Corrected 9/28/21, 2 p.m. MDT, to clarify that the Climate Protection Program was not directly created by executive order; and that it is unclear how passage of HB 2021 will affect it.


PORTLAND, Ore. -- Draft rules are out for a program designed to confront climate change in Oregon, and advocates say now is the time for concerned citizens to get involved if they want meaningful change.

The Climate Protection Program was the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality's (DEQ) answer to an executive order by Gov. Kate Brown in 2020.

Priya Judge, coalition coordinator for Power Past Fracked Gas, said there are flaws in the program's draft rules, noting the DEQ would not regulate the state's biggest carbon emitters.

"That is basically happening under the umbrella of exemptions on the entire electric sector in Oregon, which includes the top six stationary polluters of fracked-gas power plants," Judge asserted.

Judge pointed out those plants are a major source of carbon emissions in the state. The DEQ is holding its final public hearing on the draft rules online at 4:00 p.m. Thursday. The agency is accepting public comment through next Monday.

The Climate Protection Program also establishes a Community Climate Investment (CCI) fund, which allows emitters to earn credits by contributing to groups aiming to cut emissions.

Haley Case-Scott, climate justice grassroots organizer for Beyond Toxics, said the concern is that there are not sufficient protections or "sideboards" to ensure front-line communities actually benefit from the program. She said if an emitter can't meet their one-ton reduction goal, for example, then they can use the Community Climate Investment fund to replace their reduction.

"So they're not necessarily reducing their emissions." Case-Scott said. "They're using that credit to invest into 'an environmental justice community or project.' And so that's supposed to be considered a one-to-one match, but it's not really clear to me how they're actually reducing greenhouse gases."

Case-Scott added the DEQ should require the program to achieve a one-to-one or greater emissions reduction.

Alan Journet, co-facilitator for Southern Oregon Climate Action Now, said rural communities are feeling the effects of climate change, such as from wildfires. He is frustrated carbon sequestration was taken out of the final offset program in the draft rules.

But Journet believes the biggest shortfall is the program does not address the full array of emissions.

"The problem, then, is even when they claim that they're going to reduce those less-than-50% of the emissions substantially, there's still half of the emissions from the state that are not even covered," Journet stated.

The Climate Protection Program aims to cut emissions to at least 80% below 1990 levels by 2050. It isn't clear how legislation passed in Oregon this year -- requiring all electricity sold in the state to be clean by 2040 -- will affect the program.

A new report analyzes the economic effects of a changing climate on Idaho. It's the first to look at state-specific circumstances.

Katherine Himes is director of the University of Idaho's James A. and Louise McClure Center for Public Policy Research, which compiled the research. Himes said the goal was to create a nonpartisan, evidence-based resource for industries and policymakers.

"The big key here is those changes - temperature, precipitation and snowpack," said Himes, "because that then influences what happens to agriculture, energy, forests, human health, infrastructure, rangelands, recreation and tourism."

On the current climate-warming trajectory, increasing temperature, changing patterns of precipitation across the state and lower snowpack are expected in the coming decades for Idaho.

An advisory board for the report included businesses, nonprofits and government officials, including Native American tribal leaders.

Kelly Olson is a retired administrator for the Idaho Barley Commission. She said the report allows sectors of the economy such as agriculture to prepare for the future.

"It's a call to arms, I think," said Olson, "as a state to look at that changing water situation and what we can do about that, which we just can't turn on a spigot and change the flow of water overnight."

Himes said it's important that this resource is accessible. She said there's technical information but it also includes one-page summaries with high-level looks at the data.

"There are ways to visualize the information, a lot of tools and resources on the website as well," said Himes. "We wanted it to be as interactive as possible so that policymakers could use it, decision makers could use it, and so forth."

New Mexico climate activists commemorate today's Martin Luther King Jr. Day by walking to the State Capitol in Santa Fe from four directions, calling on lawmakers to take bold action to combat climate change.

The Capitol, known as the Roundhouse, was designed to represent the sun's rays, as well as the four directions, four seasons and four phases of life.

Robb Hirsch founded the Climate Change Leadership Institute nearly 20 years ago and is now its executive director. He said it's appropriate for people to rally on MLK Day.

"It's really perfect on Martin Luther King Day to have the community rise up in a nonviolent, peaceful manner," said Hirsch, "but rise up strongly, to demand action on this critical, vital issue for our lives."

Hirsch said the walkers will convene outside the Roundhouse at noon.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People - Santa Fe branch, the Green Amendment for the Generations group, 350 New Mexico, the Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter and many others will participate.

New Mexico has long relied on oil and gas to fuel its economy, but Hirsch said the event is less about demanding specific policies during this year's short legislative session than ongoing, unequivocal action.

"There's a lot of equivocating going on," said Hirsch, "because a lot of the elected officials, unfortunately, are taking campaign dollars from the very industries that we need to be regulating."

Hirsch said he believes climate change is a civil rights issue of our time - because while it affects everyone, those most likely to be affected are people of color and of lower income.

"Martin Luther King Day is so vital for this," said Hirsch, "because the Civil Rights Movement - the brave citizens who participated in that - showed us a course of action to get things done when people thought there no way to get the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act passed."

The New Mexico Legislature holds short, 30-day sessions in even-numbered years, typically focused on the next year's state budget.

Washington state lawmakers meet in Olympia starting next week for the 2022 legislative session. Groups working on the issue of climate change see it as another chance for the state to take action.

Kelly Hall, Washington director of Climate Solutions, said the Legislature has made progress in recent years - including committing the state to 100% clean energy by 2045. But with the impacts of a warming climate mounting, Hall said the state should do more to address it. She said she thinks a top priority this session should be making sure that buildings run on clean energy.

"A lot of buildings at this point do combust fossil fuels indoors," she said, "and not only does that have a significant impact on the climate, but it also has a significant impact on indoor air quality."

Hall said the state should come up with a targeted electrification plan to incentivize utility customers to invest in electric appliances. Gov. Jay Inslee has also named decarbonizing the building sector as one of his priorities for the session, since buildings are the fastest-growing source of carbon emissions in the state.

Leah Missik, Climate Solutions' Washington transportation policy manager, said public transportation is another area in need of attention. She noted that climate-friendly forms of getting around have other benefits as well.

"For a very long time, we have underfunded public transit," she said, "and also have not spent enough in Washington state to ensure that folks who are not driving or cannot drive can get around safely, either by walking or even a bicycle, or something else."

Hall said the need for action is urgent - and the state needs to be smart about it.

"Not investing right, right now, will have impacts for years to come," she said, "and just make those events worse and worse."

The Washington Legislature is scheduled to convene on Monday and adjourn on March 10.