For The Climate

It’s frustrating and sad to experience another "summer of climate crisis" in Oregon, where our communities were once again inundated with wildfires and parched by drought; more than 100 of our fellow Oregonians killed by extreme heat in 2021-- all due to climate change.

Oregon is not taking responsibility for our part of the climate crisis, with our greenhouse gas pollution continuing at unsustainable levels, against the best advice of scientists. 

Burning gasoline and diesel are the leading contributors to the climate crisis in Oregon, with transportation making up about 40% of climate pollution and rising for nearly a decade. In addition to CO2, burning diesel creates black carbon or soot, also a potent greenhouse gas and toxic to our lungs.

In Oregon, trucks, buses, and delivery vans pump out nearly half (42%) of climate pollution from transportation, yet they’re fewer than 10% of all vehicles on the road. Even worse, they pump out 70% of smog pollution (NOx) and 64% of black carbon (or particulate pollution).

The technology for clean trucks is ready, so we need to speed up the replacement of diesel and gas trucks with electric vehicles. With Oregon now committed to 100% clean electricity, the time is now to create a fleet of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles that will use that clean energy and clean up the worst polluting vehicles in our transportation system.

One significant step for Oregon to take is adopting two new rules by the end of 2021. The Advanced Clean Truck Rule and Heavy Duty Omnibus Low-NOx Rule, which are under consideration now, will make sure many more zero-emission and clean trucks are available for fleets, businesses, governments and others who want to transition. 

Adopting the ACT and HDO rules in Oregon would reduce greenhouse gas emissions from trucks and buses by 50 million metric tons, (cumulatively by 2050), according to a recent independent study.

Read more about the rules here.