CUB Discusses Oregon’s Clean Energy Future at University of Oregon Event
Posted on January 14, 2021 by Charlotte Shuff
Tags, Energy
On January 6th, 2021, the University of Oregon held Advancing Clean Energy in Oregon, a virtual event hosted by the UO School of Law. CUB’s Executive Director, Bob Jenks, spoke as a panelist.
This event gathered input from across the energy industry to discuss working toward a clean energy future in Oregon. Panelists ranged from lawmakers and policy experts to academics and researchers to energy utility providers and consumer advocates. Oregon state legislators served as moderators for each panel.
The first panel, States on the Move to Clean Energy, featured policy experts from three other states who outlined their work toward 100 percent clean energy through state legislation. Oregon State Senator Michael Dembrow moderated, with policymakers from New York, New Mexico, and Washington presenting their policy pathways. All three states recently passed legislation to get to 100 percent clean energy by 2050 or sooner. These plans work to build up renewable energy generation, focus on electrifying across sectors, and set firm greenhouse gas emission reduction goals.
While the pathways to clean energy for each state are different, all three states center equity in the foundation of their policies. Each representative discussed their focus on building in equity goals from the beginning of policy design. Government officials engaged with stakeholders and research from the onset of implementation, and often before the laws were passed, to make sure that the programs emphasize benefits for historically marginalized communities. This focus on a just transition includes creating low-income programs and moving away from regressive programs that favor wealthier households.
The second panel, University of Oregon Research Updates, brought together an interdisciplinary group of academics from the University of Oregon. Moderated by Oregon State Representative Karin Power, this panel provided insights from researchers about challenges and possible solutions for the clean energy future in Oregon.
These UO academics spoke on biochemistry, engineering, public policy, architecture, and economics in connection to meeting climate pollution challenges. The discussion focused on the technology needs to power a clean energy system, as well as the built environment that Oregon needs to create within communities. Panelists discussed clean energy beyond the electric grid and addressed everything from transportation, to manufacturing, and building performance. All of our sectors need to be running on clean energy, which requires changes in what technologies we use and how we construct our lived environments. A successful transition depends on ensuring that moving to these new systems is both economically viable and uplifting to historically marginalized communities.
The final panel, Oregon Possibilities: A Panel of Key Oregon Stakeholders, brought together major stakeholders in Oregon’s energy policy work. Moderated by Oregon State Senator Jeff Golden, the mix of panelists included representatives from utilities, environmental justice groups, worker’s rights groups, sustainability advocates, and CUB’s own Executive Director, Bob Jenks.
This panel grappled with the question of how to guide lawmakers forward in making the difficult decisions that are needed to carve a path to 100 percent clean energy. Panelists brought up equity considerations for the populations and organizations they represent. They discussed how to lower financial impacts for low-income utility customers, how to build local focused workforce development across the state, and how to minimize impacts on culturally significant lands. Since the panel represented a wide range of stakeholders, there were many differing viewpoints and differences in key concerns. One point of agreement was that lawmakers should build policies that set goals and allow flexibility for stakeholder input.
This event brought together a diverse set of perspectives, focusing on solutions, that are vital to creating a clean energy future in Oregon. CUB was very pleased to be a part of this event and we look forward to continuing the conversation with lawmakers and other stakeholders.
For more information about the event and to watch recordings of all panel discussions, visit the UO School of Law website.
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01/14/21 | 0 Comments | CUB Discusses Oregon’s Clean Energy Future at University of Oregon Event