Oregon Commits to Cut Greenhouse Gases 75 Percent (Update1)

By Jim Efstathiou Jr.

Aug. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Oregon would commit to cutting its greenhouse gas emissions 75 percent by 2050 under legislation signed into law by Governor Ted Kulongoski.

Emissions targets in the Climate Change Integration Act are not enforceable, unlike laws in other states such as New Jersey that mandate reductions. Seventeen U.S. states have set targets to reduce greenhouse gases, according to the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, a Washington-based think tank.

The Oregon law, which was signed by Kulongoski yesterday, targets cuts in greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide from 1990 levels. The law anticipates either a statewide or regional ``cap- and-trade'' program to help emitters reach pollution targets.

``There is no doubt that the state developments like the steps that Oregon just took are influencing what's going on in Washington,'' Truman Semans, director for markets and business strategy at the Pew Center, said in an interview. Policy makers ``cite state action as both something they're learning from and a reason why we need a consistent, more efficient federal approach.''

Congress is considering at least five climate bills that mandate cuts through new requirements on power producers, oil refineries and large manufacturers. Senator Joseph Lieberman, a Connecticut Democrat and Senator John Warner, a Republican from Virginia, last week proposed measures to cut U.S. greenhouse gases 70 percent by 2050.

Oregon is a member of the Western Regional Climate Action Initiative, a group of western U.S. states and Canadian provinces that is pursuing initiatives to reduce emissions linked to global warming. Ten Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states including New York and New Jersey are part of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a group pursuing a multistate cap-and-trade emissions program.

The Oregon law also establishes a Global Warming Advisory Commission to track emissions levels and make policy recommendations on climate change.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jim Efstathiou Jr. in New York at jefstathiou@bloomberg.net .

Last Updated: August 8, 2007 16:38 EDT

		Email this article Printer friendly format