EPA Roundtable to be Focus of Global Warming Commission Meeting on January 30

CONTACT:
Angus Duncan, 503-248-7695

SALEM — A roundtable discussion facilitated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency highlights the next meeting of the Oregon Global Warming Commission on Thursday, Jan. 30 in Portland.

The focus of the roundtable will be on the President’s direction to EPA, in June of last year, to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from existing power plants. Participants will be asked how the EPA can shape these proposed regulations to enable effective least-cost compliance from utilities in the Pacific Northwest, and how Oregon and the other Northwest states can prepare to comply with the regulations when EPA issues them in 2015. Roundtable participants include regional utilities, state utility and air quality regulators, and EPA air quality staff from Seattle (Region 10) and Washington D.C. Greenhouse gas emissions from existing power plants represent 33 percent of nationwide emissions.

Following the roundtable discussion, the Commission will hear an update on a carbon tax analysis from Portland State University’s Jeff Renfro and an update on Oregon’s least-cost carbon reduction analysis from the Oregon Department of Energy’s Bill Drumheller.

The public is invited to attend the Commission meeting, which begins at 1 p.m. at the Portland State Office Building (800 NE Oregon St., Room 1A). For those who cannot attend the meeting in person, a listen-only phone line is available by calling 1-877-336-1831 and using code 872206. The meeting agenda is here: http://www.keeporegoncool.org/view/meetings-and-events

The Oregon Global Warming Commission is a 25-member advisory group created by the 2007 Legislature through House Bill 3543. Members were appointed and directed to develop long-term policy recommendations to prepare for, adapt to, and combat global warming.

Public comments can be submitted to the Commission at Oregon.GWC@state.or.us. Sign up for the “Oregon Climate Change News” listserv at www.orclimatechange.gov to hear about Global Warming Commission meetings and the state’s efforts to address climate change.

For more information on climate change activities in Oregon, visit the Oregon Department of Energy Climate Change Portal, www.orclimatechange.gov, and the Global Warming Commission’s website atwww.keeporegoncool.org.

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Oregon Global Warming Commission 625 Marion St. NE Salem, OR, 97301 503-378-4040 Toll-free in Oregon: 1-800-221-8035