CUB Applauds Governor’s Executive Order on Climate
Posted on March 11, 2020 by Bob Jenks
Tags, Energy
Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed an Executive Order on Climate yesterday, March 10, 2020. The Order establishes new greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goals and directs state agencies, including the Public Utility Commission (PUC), to take actions to ensure our state meets those goals. CUB believes that the Executive Order represents a major step forward which should lead to significant GHG reductions in Oregon.
The Executive Order has several elements:
Emission Reduction Goals: Establishes a target of reducing Oregon’s GHG emissions by 45 percent by 2035 and 80 percent by 2050. This is consistent with recent legislative proposals.
Clean Fuel Standard: Raises the Clean Fuel Standard which will now require that reductions in GHG emissions from transportation fuels to decline by 20 percent by 2030 and 25 percent by 2035.
Building and Appliance Codes: Directs state agencies to update codes and standards for new buildings and appliances.
Sector Caps: Requires the Department of Environmental Quality to establish GHG emissions caps for the transportation, natural gas, and industrial sectors.
Agency Direction: Directs various state agencies to consider the state GHG emission reduction goals in the decisions made by the agency.
PUC Direction: CUB is particularly interested in the Executive Order’s PUC provisions, since CUB has authority to represent residential customers before the PUC. CUB is pleased with the Executive Order’s directions to the PUC:
- When evaluating utility resource portfolio and customer programs, the PUC must consider Oregon’s GHG reduction goals. Because GHG emissions are an economic risk to customers, CUB believes that this requirement is important to keeping costs low.
- The PUC should support investments in transportation electrification infrastructure that support GHG emission reductions and benefit customers. CUB strongly supports this provision. CUB has been working to get the PUC to approve programs aimed at supporting EV charging and reducing the impact of EVs on the grid. We believe this element of the Executive Order supports the approach recommended by CUB.
- Prioritize proceedings and activities that advance decarbonization. This is helpful because there are many demands on the PUC. It seems clear that policy makers and recent legislation have been primarily focused on decarbonization. However, the PUC is also under pressure from power marketers and large industrial customers to deregulate the utility system. The Executive Order clearly instructs that the PUC’s focus should be on GHG emissions reduction.
- Establish a process to address and mitigate energy burdens and issues related to affordability and environmental justice. This may not replace the need for the equity and affordability legislation previously supported by CUB, but it is a helpful step toward addressing affordability problems.
CUB applauds Governor Brown for this comprehensive Executive Order. It is an impressive set of actions and is in keeping with Oregon’s history of energy policy leadership.
CUB recognizes that this Order is not as comprehensive as the cap-and-trade legislation that we have supported in the last two legislative sessions. Due to limitations in an executive order’s scope, the Governor’s action can’t include targeted programs, such as SB 1530’s requirement that low-income customers of natural gas utilities would be fully protected, or the geographical phase-in of the bill’s transportation elements.
However, we recognize that the Governor was forced to act because of the legislature’s failure to adopt climate change bills during the last two sessions. CUB strongly believes that it is critical to begin the process of lowering emissions proactively. Beginning now provides a more gradual approach then waiting five or ten years, and the Governor’s Executive Order gets us moving toward meeting GHG emission reduction goals set on the basis of scientific findings.
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03/11/20 | 2 Comments | CUB Applauds Governor’s Executive Order on Climate