SALEM, OR — Today, a coalition of environmental justice, climate, and business organizations moved to intervene at the Oregon Court of Appeals to defend Oregon’s Climate Protection Program (CPP) against oil and gas industry challengers. The intervenors–Beyond Toxics, Climate Solutions, Oregon Business for Climate, Oregon Environmental Council, Rogue Climate, and Verde–are represented by Crag Law Center.
The intervening groups will argue that the state has clear legal authority to enforce the CPP. After a previous lawsuit invalidated the rule based on a procedural technicality, the program was reissued by the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) with strict legal oversight. The fossil fuel companies’ and allies’ arguments that the program is illegal remain meritless today.
“Corporations shouldn’t be allowed to write their own rules about pollution,” said Nora Apter, Oregon Director of Climate Solutions. “For decades, these companies have known about the harm they cause, and now they’re turning to the courts to avoid responsibility and pass the costs of their pollution onto Oregon families. Oregon has both the authority and the obligation to protect communities from climate pollution, and that’s exactly what the Climate Protection Program does.”
DEQ followed the letter of the law when designing the CPP, informed by recommendations from the business community, environmental advocates, and supported by thousands of Oregonians before the program was reinstated. By setting clear limits on climate pollution from the state’s largest fossil fuel emitters and investing in our local clean energy economy, the program will improve public health and shield Oregon families and businesses from volatile fossil fuel prices.
“The Climate Protection Program creates local, good-paying clean energy jobs,” said Tim Miller, Director of Oregon Business for Climate. “The program strengthens Oregon’s economy by driving investment in cleaner, cheaper energy and transportation options for everyday Oregonians. These are stable, family‑wage jobs across construction, manufacturing, and clean technology that strengthen Oregon’s workforce and help grow the economy.”
The CPP is legally sound and urgently needed. A third of all Oregon counties are already under state-declared drought emergencies, and the summer months are forecasted to bring severe wildfire risk and extreme heat across the state. The CPP is essential to achieving Oregon’s climate goals and reducing fossil fuel emissions driving the climate crisis. The oil and gas industry lawsuit threatens to delay this progress at a time when the risks to Oregon communities are rapidly increasing.
“Oregon is facing another high-risk wildfire season, and large corporate polluters warm our climate, dry out forests, and make wildfires more intense and destructive,” said Ben Brint, Senior Climate Program Director at Oregon Environmental Council. “The Climate Protection Program makes sure those companies cut the very pollution driving these disasters.”
For decades, frontline communities–including BIPOC, the elderly, agricultural workers, and those struggling to keep up with rising costs–have borne the brunt of climate pollution, the toxic co-pollutants that come with it, and fossil fuel-driven disasters. The CPP was created specifically with these communities in mind and was designed to reduce harm to those already bearing the brunt of climate change.
“Every Oregon family deserves clean air, lower energy costs, and protection from extreme heat, wildfire smoke, and winter storms,” said Brooke Nuckles, Executive Director of Rogue Climate. “The Climate Protection Program invests in community-led solutions that prioritize those most harmed by the climate crisis, including Black, Indigenous, people of color, low-income, and rural communities. Projects like rooftop solar and home energy efficiency upgrades have already delivered real health, economic, and job benefits across Oregon, and will continue to do so. But this lawsuit threatens to delay these protections and keep injustice in place.”
We also know that the CPP will save Oregonians money down the line, despite the plaintiff’s false claims otherwise. Through Community Climate Investments (CCIs), the CPP encourages development of new clean energy projects. These investments are an economic boon for the state, and will reflect lower energy costs as more and more of our energy switches to renewable sources. With the price of fossil fuels continuing to skyrocket, this transition is needed more than ever.
“When companies pollute without limits, Oregonians pay the price through higher rates of asthma, heart disease, and other preventable illnesses,” said Jennifer Davis, Executive Director of Beyond Toxics. The Climate Protection Program changes that by holding major polluters accountable instead of shifting those costs onto families. Cleaner air means fewer asthma attacks, lower health care costs, and healthier communities.”
With federal climate rollbacks mounting, the CPP is a necessary, legally sound program for our state to meet emissions reduction goals and protect Oregon communities already feeling the impacts of climate change.
“With energy costs rising, the Climate Protection Program is critical,” said Cheyenne Holliday, Director of Policy & Advocacy at Verde. “Oregonians should not be stuck paying the price while polluters fight to protect their rising profits. This lawsuit is just another delay tactic that keeps families locked into higher costs. The Climate Protection Program moves us toward cleaner, more affordable energy and helps break the cycle of the rising cost of living in our state.”
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