It's cool to rally around climate change these days, but taking real actions to cut greenhouse gases is not nearly as easy. It's true even in Oregon -- where the governor pushed to adopt stricter tailpipe-emission standards, multiple groups have outlined specific ways to cut Oregon's global warming contributions, and individuals are doing their part by driving less and making their homes more energy efficient. Concern about the environment has been a hallmark of this legislative session, yet two bills that would have set a clear path for reducing Oregon's global warming emissions went no further than one committee hearing.
In comparison to neighboring Washington and California, Oregon looks like it took the easy route: focusing on the trendy energy-efficiency movement and renewable-energy mantra rather than stringent standards to cut emissions from sources. In a session packed with environmental legislation -- expanding the bottle bill, implementing an electronics waste recycling program and encouraging renewable energy -- something as broad as climate change needed to wait, legislators and environment advocates said. "We need to do more work .
.. reaching out to both members of the Legislature, as well as industry and agriculture and forestry, to get everyone on the same page in terms of how to be part of the solution," said Rep.
"In general, industry understands that it can be and needs to be part of the answer. We can work hard in 2009 with real consensus around cap-and-trade and performance plant standards." The cap-and-trade bill would have established an emissions cap for all significant carbon emitters and allowed emitters to trade "credits" for carbon reductions.
The other: A power plant performance standard would have forbid utilities from investing long term in a new power plant that pollutes more than a combined-cycle natural gas plant, which currently is the cleanest fossil fuel plant. That's not to say that climate change was ignored in Oregon's legislative session. Cannon is a sponsor of the climate change integration act, House Bill 3543, which would set targets for reducing greenhouse gases to 10 percent below 1990 levels by 2020 and 75 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.
It also would create a global warming commission and a research institute. "I am concerned that we need to do more than set targets," Cannon said. "But (House Bill 3543) creates a framework for developing political will.
" Other bills that would reduce future greenhouse gas emissions are moving through the Legislature -- under less controversial titles, such as renewable energy and energy efficiency. "The cap-and-trade and emissions performance standard legislation both involved very complex issues, and it's clear there is a lot more discussion and education that needs to happen of what the issues are and how these two pieces are an essential part of the solution," said Jane Lubchenco, co-chairwoman of the Governor's Advisory Group on Global Warming. "The bills that have passed or are moving are less complex and easier to see some immediate benefit.
" The centerpiece of those bills -- and a priority of Gov. Ted Kulongoski -- is a renewable energy standard that requires most utilities to purchase 25 percent renewable energy by 2025. The idea is to meet future energy needs with wind, solar, wave and geothermal energy rather than greenhouse gas-emitting facilities such as coal-fired electricity plants.
Oregon's standard will cut 5.8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2025, an amount equivalent to that emitted annually by about 950,000 cars, according to the nonprofit Environment Oregon. Other renewable-energy and energy-efficiency measures, which have an effect on greenhouse gas emissions: House Bill 2876 requires the state by 2015 to reduce energy use in all structures used by the state by 20 percent from 2000 levels.
It means an annual reduction of 83.5 million kilowatts of electricity, 3.5 million therms of natural gas and 110 gallons of fuel oil.
Senate Bill 576 requires state agencies and other large public entities to construct or renovate buildings to be 20 percent more energy efficient than state building code. Senate Bill 375 establishes minimum energy-efficiency standards for commercial appliances such as walk-in freezers, exit signs and clothes washers, and residential products such as DVD players, audio products and electric spas. The bill would reduce total carbon emissions by about 70 tons.
By 2020, the more energy-efficient appliances save enough electricity to power 20,000 Oregon households and enough natural gas to power 28,000 households. By 2030 those figures rise to 27,000 and 59,000, respectively. House Bills 2210, 2211 and 2212 expand the business and residential tax credits for renewable energy.
"These bills move the (climate change) agenda forward and we are going to have significant measurable reductions," said Gail Achterman, who was a member of one of the governor's task forces on global warming. The package of energy efficiency and renewable energy bills slows the state's drastic increase in global warming emissions projected through 2025. In 2003, Oregonians emitted 11 metric tons of carbon dioxide per person.
The worldwide average is about 4 metric tons per person. "It is pretty clear that climate change is altering the Pacific Northwest as well as the rest of world," said Lubchenco, a distinguished professor of zoology at Oregon State University. "We are seeing changes in temperature, snowpack, timing of precipitation and sea-level rise.
Those are well-documented, and there is every reason to believe these changes and others are likely to continue." Proponents of the legislation say it will make a difference, even though Oregon is a small state. "The problems are real but we can address them," Lubchenco said.
"There are very real tangible things that can be done to make a difference. The governor and Legislature are moving systematically in the direction of addressing the issues." In comparison to Washington and California, however, Oregon is falling behind -- even if all energy efficiency, renewable energy and global warming legislation passes.
Washington's bill puts into law a timeline for reducing global warming pollution from transportation, industry and power production. The bill severely restricts the carbon emissions from power plants built or used to meet Washington's customers needs; reduces climate pollution to half of 1990 levels by 2050, and triples the amount of clean-energy jobs in the state to 25,000 by 2020. California already has set a timeline and a cap for greenhouse gas emissions, but it still is working on a mechanism for those reductions.
Its renewable energy standard is more aggressive than Oregon's -- with a goal of having 20 percent renewable energy by 2020. In addition, California has very aggressive efficiency standards for buildings and appliances, a solar initiative to encourage at least 3,000 megawatts of solar power on rooftops by 2017, and a fuel standard that requires low carbon. "We don't have the same set of happy circumstances (as California and Washington)," said Sallie Schullinger-Krause, the global warming program director for the Oregon Environmental Council.
"We went into this session prepared to work hard on a (renewable energy standard) and a biofuels package, but we simply didn't have the legislative support to see the global warming bills through with the exception of the climate change integration act, which puts a body in place to help us steer a course but it doesn't have any teeth to help us meet the goals. And that's the biggest weakness of our legislation." In reality, the biggest impact Oregon's actions may make is in forcing a national policy, which has been elusive under the Bush administration.
"There are 3.5 million people in Oregon ..
. It is a relatively smallish state, so whatever is done here is mostly symbolic," said political analyst Bill Lunch. "Oregon is not totally trivial, but for any serious efforts to address global warming to be successful or even have a chance of success, they have to be national in scope or international.
" bcasper@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 589-6994 It's cool to rally around climate change these days, but taking real actions to cut greenhouse gases is not nearly as easy.
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