Oregon joins California and will soon adopt a market-based method to control greenhouse gas emissions.
A truck outside the Oregon Capitol in Salem joins a protest against climate bills on June 12. Truckers say the legislation would put them out of business.
Cap and trade has been a top priority this year for Oregon's majority Democrats, and Gov. Kate Brown has said she would sign the measure, noting in a statement that “Oregon can be the log that breaks the jam nationally” on climate policy. Under a cap-and-trade program, the state puts an overall limit on emissions and auctions off pollution permits or “allowances” for each ton of carbon that industries plan to emit. Only the largest polluters are targeted, and the idea is that as the emissions limit becomes stricter over time, it will be in industries’ financial interest to switch to green technology. Oregon’s program would begin in 2021, and the state wants to reduce emissions to 80% below 1990 levels by 2050.
It’s provisions such as these that make the changes some of the country’s most progressive, Joshi said. Stimson Lumber, west of Portland, laid off 60 sawmill workers in anticipation of cap and trade and other new taxes pursued by Democrats. Chief Executive Andrew Miller said in a statement that rural and agricultural communities are paying the price for “Oregon's assault on businesses.”
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