Oregon Legislature: Protect our climate by protecting forests

Oregon is seeing the effects of climate change like never before: longer, hotter summers, higher waves and wind impacts, reduced snow pack, and increasingly intense fire seasons.

You can help: urge your legislator to vote YES on HB 2020, Oregon's cap and invest climate legislation that has passed out of the House and is set for a Senate vote this week.

HB 2020 is a well-designed, fully vetted legislative proposal that will establish a new Oregon climate action program. HB 2020 will promote carbon sequestration and mitigation, promote adaptation and resilience, and provide assistance for efforts to make this transition to a safer future. It also helps the communities affected most by climate change.

Addressing climate change will:

  • reduce the risks of catastrophic fires and floods;
  • provide major benefits to a clean water supply and wildlife habitat;
  • and support significant new jobs in rural communities.

We know there's no time like the present to address this problem. Recent reports at the national and international level make it clear that conservation and restoration of forests and other natural lands need to be a significant component of climate action, and acting now is imperative.

There is some good news. First, Oregon has a unique advantage in addressing climate change: its remarkably rich forests, farms, and other natural resources. We can transform these lands from victims of climate change to key drivers of the solution.

When protected, forests are the safest, largest, and most expandable carbon sink in the world. With the state almost 50% covered by some of the most productive and carbon-rich forests anywhere, Oregon can be a big part of the solution.

Harnessing the power of Oregon’s forests, farms and other lands to combat climate change is a key component of this bill, thanks to recent amendments. The current version of the bill would invest 20% of the Climate Investment Fund back into forests and other natural and working lands, the most cost effective and near term opportunities for the state to reduce carbon emissions. Globally, forests and other lands could achieve up to 40% of the carbon reductions needed to meet climate targets, at a fraction of the costs of other available approaches.

You can help: Urge your state Senator today to support significant investments in forest and other lands, and the people and communities that manage and steward them, by supporting HB 2020 on the floor. The bill has passed the House 36-24 and is set for a Senate vote this week.

Take action: click the "START WRITING" button to urge your state lawmakers to support HB 2020 and make the role of forests and natural lands central to fighting climate change.

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