The Portland chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby supports Oregon’s efforts to reduce statewide greenhouse gas emissions by creating a market-based trading system linked to the Western Climate Initiative. We are confident that HB2020 would establish Oregon as a national leader in the fight against climate change, by encouraging innovation towards a renewable energy economy and building resiliency against impacts to our environment and natural resources. We feel that the bill takes an important step towards meeting the extreme urgency of the climate change problem, while also protecting low-income and other populations that have historically borne the brunt of the environmental harms from our too-long reliance on fossil fuels.
Enactment of HB2020 would also send a strong signal to the U.S. Congress about Oregon’s commitment to move decisively toward environmental sustainability, and would provide significant additional momentum for enactment of a comprehensive, complementary national fee and dividend carbon pricing program. As the legislative process unfolds in the upcoming weeks and months, we also support further strengthening of the bill, especially an even more aggressive emissions reductions timetable fully in keeping with the IPCC consensus for limiting global warming to 1.5°C.
We are very pleased to join with the many other Oregon businesses, organizations, and community leaders who are also committed to a just clean energy transition. This is an extraordinary opportunity for us to build a broad coalition that will ensure resiliency of the program and provide an exemplary model for climate leaders across the country.