Time to talk carbon tax: Conversation kicks off with Medford rally, report from PSU

Dec 5, 2014, 12:34pm PST

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Wendy Culverwell | Portland Business Journal

The Boardman power plant, operated by majority owner Portland General Electric, is Oregon's top producer of greenhouse gases, according to an annual census by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It produced 3.6 million metric tons of carbon and associated greenhouse gases in 2013, compared to 2.5 million in 2012. With the start of the 2015 Oregon Legislature less than two months away, advocates for putting a price on carbon are preparing to make their case to the public and to lawmakers.

Staff Reporter- Portland Business Journal
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With the 2015 Oregon Legislature set to start in less than two months, one of the leading issues is heating up: Putting a price on carbon emissions to address climate change.

California and British Columbia already price carbon and Washington is preparing its own legislation. The issue, first raised in the 2013 Oregon session, promises to return as a leading topic.

On Sunday, Oregon Climate, a Southern Oregon climate change nonprofit, will hold a forum in Medford to build support for carbon tax legislation. And on Monday, Portland State University's Institute for Sustainable Solutions releases the much-anticipated study on climate taxes commissioned by lawmakers two years ago.

Oregon Climate, led by Camila Thorndike, will spend the run up to the Feb. 2 start of the Legislature building support for a carbon tax around the state, including in Portland.

Dr. Chris Maples, president of the Oregon Institute of Technology, will moderate Sunday's forum in Medford. Former Secretary of State Bill Bradbury and a number of political and business leaders from the region are scheduled to participate. The program runs from noon to 3 p.m. at the KOBI TV studio.

The PSU study will likely guide the conversation in Salem.

The 2013 Legislature considered several carbon tax bills and commissioned the PSU carbon tax study to provide more information to the 2015 gathering. The move came after Gov. John Kitzhaber embraced a regional climate change agreement.

The Oregon Legislature allocated $200,000 to the study, which was designed to look at how a carbon tax will affect the state and business.

A separate 2013 report from the Northwest Economic Research Center calculates that levying a $60 tax for every ton emitted would raise more than $2.1 billion for state coffers. It notes that it would take a tax of $100 per ton to reduce Oregon emissions to 1990 levels by 2030.

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Wendy Culverwell covers sustainable business, manufacturing and law.

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