Early in the morning of Saturday, Dec. 10, in Montreal, more than 180 countries ended the 11th Annual International Summit on Global Warming under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. As strange as it may sound, the fact that the talks did not completely fail means the U.N. summit was an overall success. While not creating a single global system to fight climate change, the "Montreal Accord" provides a powerful impetus for a bottom-up approach to U.S. energy and climate change policy led by strong state and regional initiatives that support renewables and energy efficiency -- especially policies like those of Oregon, Washington, California, and other western states.
Oregon broke the leadership path on the issue in 1977 by adopting a limit on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from new power plants. The statute led to the creation of a unique nonprofit,
The Climate Trust, whose mission is to promote GHG emission reductions at the project level. On behalf of its funders -- among them Avista, Calpine, PacifiCorp and NW Natural of Oregon, Basin Creek Power of Montana, and American National Power of Massachusetts -- The Climate Trust now invests in projects in the region and around the world that measurably reduce GHG emissions.
Climate Trust projects include installation of energy-savings measures in multi-family housing around Portland; industrial process improvements at the Blue Heron paper mill in Oregon City; and truck stop electrification along the Interstate 5 corridor. By purchasing "GHG offsets" from projects, The Climate Trust accelerates the shift to a low-GHG energy economy, efficiently moving investments from high-carbon energy sources into new low-carbon projects and technologies. The Climate Trust will invest another $6 million in GHG reduction projects in the next year.
Oregon is also home of the
Energy Trust of Oregon, an organization whose mission is to rationalize and expand ratepayer supported funds for energy-efficiency and renewable energy projects and programs. The Energy Trust operates in the service areas of Oregon's three main energy utilities: Portland General Electric, Pacific Power, and NW Natural.
Meanwhile, the Energy Trust of Oregon has invested over $150 million to date in energy conservation and renewable generation within the state borders. The funds come from a public purpose charge on citizens' utility bills. By 2012, the efforts will grow to the energy equivalent of a 350-megawatt power plant that would otherwise be emitting GHGs.
These Oregon institutions constitute two of the most practical, results-based models for sound energy and climate change policy in the country. By harnessing the power of the marketplace, they save society money and demonstrate alternatives to command-and-control approaches to environmental problems.
In the 1990s, experts estimated the cost of reducing GHGs to exceed $50 per metric ton of carbon dioxide, constituting intolerable burdens to the gross domestic product of developed and developing nations. But actual project-based reductions secured by The Climate Trust -- most of which come from U.S. projects -- now cost less than $10 per metric ton of carbon dioxide. This is far below the cost of supporting non-commercial technologies which may or may not achieve real reductions in the future.
Oregon's efforts to stop global warming are also realizing other social, economic and environmental benefits. These include real cash savings to consumers from lower fuel and energy costs, higher employment in low-carbon industries, healthier communities from reductions in other air pollutants, watershed protection, and biodiversity protection.
The Climate Trust's offsets and the Energy Trust's energy savings are not a panacea to the problem of global warming, and low-cost doesn’t mean no-cost. But the successes of The Climate Trust and The Energy Trust of Oregon show how shifting investments -- and mindsets -- to less carbon-intensive energy sources is a win-win for the environment and the economy.
And the momentum is growing. In 2004, Oregon joined California and Washington in a concerted effort to aggressively push smart, GHG-reducing energy policy in a more coordinated, regional fashion. This West Coast Governors Initiative on Climate Change now finds its complement on the East Coast, where the New England states plus New York and New Jersey have formed the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. Enter this year New Mexico, which has adopted ambitious targets for reducing GHG emissions at the state level too. Other states, such as North Carolina, are close behind.
In Montreal, official U.S. representatives could have showcased the successes of Oregon, Washington, California and others, as well as many U.S. companies. Instead, cities and states sent their own representatives to Montreal to show the international community the many positive steps being taken around the country.
If our national representatives would lead instead of follow on this issue, they could be creating the kinds of businesses and job opportunities we know here in the West for everyone else in the country. This would help us as a nation to gain a competitive advantage in the manufacture, use and export of low-carbon technologies and processes that reduce GHG emissions. Instead, national representatives used the opportunity to try and halt international discussions altogether, leaving the hard work again to local, state and regional governments.
Rest assured, work hard they will.
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Michael S. Ashford is deputy director of The Climate Trust
This column has been reprinted courtesy of the nwcurrent.com. It was first published on Dec. 19, 2005.