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THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2021
Climate: Program will initially regulate 16 fuel suppliers, three natural gas utilities
Continued from Page A1
Last year, Gov. Kate
Brown ordered the state
Department of Environmen-
tal Quality to develop a new
set of administrative rules that
would cap greenhouse gas
emissions from fossil fuels
and reduce them over time.
The resulting Climate Pro-
tection Program caps emis-
sions from gasoline, diesel,
propane, kerosene and natural
gas and makes the cap more
restrictive over time. The pro-
gram, set to launch in Janu-
ary, will distribute a declining
number of emission credits to
fuel suppliers and allow them
to buy and sell those cred-
its as the cap comes down.
It also creates a Community
Climate Investment Fund
that will allow companies to
pay for emission reductions
in communities that are most
impacted by climate change.
The program will initially
regulate 16 fuel suppliers and
three natural gas utilities, as
well as 13 industrial facilities
that would be regulated under
a diff erent system that cre-
ates individualized plans for
each facility to reduce emis-
sions using the best available
technology. The rules include
fi nancial penalties for compa-
nies that can’t meet the emis-
sion reduction targets.
Companies that will be
regulated under the program
have protested the higher tar-
gets, arguing that they will
result in even higher prices
for gasoline, diesel and nat-
ural gas that will have ripple
eff ects throughout the econ-
omy. They’ve also raised
concerns that there may not
be enough alternatives to fos-
sil fuels, such as biofuels and
electric vehicles, to meet the
program goals.
Fuel suppliers will likely
face higher costs over time
that would be passed along
to consumers. That will leave
Oregonians and businesses
in the state with two choices:
reduce their use of fossil fuels
or pay increasingly higher
prices for them.
Industry groups did their
Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
Renée Rowe, of Indivisible North Coast Oregon, fl ashes her sign to passing cars during the
Global Climate Strike in Astoria in 2019.
own analysis of the program
and found it would be more
costly for consumers than
what the Department of Envi-
ronmental Quality is project-
ing, based on its economic
analysis. The industry analy-
sis found the new regulations
could double the price of nat-
ural gas by 2050. It also would
increase the price of gaso-
line by 36 cents per gallon
and increase the price of die-
sel by 39 cents per gallon by
2035, according to the indus-
try analysis.
“There’s a massive diff er-
ence in the conclusions drawn
by the economic analysis
DEQ did and the one from
the business community,”
Commissioner Greg Adding-
ton said . He cast the commis-
sion’s only “no” vote.
While the state’s economic
analysis found the program
would result in about 20,000
added jobs, the industry anal-
ysis found it would result in
the loss of 120,000 jobs. The
industry analysis found agri-
culture, wood products, man-
ufacturing and food process-
ing would be most aff ected
by the higher fuel prices.
“Those are alarming things
for me,” Addington said. “I’m
trying to fi nd a way to work
through this. At the end of
the day I don’t know that I’m
going to get there on this. I do
think there are things we can
do to lessen the blow to rural
Oregonians.”
Addington made the case
for adding carbon sequestra-
tion to the options for com-
panies looking to off set their
emissions, so they might pay
to sequester carbon in forests,
for example. But other com-
missioners didn’t support his
motion to add that option to
the program.
“The reason we have so
much carbon in the atmo-
sphere is because we burn so
much fossil fuel,” Commis-
sioner Amy Schlusser said. “I
don’t think under this program
in particular it’s appropriate
to enable us to continue emit-
ting fossil fuels into the atmo-
sphere. … We would be delay-
ing reductions in fossil fuels.”
‘Aff ordable fuels’
Mike Freese, with the Ore-
gon Fuels Association said
the small, locally owned busi-
nesses he represents are wor-
ried that alternative transpor-
tation fuels won’t be available
to meet people’s needs as the
emissions cap becomes more
restrictive for fossil fuel users.
“In the end, the rule fails
to provide any assurances
that all Oregonians — regard-
less of their income level and
where they live — will con-
tinue to have access to aff ord-
able fuels,” he said.
Nicole Singh, the Depart-
ment of Environmental Qual-
ity’s climate policy adviser ,
responded to public com-
ments about higher fuel
prices. She said the agency
will be tracking prices in
Oregon and the neighboring
states of Washington, Idaho
and Nevada and looking for
signs that prices are going up
more than expected.
If prices in Oregon increase
by more than 20% of the fuel
prices in other states, she said,
state staff will do a review to
determine whether the pro-
gram needs to be changed.
“That’s on us at the agency
at DEQ to take a look at that
and fi nd out why we’re see-
ing those changes,” Singh
said. “Regardless of what’s
causing those changes, is that
something that means we
should make changes to the
program?”
