University of Oregon's boilers are the single largest source of fossil fuels in Eugene! LETS CHANGE THAT!

Why we need to take climate action:

  • In its 2022 report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change declared that we must reduce our global greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50% by 2030

  • Governor Brown’s Executive Order 20-04 "calls for the state of Oregon to reduce its GHG emissions (1) at least 45% below 1990 emissions levels by 2035"

    • "2021 statewide emissions are 7% higher than 1990 levels," so hitting the targets in Governor Brown’s executive order would be a 52% reduction in GHG emissions

  • The City of Eugene’s Climate Recovery Ordinance set goals to “Reduce community fossil fuel use by 50% of 2010 levels by 2030

  • Why we are focusing on the boiler system:

  • The University of Oregon's campus heating system (the boilers) is the single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Eugene

  • Building heat, which uses the methane boiler system, makes up 49% of campus emissions, meaning fully electrifying the boilers would pretty much meet these climate goals

For info on each of the options the Thermal Transition Taskforce considered, look at this document (starting at page 8): https://cpfm.uoregon.edu/sites/default/files/2024-02/thermal-transition-taskforce-staff-report_20240205.pdf

This doc has the thermal transition taskforce’s recommendation and their reasoning for their decision: https://cpfm.uoregon.edu/sites/default/files/2024-02/thermal-transition-taskforce-recommendation-memo.pdf

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Eugene, Oregon