Issues
It is Critical to Restore the Climate Protection Program
No matter who we are or where we come from, all of us deserve to live in healthy and safe communities. Through the Climate Protection Program (CPP), we reduce our overall impact on the environment and provide real, lasting investments for Oregon communities most affected by climate change.
The CPP holds oil and gas companies accountable by setting clear goals to cut their pollution – 35% less by 2035, and 90% by 2050. This program will also create jobs and support the health and wellbeing of BIPOC, low-income, rural, and other communities who have for too long borne the brunt of climate impacts such as extreme heat and droughts or destructive winter storms.
In addition to cutting pollution, the CPP includes Community Climate Investments (CCI), which can provide hundreds of millions of dollars to address the challenges of climate change head on. These investments – which could go to projects such as home solar panels, energy efficiency upgrades, electric vehicles, or heat and air conditioning – will create amazing change that supports Oregon’s communities into the future.
We are addressing climate change with lasting effects for frontline communities.
We have all felt the effects of climate change – from heat domes, droughts, wildfires, and increasingly punishing winter storms. Extreme weather is 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 addresses the challenge of climate change by reducing our overall impact on the environment and providing real, lasting investments for frontline communities most affected by climate change.
These investments – which could go to solar panels for homes, energy efficiency upgrades for homes, and vehicle electrification – will create transformative change, by improving lives and fostering resilience in the face of environmental challenges.
These investments will help lower health care costs, prevent job loss, and sustain Oregon’s natural resource economy, all while lowering climate pollution to keep our air clean and our communities healthy.
Community Climate Investments can create transformative change to improve lives.
Through the historic Community Climate Investment (CCI) program, the CPP will enable upwards of $150 million annually in investments in clean energy projects that benefit communities statewide, with a focus on those most burdened by climate change.
These investments will support a community-centered, clean energy future. Community-led solutions will make our air cleaner, our homes safer, and lead to a more sustainable future for generations to come.
Some examples of projects that could be funded include:
- Renewable energy, including solar panels on rural homes and small businesses statewide.
- Building energy efficiency through installation of new equipment such as heating and cooling systems or appliances, and increasing weatherization for homes, community spaces and commercial buildings.
- More electric vehicles including public transportation fleets, replacing gas-reliant transportation.
Communities who face the steepest barriers will lead the way for investments – meaning we will see the best solutions specifically tailored to unique community needs. From building resilient energy infrastructure to protecting human health and safety, CCI’s can deliver meaningful impacts across Oregon.
Through Community Climate Investments, the Climate Protection Plan ensures that frontline impacted communities are centered in our climate-friendly future.
We won’t let fossil fuel companies decide the future of Oregon. Oregonians have long demanded that fossil fuel companies take responsibility for the devastating harm they cause—from wildfires and toxic smoke, to deadly heat waves and droughts. Together, we can make sure fossil fuel corporations pay for the damage they’ve caused to our environment. The Climate Protection Program sets clear, enforceable targets to deliver meaningful reductions in climate pollution.
The CPP had required oil and gas companies in Oregon to cut their carbon pollution by 35% by 2035 and 90% by 2050 when it was first adopted. Because the lawsuit from oil and gas companies stalled this important program for so long, these requirements might change to make up for lost time.
Additionally, fuel suppliers regulated by the CPP could also choose to add funds to the Community Climate Investment Fund for a limited number of climate credits that offset their pollution. The fund would be reinvested in community-led projects that reduce climate pollution for those that have historically borne the brunt of dis-investment and extreme weather events. You can see examples of these solutions in the Community Investments section.
If we don’t restore the CPP, our communities will lose access to ~$150M annually to complete these projects.
Make no mistake, fossil fuel companies will always push back on programs like the CPP and try to avoid responsibility. In 2021, we saw the same litigation playbook used by oil and gas companies on the Clean Fuels Legislation. Both lawsuits were thrown out and the program is currently in place. We can do the same and restore the CPP!
The Climate Protection Plan is a cornerstone of meeting Oregon’s climate goals, reducing our reliance on fossil fuels, and investing in communities most impacted by climate change including those in rural areas, Black, Indigenous, and people of color, elders and children, those with disabilities, and those with lower incomes.
Oregon can lead with an “all-of-society approach” to respond to the climate crisis. According to recent modeling led by the Oregon Department of Energy, with strong use, the Climate Protection Program will help to achieve up to 45% of the state’s climate pollution reduction goals by 2035. Without the CPP, Oregon simply does not have an adequate or workable plan to achieve the state’s climate goals.
Through the historic Community Climate Investment (CCI) program, the CPP will enable upwards of $150 million annually in investments in clean energy projects that benefit communities statewide, with a focus on those most burdened by climate change.
Better air quality will provide immediate and long-term public health benefits, building on Oregon’s commitment to eliminate health inequities by addressing complex public health problems. The CPP and other recent climate policies are estimated to save Oregonians $49 billion in avoided healthcare costs through 2050.
We are working together to ensure that as the CPP is restored, the DEQ and public decision makers will:
- Establish a Rulemaking Advisory Committee that reflects the demographic and geographic diversity of this state, and ensures strong public interest representation
- Use the previously agreed to CPP rules as a starting point for any new program, and maintains or strengthens the science-based emissions goals and an effective, independent Community Climate Investment program that is responsive to community needs; and
- Adopt the quickest schedule to restore the program following all legal requirements and readopting the rules this year.
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