FILED: 100% clean air ballot initiatives

Renew Oregon

Jonathan Lee

October 31, 2019

Here's a little goody for your trick-or-treat bag: We've reached the next milestone to ensure Oregon takes major climate action next year.

Earlier this week, our coalition of partners officially filed critical climate protection ballot measures with the Oregon Secretary of State's office, having collected twice as many signatures as needed to qualify.

Oregon is ready to transition off fossil fuels and build a 100% clean economy; a full 70% of Oregonians support bold climate action. These ballot measures will make that happen.

100% Clean Economy: We’ll cut our climate pollution from fossil fuels and industrial sources in half by 2035 and 100% by 2050.
100% Clean Electricity: All of Oregon’s electricity will come from carbon-free and renewable sources by 2045. Electric utilities will also help electrify our transportation and buildings, using the 100% clean grid.

With 100% clean electricity serving as the backbone to a clean economy and emissions limits consistent with what science demands, these ballot measures ensure Oregon takes strong climate action in 2020 and beyond. How we transition to a clean energy economy also matters. Both ballot measures ensure that our state is making an equitable and just transition for all Oregonians, prioritizing communities on the frontlines of climate pollution and creating high-quality jobs.

To be clear, passing the Clean Energy Jobs bill remains our top priority for the 2020 legislative session. But if bad actors logjam our democratic process again, we are ready to take these bold pieces of climate action to the voters in November 2020.

Ghoulish corporate polluters and Big Oil don't frighten us; we're in it to ensure a safer, cleaner Oregon for today’s and future trick-or-treaters.

Author Bio

Jonathan Lee

Storytelling and Digital Engagement Manager, Climate Solutions

Jonathan Toshio Lee (pronouns: he/him) is passionate about sharing people- and solutions-centric stories that educate and inspire positive change. He has over twelve years of experience developing communications strategies, creating multimedia content, advocating for sound public policy, and promoting equity, diversity, and social justice.

Born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, the importance of protecting the environment was instilled in him at a young age. Jonathan heeded the call to address the climate crisis as a teenager after watching Al Gore's documentary An Inconvenient Truth (2006), after which he sought to reduce his own climate pollution, wrote to his elected officials to support climate policy and pollution reduction, and began to volunteer in the conservation movement. Jonathan is a graduate of Willamette University with a degree in sociology and ethnic studies, which helped equip him to analyze the numerous intersections of climate, environmental justice, and public discourse.

Before joining the Climate Solutions team in 2019, Jonathan worked in the crime victims' services field and served as a board member and volunteer with OPAL Environmental Justice Oregon.