Singh said the commission
also has the power to make
changes to the program as
needed.
The program was initially
set for a target of 80% emis-
sions reductions by 2050. But
the Department of Environ-
mental Quality increased that
target to 90% after receiving
thousands of public comments
urging higher targets and see-
ing new recommendations
from the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change. The
approved program also set a
higher interim target of cutting
emissions 50% by 2035.
“We have a more aggres-
sive trajectory on this that
does go beyond what Gov.
Brown asked us to do in her
executive order,” Richard
Whitman, the director of the
Department of Environmen-
tal Quality, told the c ommis-
sion . “The fundamental rea-
son for that is the science
that’s coming out about mov-
ing faster. In order for us to
achieve the goal of avoiding
the worst eff ects of climate
change, which requires us
keeping the average tempera-
ture increase to 1.5 degrees
Celsius, we need to be hitting
net zero by 2050.”
Whitman said the Cli-
mate Protection Program is “a
key glue” that binds together
other existing carbon reduc-
tion programs such as clean
fuel requirements, energy
effi ciency programs and elec-
tric vehicle incentives, all of
which will help the state reach
its emission reduction goals.
“All of these things work
together,” he said. “They
work on the supply side and
on the demand side to create
a less expensive energy future
for Oregon.”
‘Signifi cant investments’
George, the commission
chairwoman, said six of the
state’s eight major clean fuel
producers are in rural areas.
“This will mean signifi -
cant investments in new jobs
and new opportunities for
agricultural and rural areas of
the state,” she said.
Commissioner
Sam
Baraso said the Community
Climate Investment Fund
could help electrify house-
hold systems and reduce
expenses for people who
are most impacted by higher
energy prices.
“Investing directly in
households, investing in
energy systems that reduce
our reliance on fossil fuels
in a way that’s targeted does
benefi t us all and helps us
absorb higher energy costs,”
Baraso said.
Whitman said the Depart-
ment of Environmental Qual-
ity carefully designed the pro-
gram to limit the percentage
of emissions that companies
can off set by paying into the
investment fund and to priori-
tize communities of color and
low-income neighborhoods
as the funds are spent.
Initially, companies will
only be able to reduce 10%
of their emission reductions
by paying into the invest-
ment fund, and that percent-
age will increase to just 20%
over time.
“It is important that we
can assure the public and
everybody that this program
is going to achieve the fun-
damental eff ect that we are
reducing greenhouse gas
emissions,” Whitman said.
“That for every credit we give
out we are going to achieve
those emissions reductions.”
The Astoria City Council
wishes everyone a
SAFE AND JOYOUS
HOLIDAY SEASON!
Wear your mask and enjoy
the lights and holiday
festivities while social
distance shopping in
Downtown Astoria
www.astoriadowntown.com
Friday, November 26, 2021
to Saturday, January 1, 2022
Customers can park downtown
longer than posted time limits
(except in metered spaces)
Remembering our Brother
In
this Christmas season of joy
we, the Laughman family,
mourn the loss and celebrate the
life of Jon Vincent Laughman. Born
in Astoria Oregon on February
5, 1957, to Martha and Paul
Laughman, he was the 10th of
12 children. He graduated from
O’Dea high school in Seattle, WA
and later earned an associates of
applied science degree in building
construction from Edmonds
College.
He had a natural talent for
taking things apart and putting
them together. After high school
graduation he entered the building
trades where he spent his adult life
developing and honing his skills in
that area. He was a true craftsman, at
the highest level. His latest project
would sit on his porch swing in the
summer evening with his dog, Nellie
just enjoying…
As a man, he was kind and
generous and always a good
neighbor. He appreciated
good company and loved good
storytelling and music. And
he adored his dog, Nellie, who
shadowed him wherever he went.
Jon Vincent Laughman
was the restoration of the residence
at 1893 Irving Ave in Astoria.
As a native Astorian, he loved
fishing and clam digging. No clam
night, seeing the countryside,
camping along the way, and
probably doing things they would
not want their mother to know.
More recently he developed an
interest in container gardening. The
flowers growing on his front porch
was safe when he was digging on
Sunset Beach. And when summer
came to the Northwest, he would
meet up with his brothers. They
would ride their Harley’s into the
provided a blaze of color for the
corner of 18th and Exchange. He
His sudden death on November
24 has left his two surviving
brothers, six sisters and his many
nieces and nephews in a sea of
sadness. He was an active participant
in all of our lives and we are richer
for having known him. We love you
Jon. We love you forever.
We also extend our condolences
to our brother’s former spouse, Keli
Kimbriel and her two children. We
understand their sorrow and wish them
good fortune, peace, and harmony.
