After the Oregon Legislature failed to pass cap and trade legislation that would limit greenhouse gas emissions in 2020, Gov. Brown issued an executive order directing state agencies to reduce emissions in other ways. In response, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality launched the Climate Protection Program to reduce emissions from transportation fuels and natural gas by 90% by 2050.

The resulting Climate Protection Program caps emissions from gasoline, diesel, propane, kerosene and natural gas and makes the cap more restrictive over time. The program started in January 2022, as it distributes a declining number of emission credits to fuel suppliers and allows them to buy and sell those credits as the cap comes down. It also creates a Community Climate Investment Fund that allows companies to pay for emission reductions in communities that are most impacted by climate change.

The program initially regulated 16 fuel suppliers and three natural gas utilities as well as 13 industrial facilities that would be regulated under a different system that creates individualized plans for each facility to reduce emissions using the best available technology. The rules include financial penalties for companies that can’t meet the emission reduction targets.

Companies that will be regulated under the program have protested the higher targets, arguing that they will result in even higher prices for gasoline, diesel and natural gas that will have ripple effects throughout the economy. They’ve also raised concerns that there may not be enough alternatives to fossil fuels such as biofuels and electric vehicles to meet the program goals.

Fuel suppliers will likely face higher costs over time that would be passed along to consumers. That leave Oregonians and businesses in the state with two choices: reduce their use of fossil fuels or pay increasingly higher prices for them.

Industry groups did their own analysis of the program and found it would be more costly for consumers than what the DEQ is projecting, based on its economic analysis. The industry analysis found the new regulations could double the price of natural gas by 2050. It also would increase the price of gasoline by 36 cents per gallon and increase the price of diesel by 39 cents per gallon by 2035, according to the industry analysis.

The question for debate, is Oregon’s new Climate Protection Program an effective climate change measure?