Debate shapes up over using land to limit carbon emissions
Author: Peter Wong Oregon Capital Bureau
The state Senate Natural Resources Committee heard from about three dozen people in February and a follow-up session is planned later in March. Though representatives of timber industry groups and Oregon Cattlemen’s Association opposed it, Senate Bill 530 won support from environmental groups, along with individual farmers, forest owners and ranchers across the state. The idea of using rural lands to help Oregon meet its overall target of 90% reduction in the current level of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 is not new. It was one of the few things that minority Republicans liked as part of much broader climate change legislation proposed by majority Democrats in 2019 and 2020 — but that was before Republicans walked out of both sessions to block. Sen. Michael Dembrow, D-Portland, led the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee back in 2019, and also sits as one of the legislative members of the Oregon Global Warming Commission, which developed the concept.A skeptical Sen. Fred Girod, R-Lyons, said during the hearing: “The question is not whether it’s going to lead to reductions. The question is who is going to pay for it.” Dembrow replied: “This bill is not about emissions reductions. It is about investing in our working lands to make them more productive and better able to store carbon.”