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• 2026 Legislative Short Session

• Potential 2026 Policy LC’s / Bills

• News

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2026 Legislative Short Session (Feb 2 to March 9)

The primary climate/carbon issues during the 2026 short session will be related to budget issues primarily caused by Federal funding and policy decisions.  All state agencies have been asked to provide 5% reduction options by program. The revenue / economic forecast due Feb 4 will likely reset budget reconciliation guidelines –> favorably or unfavorably. 

Additionally, this funding situation and Gov Kotek’s 2025/2026 executive orders including prioritizing implementation of clean energy projects and resilience coexist in a very challenging short session.

Potential 2026 Policy LC’s/Bills

A bipartisan group of lawmakers is actively working on creating a new carbon market cap and trade proposal. ‘ Can Oregon and Washington Price Carbon Pollution? ‘- The Climate Trust Published: September 30, 2025 by Gloria Gonzalez, Ecosystem Marketplace's Carbon Program

• Environmental and social justice groups, such as the Sierra Club and Oregon Rural Action, plan to continue advocating for environmental justice during the 2026 session, focusing on issues like clean truck rules, utility rate fairness, and addressing nitrate contamination in communities of color. 

• Make Polluters Pay: Climate Resilience Superfund: The concept is the same as SB 1187 (2025) which was introduced by Sens Golden, Pham and 9 other legislators. The policy is based on similar legislation passed in New York and Vermont. Major greenhouse gas emitters who extract or refine fossil fuels would need to  pay for the impacts to Oregon of their past emissions (from 1995 to 2024).

• Virtual Power Plant / Distributed Energy (“VPP”): Planned bill will promote “virtual power plants” (VPPs) or distributed power plant programs, built from distributed energy resources (DERs) such as home and business batteries, smart thermostats, EV chargers, and other controllable devices. Senator Neron Misslin

Columbia Riverkeeper Data Center Nov 13 View recording of Webinar Unpacking the Impacts of Data Centers.” Kelly Campbell (Policy Director, Columbia Riverkeeper), Environmental Coordinator Kate Valdez with the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation and Equity Analyst & Advocate Sarah Wochele with Oregon Citizens’ Utility Board (CUB)..

Much of the information in this webinar was adapted from Columbia Riverkeepers’ September 2025 background brief on data centers (DCs).

Kelly Campbell, policy director: DCs require intensive cooling systems, consuming millions of gallons of water per day. Over a year, a 100-Mw DC will consume 100 million gallons of water, enough for 2,500 people’s domestic use. Unfortunately, DC systems that are more energy-efficient require more water for cooling. To improve

our understanding of DCs’ water use and how it relates to energy consumption, we need accurate and timely reporting.

If using power generated from natural gas, that 100-Mw DC will generate CO2 emissions equal to that of 60,000 cars. DC expansion is dramatically increasing electricity consumption, jeopardizing the clean energy transition. Utilities are turning to unspecified fossil power instead of renewable energy. Tech companies are pushing small modular nuclear reactors as a “clean” energy source, but it will take at least 15 years for these to become operational. In the meantime, the DCs will continue to use natural gas-fueled power.

Policy strategies need to focus on transparency, accountability, and oversight. Very little information is available to the public on data center size, energy and water use, etc. DC development in Oregon has proceeded with virtually zero public input, with closed-door negotiations between elected officials and tech companies. 

Google and Amazon have consistently resisted transparency demands from citizens and lawmakers. The Washington governor’s work group is developing legislation to address this.

 Kate Valdez, tribal nations representative reported that increased peak loads are detrimental to salmon runs, which are already dangerously low. Fish operations are disrupted in “emergency” situations such as blackouts, when water flow over dams is cut off.

Unsustainable growth of power demand threatens grid reliability that affects all Oregonians. DCs should pay the costs of the new infrastructure they are demanding. We need to ensure that DCs have sufficient energy and transmission availability before they begin operating, and we need closer scrutiny of tax revenue gains and losses before extending current tax incentives.

Sarah Wochele, CUB, noted that Oregonians are unfairly subsidizing DCs through their monthly energy bills. Electricity is becoming “luxury priced,” threatening food security, housing affordability, etc. DC load growth is making it more difficult for Oregon to meet its clean energy targets on time and achieve a just energy transition. DCs are an unprecedented type of new utility customer. A single DC requires enough energy to power a city of 56,000 homes. The distribution system is changing, but ratepaying models are not. DCs are responsible for 94% of PGE’s recent load growth. Without their demand, PGE’s overall electric load would be declining. Investments in energy efficiency have largely been funded by residential households, while the benefits have flowed mostly to DCs.

