Drawing inspiration from its southernly neighbor, Oregon may soon pass a landmark bill that will mandate not just greenhouse gas emissions in the electricity sector, but also economy-wide emission reductions. The only state to have done that is…you guessed it, California.
Across every sector — electricity, transportation, and industry — emissions would decline 45 percent below 1990 levels by 2035 and 80 percent by 2050. That’s a big deal in and of itself. What makes it more interesting is that Oregon is doing so by following California’s lead, linking to the Western Climate Initiative, a regional carbon trading system that currently contains California and the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Nova Scotia, and Quebec.
In short, Oregon is attempting to demonstrate that a smaller state can join California’s trading system and adopt California’s climate policy model, while still customizing that model to its own unique needs. It’s a risky undertaking, but if Oregon can show that California’s model is adaptable enough to help even a smaller state succeed, then it could influence other states in the West to take the leap into the regional system.
