CLIMATE ACTION

Problem

Climate change is reshaping Oregon now, threatening lives and communities.

Oregon’s reality

• Statewide warming: +2 to +3°F since 1900

• Projected warming: another +5 to +9°F this century

• 2020 megafires: 1+ million acres burned, communities destroyed, tens of thousands displaced

• Over 500,000 Oregonians endured hazardous air in 2020, during one of the world's worst pollution events.

• More than half of Oregon counties face drought in a typical year.

• Snowpack is declining faster and melting earlier, threatening:

  • Water supplies

  • Hydropower

  • Tribes and fishing economies

• Rivers are warming, choking salmon, and undermining treaty rights.

• The 2021 heat dome killed more than 100 people.

• Outdoor workers now labor in life-threatening heat and smoke

• Rural counties, low-income neighborhoods, BIPOC communities, and tribes experience the worst impacts and benefit the least from current climate spending.

Root cause + injustice

Fossil fuels continue to drive emissions, and oil and gas corporations:

• Post record profits

• Lobby to slow or weaken climate action.

• Push costs onto workers, taxpayers, and states like Oregon.

Deadly fires, drought, heat, and economic disruption hit Oregon, while polluters profit.

Solutions

1. Rapid emissions cuts with accountability

• End federal subsidies and tax write-offs for fossil fuel companies.

• National clean electricity standard to hit 100 percent clean power on a science-based timeline.

• Ban new fossil leasing on public lands and waters.

• Enforce EPA authority on methane and carbon from power plants and industry.

• Make companies pay for damage caused by pollution and climate risk.

Outcome: Rapid emissions cuts force polluters to pay more, improve air quality, and directly benefit public health, particularly for the most affected Oregonians.

2. Clean energy that benefits communities

• Major federal investment in wind, solar, geothermal, tidal, and long-duration storage

• Build a new transmission with:

  • Tribal leadership in siting

  • Rural benefits baked in

  • Local ownership preferred

• Community solar + public power so revenue stays local

• Rebates, grants, and electrification assistance prioritized for renters and low-income households

Outcome: Communities gain access to cheaper, cleaner power. Local leadership and ownership promote economic benefits and help ensure that low-income and rural Oregonians share in clean energy gains without repeating previous fossil fuel inequities.

3. Climate-ready forests, farms, and waters

• Expand funding for Indigenous-led prescribed burning and strategic thinning.

• Fire-safe building retrofits and recovery support for fire-prone communities

• Restoration of watersheds to protect salmon and first foods

• Regenerative agriculture incentives + drought support tailored for small and specialty crop growers

Outcome: Ecosystems and rural economies are protected, supporting jobs, food supply, and healthy forests and rivers. Forest and farm policy helps Oregonians withstand the impacts of fire and drought.

4. Protect frontline communities

• National heat and wildfire smoke protections for outdoor workers — paid breaks, hydration, shelter, job protection

• Cooling centers and clean air shelters in rural and low-income areas

• Weatherization, heat pumps, and air filtration for homes, schools, and public buildings

• Medicaid coverage for climate-related illness

Outcome: Strong protections ensure all Oregonians, regardless of ZIP code or income, receive relief from heat, wildfire impacts, and unsafe air, supporting public health and resilience for vulnerable people.

5. Climate jobs with strong labor standards

• Require union labor, apprenticeships, and prevailing wage on federally funded projects.

• Workforce pipelines for:

  • Electricians/line workers

  • Solar and wind techs

  • Wildfire crews and forest stewards

  • Transit and EV mechanics

  • Heat pump installers

• Target displaced workers, tribes, rural counties, and BIPOC communities

Outcome: Climate action creates union jobs with strong standards, supporting fair wages and career pipelines for communities hit hardest by the decline of fossil fuels and climate impacts.

6. Make Big Polluters Pay

• Create a national Climate Damages Fund, financed by major fossil fuel companies.

• Ban federal subsidies for oil, gas, and coal.

• Require corporate disclosure of full emissions and climate risk.

• Restrict fossil lobbying influence on public policy.

Outcome: Major polluters, not taxpayers, cover disaster costs. This shift frees public funds for community recovery and resilience while holding corporations accountable for climate damages.

Bottom Line

Lives, homes, salmon, farms, forests, and entire communities are lost to climate change in Oregon.

Federal policy must:

• Cut emissions fast

• Protect the hardest-hit communities.

• Create union jobs

• Deliver clean energy that people can actually afford.

• And force polluters — not Oregonians — to pay for the crisis

A livable future is a choice we must make now.