called "compliance instruments" — with each one allowing for one ton of carbon dioxide emissions and the total being equal to the tons allowed under that year's cap — that decline over time.
- The program also allows for businesses to purchase credits, which will offset some emissions and the proceeds from which will go toward communities facing the worst impacts of climate change.
The other side: From its inception, the program has faced strong criticism from oil and natural gas companies, who have argued the policy would increase costs to residents and could drive businesses to other states that have less restrictive regulations.
- David Roy, a spokesman for the state's largest natural gas utility, NW Natural, said the increased flexibility for some businesses was welcome.
- But "the overall negative cost impacts to Oregonians remain, as do our concerns about the accountability for this program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions," he said in an emailed statement.
What they're saying: Tim Miller, director of Oregon Business for Climate, sat on the committee that came up with the new rules and said some changes to the program would allow for flexibility for businesses with high emissions that face competition from other states with fewer regulations.
- Those businesses would have longer to comply with emissions limits and would face a different regulatory structure than under the previous rules.
- But he also said the year-long hiatus in the program has made action on emissions that much more imperative.
- "We have to now move all that much faster to get on track to this emissions schedule that we need to be on for Oregon to meet its goals," Miller told Axios.
What's next: The new rules were approved by the Environmental Quality Commission and are scheduled to go into effect early next year.