Oregon to get nearly $200 million from feds to fight climate change and pollution

Oregonlive

Oregon will receive $197 million from the federal government to build more electric-vehicle charging stations, incentivize homebuilders to install heat pumps and reduce methane emitted from landfills, among other measures designed to target climate change and pollution, state and federal officials said Monday.

The money is coming through a grant program established by the 2022 federal Inflation Reduction Act. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality is one of 25 government agencies and tribes in the U.S. receiving a combined $4.3 billion.

The funding “will give Oregon more tools in the toolbox to meet the state’s climate goals,” Sen. Jeff Merkley said in a statement. “This includes reducing harmful emissions in our transportation, construction and other sectors that will lead to better health for our communities and less pollution in our environment.”

Oregon will use the money to implement 12 programs to address climate change and reduce pollution identified in the state Department of Environmental Quality’s March 2024 Priority Climate Action Plan. The measures fall into three broad categories: transportation, commercial housing and materials and waste.

These include installing electric-vehicle charging stations and encouraging businesses, local governments and individuals to buy electric vehicles. One of the programs would incentivize homebuilders to build new residences that are 10% more energy efficient than those built up to current Oregon requirements. Another would install technology to capture methane gas emitted at landfills.

If all 12 measures are funded, the Department of Environmental Quality estimates the state will cut carbon dioxide emissions by about 1,137,000 metric tons by 2030 and by 6,062,000 metric tons by 2050.

“Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is a critical strategy to mitigate the impacts of climate change,” Gov. Tina Kotek said in a statement. “This investment is not only an affirmation of Oregon’s collective efforts to combat climate change, but a significant down payment on our ability to meet our reduction goals with a statewide approach.”