The 2025 POWER Act (HB 3546) took a step toward greater accountability by requiring the Public Utility Commission (PUC)  to create a DC-specific rate class. PUC’s implementation effort has begun with its UM 2377 proceeding for Portland General Electric (PGE). Columbia Riverkeeper has intervened with a coalition of climate and energy advocates, represented by the Green Energy Institute. CUB finds PGE’s proposal seriously lacking, as it calls for residential customers to pay 42% of the investment costs of serving DCs. A complicating factor is that consumer-owned utilities not regulated by PUC serve 37% of Oregon’s electricity demand.

Parties in UM 2377 will present testimony to PUC through early December. The docket is open for public comment on the importance of protecting our climate and water from DC proliferation. Columbia Riverkeeper is asking PUC to require water use reporting from DCs so we can begin to develop solutions to improve DC efficiency without harming the surrounding environment.

House Interim Committee On Climate, Energy, and Environment

•  11/17/2025 12:00 PM  Video Recording

Stakeholder Comments on the State Energy Strategy

Jennifer Joly, Director, Oregon Municipal Electric Utilities AssociationTucker Billman, Director of Government Relations, Oregon Rural Electric Cooperative AssociationChloe Becker, State Legislative Affairs Manager, Portland General ElectricMary Moerlins, Director of Environmental Policy and Corporate Social Responsibility, NW NaturalNora Apter, Oregon Director, Climate Solutions

Meeting materials

News

ODOE to Release Draft Land-Based Net Carbon Inventory Report with Webinar, Comment Period November 24, 2025 |

DOE Energy Strategy Update  November 2025

To meet growing energy demand, Oregon is ‘nuclear curious,’ mostly cautious • Oregon Capital Chronicle

Editorial: Oregon has a roadmap to divorce from fossil fuels | The Bulletin

Environmental Advocates Remind Portlanders: Clean Energy Fund Essential to Climate Justice; Rerouting Not an Option | Sierra Club

Who’s Ready to Think About Blocking Out the Sun? - The Atlantic (The idea of artificially lowering the planet’s temperature is gaining supporters and hitting political opposition.) 

DEPARTMENT OF THE FUTURE - The Strange and Totally Real Plan to Blot Out the Sun and Reverse Global Warming (A 25-person startup is developing technology to block the sun and turn down the planet’s thermostat.) The stakes are huge — and the company and its critics say regulations need to catch up. - Politico Magazine

Oregon Climate Action Commission  - OCAC

The Oregon Climate Action Commission will meet virtually online on Dec. 12, 2025. Log-in information and meeting materials will be added.

Oregon Climate Action Commission Virtual Meeting Nov. 14, 2025 Meeting Materials: Agenda , Meeting Recording , Meeting Presentations, Governor’s Executive Order 25-26 on Resilience of Natural and Working Lands, Glossary for the Land-based Net Carbon Inventory , Public Comments on TIGHGER 2.0, Response to Public Comments on TIGHGER 2.0. OCAC Reports 2025 

Special Meeting of Oregon Environmental Quality Commission

This meeting was held by Zoom only. Monday, Nov. 24

 Variances for Air Quality Programs to Address Fuel Availability (Action)
DEQ proposed that the commission consider issuing variances from certain requirements as allowed by ORS 468A.075 to support continued fuel delivery through alternative methods in Oregon.   Presentation Slides.

Climate Lawsuits/Our Children’s Trust

By Claudia Keith

November 12, 2025

Our Children’s Trust Submits Friend of the Court Brief to Ecuadorian Constitutional Court Underscoring that Fossil Fuel Development on Indigenous Lands is an Internationally Wrongful Act  | Nov 12 2025.

A Federal Court Dismissed A Youth-Led Legal Challenge To Trump’s Fossil Fuel Orders. Now What? | Climate in the Courts

Numerous lawsuits are challenging Oregon’s DEQ CPP regulations. Here is one example of how to track them. Basically, there are several active state federal lawsuits, (Nov 2025 update) some of which could assist in meeting Oregon's Net Zero GHG Emissions before 2050 targets and other lawsuits, that challenge current Oregon DEQ CPP policy, which would limit the use of fossil fuels, including diesel, natural gas, and propane over time.

Another source: Columbia University Law - Sabin Climate DB lists 91 lawsuits, mentioning OREGON.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED:  What is your passion related to Climate Emergency ?  You can help. Volunteers are needed.  The short legislative session begins in January of 2026. Many State Agency Boards and Commissions meet regularly year-round and need monitoring.  If any area of climate or natural resources is of interest to you, please contact Peggy Lynch, Natural Resources Coordinator, or Claudia Keith Climate Emergency at peggylynchor@gmail.com Or climatepolicy@lwvor.org.  Training will be offered.

Interested in reading additional reports? Please see our Governance, Revenue, Natural Resources, and Social Policy report section