NEWS
BY LUCY OHLSEN
LEGALIZE CARBON REDUCTION
A bill to cap and cut Oregon’s carbon emissions
O
regon has long had the goal of reducing carbon
emissions, and in 2011, an Oregon Administrative
Rule declared that by 2020, we should emit 10
percent less than we did in 1990. That milestone
is right around the corner, and state legislators and
climate activists are legitimately concerned that we are not
going to make it.
Tom Bowerman is a climate activist and program di-
rector for Eugene-based research center PolicyInteractive,
and he has authored a bill called the “Climate Stability and
Justice Act of Oregon” that would give teeth to the already
stated emissions goals by creating legally binding, regula-
tory mechanisms.
The bill would authorize state agencies — the Depart-
ment of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the Environ-
mental Quality Commission (EQC) — to monitor and reg-
ulate greenhouse gas emissions. They would set targeted
emissions limitations, in stages, for the next 35 years. They
could also set up a system for greenhouse gas “exchanges”
or “credits.”
Bowerman’s bill has not officially been filed in the Leg-
islature yet, but Rep. Phil Barnhart will sponsor it. Barnhart
has already introduced and co-sponsored several other bills
to fight climate change. Barnhart says his goal, broadly,
is to begin the process of transforming the state economy
from one based on fossil fuels to one based on renewable
energy systems. At this point, the two solutions he thinks
might have traction in the upcoming legislative session are
a cap and trade bill, like Bowerman’s, or a carbon tax.
According to Bowerman, who is also known by many
as the son of track coach Bill Bowerman
and grandson of former Oregon
governor Jay Bowerman, he wrote his bill the way he did
because of his research with PolicyInteractive and the Or-
egon Values and Beliefs Survey it conducted. “The public
isn’t favorable to taxing carbon,” he says. But, it does favor
putting a cap on carbon emissions, and then reducing that
cap over time.
Bowerman argues that we need to align our social be-
havior with our understanding of the world we live in. He
says the physical science is saying, “Boy, we better get our
act together,” and the social science is a good 20 years be-
hind.
In 2006, California passed a bill very similar to what
Bowerman and Barnhart hope to accomplish. Assembly
Bill 32 requires that the state reduce its emission levels
to, at least, 1990 emission levels in 2020, and at most,
the maximum technologically feasible level. California’s
legislation is largely lauded as successful, so much so that
Bowerman proudly says that he modeled his bill after Or-
egon’s southern neighbor. He says Oregon should “hitch
our wagon to their economic model.”
Barnhart also has his sights set on joining California’s
ride away from fossil fuels, and copying what’s working
for them. “Instead of having to invent a new wheel, why
not just use one that’s already working?” he asks.
California’s original bill did not say much about how
the reduction would happen, or even who exactly would
implement the regulations. That seemingly vague aspect
is actually important and helpful, according to Bowerman.
He says Oregon’s system works best if bills give leeway
to administrative boards, so they can take the time to work
out how to implement new laws. He’s designated the DEQ
and the EQC to be the
state agencies in charge of regulating and recording carbon
emissions, but that could change. In California, the state set
up a whole new agency to ensure compliance with the new
law.
With Democratic majorities in both the House and the
Senate, Barnhart is confident that something is going to hap-
pen this session on climate change. He’s not on the Energy
and Environment Committee, where most environmental
bills are initially referred, but he has faith in his colleagues
that are on it.
“I’m very optimistic about Oregon’s future with a clean
energy system,” Barnhart says. He thinks a few Republicans
will stand with Democrats to initiate a transition to a renew-
able energy economy. He hesitates to say which bills have the
best future, because “you don’t know until you actually get
into the nitty gritty of it.”
Sen. Doug Whitsett, a Republican from Klamath Falls, has
already made it clear he intends to oppose any “draconian”
greenhouse gas reduction legislation. In a recent press release,
he argues that global “warming” ceased in 1999. He says the
“scientific and political elite” use the fact that weather chang-
es somewhere on the planet every day to further fabricate
their doomsday scenarios that necessitate a reduction in using
fossil fuels. Whitsett says he is concerned that regulating car-
bon emissions will hurt those already struggling to pay their
energy bills (California’s bill addressed this issue by estab-
lishing a “climate credits” fund). Finally, Whitsett says that
since in Oregon, we represent .0000057 percent of the global
population, whatever we do won’t help in the global picture.
Bowerman says Whitsett’s concerns indicate that he has
his head in the sand. Barnhart, maintaining his optimism, says
that to pass a bill they “don’t have to convince everybody.” ■
‘I’m very optimistic about
Oregon’s future with a
clean energy system. ’
— R E P. P H I L B A R N H A R T
IL LUS T R ATION: T R A SK BEDOR T H A
eugeneweekly.com • January 29, 2015
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