Salem, Ore. (July 1, 2019)—Yesterday, the Oregon Senate ended their 2019 session without voting on the Clean Energy Jobs bill (HB 2020). Had the bill passed and been signed into law, it would have created a statewide cap-and-invest program and made Oregon the second state in the nation to establish an economywide price on carbon pollution.
Cap-and-invest is a market-based approach requiring polluters to pay for their carbon emissions that lead to global heating and climate change. Programs like this take money paid by the state’s largest polluters and reinvest it in the most vulnerable communities.
Below is a statement by Jeff Bissonnette, Pacific Northwest advocate at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).
“It is imperative that Oregonians who care about how climate change will affect their state and the world not pause for a single beat upon news of the state Senate’s failure to bring the bill to a vote. The opposition resorted to shameful tactics that ignored the scope and urgency of the climate emergency facing Oregonians. The Clean Energy Jobs bill may have been hijacked by its opponents, but the statewide effort to transition the state to a clean energy economy in a comprehensive and just way continues.
“Oregon leaders should take significant action to prepare the state for the climate impacts it is facing. Governor Brown should call a special session of the Legislature to vote on the Clean Energy Jobs bill as soon as possible.”