Climate strike at the Oregon State Capitol. Source: Sunrise Movement, brightest.io.
A string of victories for Oregon community organizations over the past few months has effectively blocked a fossil fuel project that would have been the single largest climate polluter in Oregon.
The Jordan Cove Project—a natural gas shipping terminal and pipeline—was the target of over a decade of community organizing and the source of endless bureaucratic headaches.
A coalition of environmental organizations, Indigenous activists, and rural landowners stand in steadfast opposition to the project. But much of the debate has centered on the tired standoff over jobs versus the environment.
Blocking the Jordan Cove project is an overdue win for Oregon communities and climate activists, but we need bigger change. To transcend the false dichotomy of jobs versus the environment, and to meet the intersecting climate and social challenges facing Oregon communities, Oregon needs a Green New Deal.
The Oregon Just Transition Alliance first proposed a Green New Deal for Oregon in 2019. Then it listened. In 2020, the organization embarked on a listening tour to gather community feedback. Based on that feedback, it recently released a draft report and an updated set of Green New Deal pillars.
A Green New Deal would ensure a clean energy future for Oregon. Driving through the Dalles towards Pendleton, it is already possible to see the waves of wind turbines along the ridges of the Columbia River Gorge. To reach 100% renewable energy in 2050, we’ll need to build even more of those.
The proposal would also guide a just transition that creates jobs and advances workers’ rights across sectors. There are currently 55,000 workers employed in the clean energy industry in the state, with a fifth of those in rural communities. Investing in a renewable energy future would create tens of thousands more jobs, and save Oregonians money.
Climate change is not just an energy or economic crisis, however. The Covid-19 pandemic has laid bare what we already knew: environmental inequalities are both the cause and consequence of racial and economic disparities. A Green New Deal is Oregon’s change to address environmental and racial injustices, from criminal justice to education and economic opportunities.
At its heart, an Oregon Green New Deal imagines a better, collective future for Oregon communities. Passing the proposal would mean tackling the many challenges Oregon communities face, embracing the opportunity to address the interlocking challenges of climate and social problems through bold, transformative policy recommendations.
I remember when it first hit me that climate change had arrived in Portland. It was the summer of 2017, the summer of the Eagle Creek fire. Smoke filled the Willamette Valley for days, turning the sunsets a dystopian orange as the flames burned through the forests of the Columbia Gorge.
For me, a Green New Deal in Oregon means social and environmental resiliency in the face of increasingly frequent natural disasters. A plan this big only works if all Oregonians are all in. What does an Oregon Green New Deal mean for you? Join me in letting both Oregon Just Transition Alliance, and your state representatives, know.