Oregon begins rewriting landmark climate program derailed by gas lawsuit

State environmental regulators are working on rewriting a greenhouse gas reduction program stymied by a gas company lawsuit.

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality announced Monday it would restart the process for creating a new Climate Protection Program, which was approved three years ago to confront the growing threat of climate change. The program – requiring fossil fuel companies operating in the state to gradually reduce their greenhouse emissions 50% by 2035 and 90% by 2050 – was invalidated by the state’s second-highest court in December in a lawsuit over required disclosures.

The committee in charge of remaking the program will hold its first public meeting April 2, and two others on May 14 and June 25. The Environmental Quality Department will seek to re-establish a program of “similar scope and ambition,” according to a Monday news release.

The meetings will be followed by a public comment period. Lauren Wirtis, a communications manager for the department, said the agency is prepared to present a new framework and rules for a revived Climate Protection Program to the Environmental Quality Commission for approval later this year. Wirtis previously told the Capital Chronicle it is possible some parts of the original program could change.

https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2024/03/14/oregon-begins-rewriting-landmark-climate-program-derailed-by-gas-lawsuit/