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Forum for Business and the Environment
Remarks by Governor Ted Kulongoski – As Prepared for Delivery
Friday, April 11, 2008
Thank you Dan for your generous introduction.
I also want to thank the members of the Oregon Environmental Council for giving me this opportunity to talk with leaders from both the environmental community – and industry – about two of my top priorities for the 2009 legislative session, . . .
. . . Transportation and Climate Change.
Neither is new to my agenda. I’ve been laying out a new vision for both since my earliest days as Governor.
That’s why we’ve already made major new investments in public infrastructure – including airports, seaports and rail – as well as renewable energy.
On the green energy front – we already have a renewable electricity and a renewable fuels standard that are among the most aggressive in the nation.
But those of you who have been listening to me in recent months know that I believe we must ramp up our investment in green transportation – while making even bigger cuts in greenhouse gases.
I said this last December at the Economic Leadership Summit. And I made the same point last month in my State of the State Address.
Building a transportation system well-suited to the needs of the 21st century – and addressing the indisputable threat of climate change – would both be worth doing even if neither one affected our economy.
But of course they do. The fact is: transportation and climate change are critical to our success in the global marketplace – and our quality of life.
Crunch the numbers anyway you like – the bottom line is still the same: . . .
. . . Businesses need to be able move goods quickly and easily. Families need to spend less time in traffic and more time together. And every citizen of this state needs to escape the danger of higher temperatures, less snowpack, fewer fish, and dangerous storms.
Here’s the problem when the discussion turns to building public infrastructure and cutting greenhouse gases: Supporters of each line up, face each other, and assume they’re involved in a zero sum game.
I said this in the State of the State and I’ll say it again: We cannot allow ourselves to fall into the trap of thinking of transportation and climate change as conflicting policy priorities.
They’re not. We can do both – we must.
Let me be specific: We can invest in transportation and face up to the challenge of climate change.
We can create living wage jobs and reduce greenhouse gases.
And we can have a modern infrastructure – and sustainable growth.
The challenge going forward is to engage the public so they understand the importance of transportation and climate change to our economy, to our quality of life, and to our children’s future.
As I’ve already suggested, left unchecked, climate change will bring more frequent and severe storms, flooding, and severe damage to our farms, forests, and fisheries.
And on top of the harm to our food, water supplies and natural landscape – the state will end up paying untold millions because of damage to our roads, bridges and railroads.
This will not only hurt our economy – it will compromise the safety of our citizens.
As for transportation – the status quo is unacceptable. It is also unsustainable. If nothing changes, our current transportation network will become even more inadequate – as our population grows, and the demands of the global economy increase.
So for me, climate change and transportation are not in conflict. Just the opposite: They work in concert with each other.
And while it will be a challenge to improve and diversify our transportation infrastructure – while reducing our overall carbon footprint – this is a challenge we are capable of meeting.
It is also a challenge that creates important opportunities.
In particular, opportunities for new and sustainable businesses, more family wage jobs, renewable energy production, innovative green technology – and national leadership in sustainable development.
* * *
The question before us today is: How do we build a diverse, safe, and sustainable transportation system – while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and advancing policies that roll back our carbon footprint?
Let me start my answer by saying: If there is one state that can accomplish both of these goals, it is Oregon.
A healthy environment. A great quality of life. Respect for nature’s bounty. Balancing sustainable growth and open spaces. All of these are who we are as a people – and the business community is no exception.
That’s why we are uniquely positioned to serve as an example for the rest of the country and world on how to ensure that we have energy security and a transportation system that serves people and businesses – while promoting a healthy environment.
In December I established three committees to focus on developing a comprehensive, long-term, and sustainable transportation plan for introduction in the 2009 legislative session.
Many members of these committees are in the room today. So let me take this opportunity to thank you for volunteering your time and expertise on this critical issue.
Each committee – the vision committee, governance committee and public awareness committee – has been hard at work developing ideas that will make our system more efficient, strategic and responsive.
This is what businesses and citizens want – more transportation choices with less harm to our environment.
The Vision Committee is specifically charged with mapping out a transportation package that meets the needs of our businesses and citizens with respect to our environment.
The committee is chaired by Pat Reiten.
I have asked this committee to think about the issue of transportation through the lens of climate change.
Yes, we need more access points in our transportation system so trucks can more efficiently – and safely – move goods up and down I-5. But if our only answer is highway expansion and not a multi-modal solution, then we are taking a step backward on global warming.
This option is not acceptable to you. And it is absolutely not acceptable to me.
That’s why I am committed to making sure the plan for 2009 is the largest, most strategic and greenest plan in Oregon history.
