We have all felt the effects of climate change – from heat domes, droughts, wildfires, and increasingly punishing winter storms. These extremes are harming our health and lives. Climate-related weather events are hard to live with in the best of circumstances. For those who labor outdoors, our children, seniors, and those with low incomes – the impacts of these events can be deadly.

The CPP will help cut pollution and provide resources to those most impacted by climate-related disasters. This program can represent a historic win for Oregon communities, especially Black, Indigenous, people of color, those with low-income or disabilities, seniors and children, and our rural communities who have for too long borne the brunt of climate impacts.

The Coalition for Climate and Economic Justice operates with a shared vision:

“No matter who we are or where we come from, all of us deserve to live in communities that are healthy and safe — from the air we breathe, to the water we drink and the foods we eat. Together, we are calling for historic climate investments that will make a difference for generations to come. “

Some of the companies being regulated by the program sued to overturn it, challenging the State’s ability to curb their climate pollution. The program was halted for now, but the state can indeed enforce an effective climate program that holds polluters accountable.

We are now working to restore the CPP to at least maintain, if not strengthen the rules established to cut our climate pollution and invest in Oregon’s most impacted communities.

If our expectations are met, Oregon’s Climate Protection Program (CPP) will require Oregon’s fossil fuel companies to cut their pollution by 90% by 2050 and will build a Community Climate Investment (CCI) Program. The CCI program can directly provide hundreds of millions of dollars a year for communities who have borne the brunt of climate change impacts for decades. This can include home updates for more efficient appliances, heat and air conditioning, or insulation and other weatherization projects, among other things.