Milestones

What steps has Oregon already taken to address global warming?

This list highlights some of the steps Oregon has already taken to respond to climate change and links to key reports that document those steps.

• October 2009 - The City of Portland and Multnomah County adopt their 2009 Climate Action Plan. The three-year plan outlines actions to move the region toward an 80 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2050.

• July 2009 - A series of climate bills were signed into law that expand reporting requirements for greenhouse gases, and support energy efficiency projects and low-emissions energy technologies.

• March 2009 - The Oregon Global Warming Commission submitted its first Biennial Report to the Oregon Legislature. The report included the six recommendations adopted by the Commission in 2008 and early 2009 and a summary of actions taken by the state so far to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prepare for global warming.

2008

• October 2008 - The Oregon Environmental Quality Commission approved mandatory reporting of greenhouse gases from large emitters.

• September 2008 - The Western Climate Initiative (WCI) submitted its design recommendations for a regional cap and trade program to its member premiers and governors.

• January 2008 - The Climate Change Integration Group (CCIG) issued its final report, A Framework for Addressing Rapid Climate Change. The Climate Change Integration Group was appointed by Governor Kulongoski in May 2006 to develop a framework for making well-informed choices related to climate change in Oregon.

2007

• October 2007 - Oregon joined with governments around the world to form the International Carbon Action Partnership.

• August 2007 - Oregon and other Western Climate Initiative members set regional target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (press release).

• June 2007 - The Oregon Renewable Energy Act (SB 838) was signed into law. It requires Oregon's largest utilities to acquire 25% of their electricity from new, homegrown renewable energy sources by 2025. Smaller Oregon utilities must meet smaller renewable energy targets of 5% or 10% of their electricity by 2025.

• June 2007 - The Oregon Legislature passed House Bill 3543. The law set targets for reducing Oregon's greenhouse gas emissions and established the Oregon Global Warming Commission and the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute. The emissions targets are to:

  • Arrest growth of emissions by 2010.
  • Reduce emissions to 10 percent below 1990 levels by 2020.
  • Reduce emissions to 75 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.

• May 2007 - Oregon was one of 31 states to become a charter member of The Climate Registry, "a nonprofit collaboration among North American states, provinces, territories and Native Sovereign Nations that sets consistent and transparent standards to calculate, verify and publicly report greenhouse gas emissions into a single registry."

• February 2007 - The governors of five western states including Oregon signed a joint memorandum of understanding to form the Western Regional Climate Action Initiative (later shortened to the Western Climate Initiative, or WCI).

• 2007 - Carbon emissions in Multnomah County were 1% below 1990 levels.

2006

• December 2006 - The Carbon Allocation Task Force (CATF) developed a load-based carbon cap and trade design that could be adopted by Oregon or used as the basis for negotiating a western regional multi-state cap and trade system. The Carbon Allocation Task Force was a stakeholder group appointed by Governor Kulongoski in 2005.

• 2006 - Oregon signed the Western Public Utility Commissions’ Joint Action Framework On Climate Change.

• 2006 - The Oregon Forest Resources Institute completed its report Forests, Carbon and Climate Change: A Synthesis of Science Findings.

2005

• Oregon establishes the Low Emission Vehicles (LEV) program. It requires new vehicles purchased in or imported to Oregon after 2008 to meet California's strict tailpipe emissions standards.

2004

• December 2004 - The Governor’s Advisory Group on Global Warming developed the Oregon Strategy for Greenhouse Gas Reductions. The report recommended a suite of policies and measures to reduce Oregon’s greenhouse gas emissions and goals to guide their implementation. The Group had been appointed by Governor Kulongoski in 2004.

• November 2004 - The Governors of Oregon, Washington and California approved 36 recommendations related to global warming that were jointly developed by the three states.

• June 2004 - A Scientific Consensus Statement on the Likely Impacts of Climate Change on the Pacific Northwest was signed by 50 regional scientists. The statement was later included in the appendix of the Governor´s Advisory Group on Global Warming report, Oregon Strategy for Greenhouse Gas Reductions.

2003 and Earlier

• 2003 - Governor Kulongoski joined the governors of California and Washington in establishing the West Coast Governors’ Global Warming Initiative.

• 2001 - Portland/Multnomah County develop a Local Action Plan on Global Warming.

• 2001 - Oregon passes a forestry carbon offsets law that allows the State Forester to establish programs to market, register, transfer or sell forestry carbon offsets on behalf of the state, a trust fund and other nonfederal forest landowners.

• 1997 - Oregon became the first state in the nation to control CO₂ emissions. The bill (HB 3283) requires developers to reduce the overall amount of CO₂ emitted from new power plants and gave the Energy Facility Siting Council authority to set CO₂ emissions standards for new energy facilities. The same year, The Climate Trust was founded to acquire carbon offsets on behalf of new fossil-fueled power plants regulated by the law.

• March 1995 - The Oregon Department of Energy completed its Report on Reducing Oregon's Greenhouse Gas Emissions.

• March 1993 - Portland became the first U.S.A. local government with a climate action plan - The City of Portland Carbon Dioxide Reduction Strategy.

• 1992 - Oregon adopted a benchmark to hold carbon dioxide emissions to 1990 levels. This benchmark is one of the Oregon Benchmarks measured by the Oregon Progress Board.

• 1991 - Oregon and the other three Pacific Northwest states adopted a regional power plan that recognizes the potential threat of global warming in its recommended resource portfolio.

• July 1990 - The Task Force of Global Warming submitted its Report to Governor Neil Goldschmidt and the Legislature. The report assessed how global warming could affect the state and presented actions state agencies proposed to take in response to global warming.