Specifically, I have asked the vision committee to incorporate climate change into our transportation planning in four areas:
(1) Low carbon fuels;
(2) Vehicle technology improvement, including a shift to plug in hybrid and electric vehicles;
(3) Reducing vehicle miles traveled, and
(4) Improving the transportation system’s efficiency.
Last year California adopted a Low Carbon Fuel Standard that will require a 10-percent reduction in the greenhouse gas content of all transportation fuels sold by 2020.
However, the California gives the marketplace the flexibility to find the most cost effective ways to achieve this standard. British Columbia last month followed California in moving forward with its own Low Carbon Fuel Standard.
If Oregon and Washington follow suit, the entire west coast transportation fuel supply will be standardized toward this lower carbon fuel future.
We should accept nothing less.
With respect to vehicle technology improvements, Oregon has already made significant progress by adopting the clean tailpipe standards along with many other states across the country.
When implemented, these standards will require car manufacturers to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from tailpipes – and offer much better choices of higher mileage vehicles, . . .
. . . including plug in hybrid and electric vehicles.
Unfortunately, the Bush Administration and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have thrown up every roadblock at their disposal to prevent the standards from moving forward.
Oregon and many other states are currently litigating – because this is too important of an issue to let politics trump good public policy.
Stricter emissions standards is just one mechanism to help us reach our ultimate goal. That is why I have asked the vision committee to explore what we can do to also make Oregon a center for the electric vehicle technology, infrastructure and manufacturing.
This is one of those challenges that presents opportunity because Oregon can be a leader in the emerging vehicle-to-grid systems under conceptual development.
Along these lines, we also need to encourage Oregonians to drive alternative fuel cars. I am committed to state government continuing to lead by example.
For several years we have been transitioning the state vehicle fleet to alternative fuel vehicles. That includes cars run on biofuels.
We have been so successful that we won a national award for being the greenest state vehicle fleet in the country.
Building on this success, several state agencies are working with other partners to demonstrate plug-in hybrid technology by converting standard hybrid cars to plug-in electric vehicles and associated charging infrastructure.
But this is just a start. We also need to find ways to make it easier for individual citizens to access and use plug-in hybrid and other alternative fuel cars so these become the vehicles of choice.
We also need to research new ways to reduce vehicle miles traveled. Earlier this year, the Washington legislature approved a statutory target to reduce the number of vehicle miles traveled in that state.
If Oregon follows suit, we need to do so in a way that provides technical tools to businesses and local governments for achieving those reductions.
For instance, we could expand our existing tax credits to businesses that encourage telecommuting, carpooling, biking and the use of public transportation.
We also need to be mindful of strategies that will work for not only the Willamette Valley, but also for rural Oregon.
Finally, there is the issue increasing transportation efficiency.
We’ve invested too many resources to the existing transportation system to start over, so we must look at the system we have and identify ways to make that system more efficient.
We can do this by targeting our road investments to specific bottlenecks to help improve the flow of traffic.
We can manage the speed of vehicles on the road to make sure they are in the most efficient ranges.
We can clear crashes and stalls off the roadway quickly to reduce the congestion associated with those non-recurring incidents – which can be as much as 50-precent of travel delay! We can adjust traffic signal timing to minimize vehicle delay and idling.
We can work to better integrate freight movement across and between modes.
And perhaps the most significant thing we can do is introduce performance-based pricing into our highway system. This is sometimes called congestion pricing.
In plain English, tolls that vary by time of day, by location, or by congestion level, so that those who are using the highway at the most desirable time are paying more to do so.
It’s simple supply and demand economics. We’re not going to get there tomorrow, but we should start thinking about how we can move in that direction in the future.
* * *
I came here today to present a new way forward on transportation and climate change.
Building and maintaining traditional transportation systems is a great challenge. Building and maintaining sustainable systems presents an even greater one.
But these are the Oregon challenges that we must answer.
Our transportation infrastructure is woefully outdated. That means a “no-build” approach is simply not an option.
Instead, we need to modernize, repair and maintain the current structures as well as provide Oregonians with transportation choices, including public transit, pedestrian walkways and bicycles.
I know that with the talent of those in this room, serving on my committees, in the legislature – and with the support of the public – we can and will pass a transportation package in 2009 that is greener than anything we’ve ever done before.
And we can accomplish this vision because the people of Oregon are innovators, national leaders, and citizens who dare to dream of a climate friendly transportation system.
This forum will bring us one step closer to making that dream a reality.
Thank you for inviting me to speak today. I look forward to the ideas and the debate to follow.
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