We’re officially halfway through the 2023 legislative session here in Oregon, and there is A LOT to report about where we’re at on climate action.
The short version: Our top climate priorities for 2023 are still actively moving through the process and gaining momentum! Some other important legislative efforts have stalled and had some disappointing setbacks. Nothing is across the finish line yet, and the legislature is currently making hard choices due to a tight state budget, so we can’t stop pressing forward to ensure our elected leaders actually deliver on climate progress this year.
This year, Climate Solutions and many of our partner organizations have had a laser focus on ensuring the state legislature does two big things:
We are now past the first major legislative deadline of this year’s long session when policy bills were required to pass out of their first committee to still be considered “live” and move through the rest of the legislative process this session.
Great news so far on our top climate priority this session! I am happy to report that all Oregonians are closer to having access to safe and affordable homes and buildings that run on clean energy. The Senate Energy and Environment Committee voted to advance the Resilient, Efficient Buildings package of bills. It’s the first step to these bills becoming laws this year. These bills would supercharge the state’s efforts to ensure households and businesses can afford to upgrade to an electric heat pump. In addition, these bills help Oregonians weatherize and retrofit their home or business to make it more energy efficient and resilient. These policies are designed to leverage the massive amount of federal dollars available to Oregon to do this work now.
Together we have built incredible momentum, but we can’t stop now until the bills are through the legislative process and are signed into law. The next stop for the Building Resilience bills on their way through the process is the legislative budget committee (called the Joint Ways and Means Committee).
. Read our Resilient Building Coalition factsheet!
Congress recently passed historic legislation that will send billions of dollars into climate resilience, clean energy, and infrastructure to the states. Oregon is eligible for hundreds of millions of federal dollars for electrification, energy efficiency, and grid resilience but has received just a small amount so far. Fully leveraging federal funds requires us to expend a modest amount of state funds now. By doing so, we could see an exponential return on that investment, bringing benefits like more clean energy and resilient communities, grid and transmission improvements, zero-emission transportation, and job-creating clean energy projects. The Legislature needs to act in 2023 to position Oregon to maximize this once-in-a-generation funding infusion's economic and climate potential.
Unfortunately this year, the multi-million dollar question is whether the Legislature will actually fund the climate progress we desperately need at all. With the Governor and Joint Ways & Means co-chairs proposing across-the-board budget cuts, there’s a risk of slowing implementation of cornerstone climate programs, preventing new climate protections from being adopted, and hurting the State’s ability to leverage unprecedented federal investments in climate and communities. Legislators are currently deciding whether to invest in climate and communities or pour even more revenue into our already strong and healthy rainy day fund. We know that a modest investment today will help families have safer and cleaner homes, help communities reduce climate pollution, and create local clean energy jobs that can't be exported and will help our state weather any coming recession. Please see information below about how to urge the Ways & Means leadership to prioritize a strategic climate budget!
As Oregon accelerates the transition to a carbon-free grid, we need to make sure the state’s clean energy policy is consistent and inclusive of some of the state’s largest energy users. We also want to ensure how we transition to 100% clean energy results in economic benefits for communities across Oregon and increases resilience in the face of growing climate impacts. As the state transitions toward a cleaner and more equitable transportation system, leveraging federal funding to reduce the upfront cost of replacing diesel trucks, delivery vans, and buses with zero-emission vehicles is critical. These goals are reflected in the following bills:
There are other promising opportunities for climate progress moving forward this session as well. Those bills include SB 522 to finally update our outdated state greenhouse gas targets, SB 530 to maximize carbon sequestration and climate resiliency on our forests, agricultural lands, and wetlands, HB 2990 to fund community resilience hubs across the state, and HB 2613 to restore funding for the state’s popular EV rebate program. (This is not an exhaustive list!)
Last updated 4/25/2023
Read on for the latest updates on Climate Solutions' work in Oregon:
by Juan M. Muñoz Jiménez on June 2, 2023
In this week's ClimateCast: Debt ceiling raised with climate consequences, Oregon legislation crippled due to GOP walkouts, insurers batten down the…
by Greer Ryan on May 31, 2023
NW Natural doesn't have a realistic plan to meet Oregon's climate goals. Tell the Commission to send them back to the drawing board.
by Meredith Connolly on May 26, 2023
By denying quorum for the state Senate to do business, Oregon's Senate Republicans have ground all progress in the Oregon legislature — and even the…
by Stephanie Noren on May 19, 2023
Induced paralysis in the Oregon State Legislature: here we go again. Plus record-setting heat across the PNW, breaching 1.5C of global temperature…
by Meredith Connolly on May 12, 2023
We think you’ll agree: Every single Oregonian deserves to be protected from the climate crisis.
by Meredith Connolly on May 10, 2023
Did you know the Oregon Legislature hasn’t updated our state climate goals in over 15 years?
by Climate Solutions on May 5, 2023
In Support of Public Utility Commission Staff’s Analysis, Climate Advocates Call on Commissioners to Require the
by Jonathan Lee on April 21, 2023
Nature is a part of our collective home every bit as much as any four walls and a roof, all of which needs recognition and protection.
by Meredith Connolly on April 17, 2023
With your help, we can make sure Oregon lawmakers understand these and other important benefits of the Resilient, Efficient Buildings policy package.
by Greer Ryan on April 5, 2023
Oregon's Senate Energy and Environment Committee voted to advance the Resilient, Efficient Buildings package. But there’s more work ahead.
by Greer Ryan on March 8, 2023
Oregonians deserve healthy, affordable, resilient buildings that run on clean energy.
by Jonathan Lee on January 12, 2023
Homes, offices, and other buildings are a major source of climate and air pollution. Thankfully, the best solutions will save you money on energy…
by Victoria Paykar on December 20, 2022
Oregon’s Environmental Quality Commission voted to pass the Advanced Clean Cars II Rule that will help us in our transition to 100% zero-emission…
by Jonathan Lee on December 19, 2022
By 2035, every new car sold in the states of Washington, Oregon, and California will be powered by 100% clean energy.
by Victoria Paykar on December 13, 2022
Did you hear the news? Last week, the City of Portland became the first city in the U.S. to phase out the sale of petroleum diesel by 2030.
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We think you’ll agree: Every single Oregonian deserves to be protected from the climate crisis.
Did you know the Oregon Legislature hasn’t updated our state climate goals in over 15 years?
In Support of Public Utility Commission Staff’s Analysis, Climate Advocates Call on Commissioners to Require the Major Gas Utility to Develop a