The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is developing a new greenhouse gas reduction program they call the “Climate Protection Program.” At hearings on September 30th, DEQ will invite the public to submit comments on its plans for the program (Deadline: October 25th).
Currently, the program is not slated to live up to its lofty name:
- It provides exemptions for fracked gas power plants and infrastructure.
- It includes loopholes for Oregon’s biggest polluters.
- It prioritizes polluters' profits over the health and safety of frontline communities experiencing the impacts of pollution every day.
Alongside our community partners at Power Past Fracked Gas, we hosted a webinar on September 21st to dig into the environmental justice issues at stake for Oregon in the drafting of this program. Oregon PSR Healthy Climate Action Team member Patsy Kullberg, MD was one of the panelists for this webinar and our staff Climate Justice Organizer, Samantha Hernandez, was the event's bilingual emcee.
Learn more and message Oregon decision-makers to call on them to protect Oregonians from climate pollution. The deadline for this comment period is Monday, October 25th, 2021.
View the recorded webinar to learn from environmental justice leaders from across the state about how communities are being impacted by pollution and how we can all take action at the DEQ hearings to ensure that it develops a program that protects Oregon communities and our climate. A Climate Protection Program should do nothing less.