Oregon has always been a place where people look out for one another. We care about clean air, resilient communities, and a future where our kids can thrive. That’s exactly why we fought so hard for Oregon’s Climate Protection Program, a historic policy that puts the health and safety of our communities and local economies first.

Today, this essential program is under attack. And once again, we’re fighting to defend it. 

Oregon must lead where the federal government is falling behind. As the Trump administration moves to roll back climate and public health protections, we must defend the safeguards that protect communities, reduce pollution, and hold major polluters accountable. Now is not the time to weaken the climate laws that position Oregon as a national leader, or give oil and gas companies a free pass to keep polluting. 

That’s exactly why it’s worth remembering what the Climate Protection Program actually does and why Oregonians fought so hard for it in the first place. 

The Climate Protection Program and why it matters

The Climate Protection Program was created to take meaningful action to reduce the climate pollution harming Oregon’s families, communities, and economy. For decades, major polluters like oil and gas companies have released large amounts of harmful pollution into the air we breathe. That pollution fuels climate change, driving more severe wildfires and smoke, increasing dangerous heat, and contributing to asthma, heart disease and other serious health problems.

Oregonians are already experiencing these impacts firsthand. Summers are hotter, wildfire seasons are longer, and communities across the state face growing risks from smoke, drought, and extreme weather. The costs are measured not only in dollars, but in missed school days, health impacts, lost work, and diminished quality of life.

The Climate Protection Program addresses these challenges by setting clear limits on pollution from the state’s largest fossil fuel emitters and requiring them to reduce their emissions over time. It also supports investments in clean energy projects across Oregon, prioritizing communities that face the greatest health and economic burdens of pollution and climate change.

Through strong implementation, the Climate Protection Program will:

• Put Oregon on a path to achieve our statewide climate goals, reducing emissions from oil and gas companies and large industrial facilities 90% by 2050
• Create thousands of local clean energy jobs across Oregon
• Invest millions of dollars annually in community clean energy projects, including rooftop solar, home energy efficiency retrofits, and electric vehicle infrastructure, prioritizing investments in Oregon communities hit hardest by climate impacts
• Strengthen Oregon’s economy and keep local businesses competitive by driving innovation, private investment, and clean energy deployment.
• Protect families and businesses from volatile fossil fuel prices by supporting access to affordable, locally generated energy.
• Improve public health and lower the long-term cost of climate-fueled disasters by making households and communities more resilient to heat, smoke, and drought.

At its core, the Climate Protection Program is about protecting the Oregon we love and building a healthier future for today and future generations. Oregon’s children should be able to play outside without worrying about wildfire smoke, walk to school breathing clean air, and learn in classrooms that are safe and comfortable. The Climate Protection Program is about giving communities across Oregon the tools and resources they need to thrive.

How The Climate Protection Program fights environmental injustice in Oregon

For decades, frontline communities have borne the brunt of climate pollution and fossil fuel-driven disasters. Black, Indigenous, and people of color, low income families, people with disabilities, seniors, and rural and coastal residents have faced hotter summers, dirtier air, higher utility bills, and more frequent climate emergencies.

The Climate Protection Program is designed to begin addressing these inequities by:

• Directing fossil fuel dollars back into impacted communities
• Setting aside 15% of program funds for Oregon’s federally recognized Tribes
• Investing in safer homes and cleaner air
• Supporting local economies with stable, family-wage jobs

A central component of this effort is the Community Climate Investment (CCI) program, which will enable millions of dollars annually in clean energy and community resilience projects across Oregon, with a focus on communities most burdened by climate change.

These investments will support community-led solutions that lower energy bills, improve health and safety, and create quality local jobs. Projects such as rooftop solar, home energy efficiency upgrades, and electric vehicle infrastructure will deliver both near-term benefits and long-term resilience for communities across the state.

Taken together, these investments represent a significant step toward ensuring that the benefits of climate action reach the communities that have been most harmed by pollution and climate change, while holding major fossil fuel polluters accountable for reducing emissions and contributing to solutions.

Oregon's Climate Protection Program faces legal challenges, again

Oil and gas companies have deep pockets, and they’ve repeatedly used them to challenge climate progress. In 2022, they sued Oregon to overturn the Climate Protection Program. The Oregon Court of Appeals ultimately invalidated the CPP on procedural grounds, not the state’s authority to regulate climate pollution. In response, the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and Governor Kotek initiated a new rulemaking process to restore the CPP in 2024.

In April 2026–over a year into the restored Climate Protection Program–oil and gas companies and other industry groups filed another lawsuit attempting to overturn it. Their strategy is clear: delay implementation, create uncertainty, and avoid accountability for as long as possible.

These companies have known for decades that the products they sell pollute our air and water, harm public health, and drive up costs for households– impacts that disproportionately harm frontline communities. Yet fossil fuel companies continue to fight efforts to hold them accountable while reporting record profits.

Oregon has consistently demonstrated its commitment to defending public health and community protections and will continue to do so.

We’re continuing to fight for climate action in Oregon

The latest lawsuit is yet another cynical attempt to weaken climate and community protections in service of corporate profit. While the litigation plays out, implementation of the Climate Protection Program moves full steam ahead. DEQ just launched a new rulemaking to establish emissions requirements for large industrial facilities under the program and is moving forward with establishing the Community Climate Investment fund. 

Climate Solutions and our broad coalition of environmental justice, labor, business, and clean energy partners from across the state will continue organizing, educating, and mobilizing to protect the Climate Protection Program and advance its benefits.

The Climate Protection Program is a commitment to our families, our communities, and the kind of Oregon we want to build together. Fossil fuel companies should not decide Oregon’s future. We’re staying in this fight, and we’re glad you’re with us. Together, we can build a cleaner, healthier, and more affordable Oregon for all.