Oregon’s TIGHGER Climate Strategy Maps 48 Ways to Energy Poverty

By Naomi Inman

Public Comments by John A. Charles, Jr.

The Oregon Dept of Energy and the Oregon Climate Action Commission published a report seeking public comment known as the TIGHGER Project (Transformational Integrated Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction), and also known as the Oregon Climate Action Roadmap.

The TIGHGER 2.0 report presents a long list of utopian “greenhouse gas” reduction gap measures with ramifications for every sector of Oregon’s economy. Cascade Policy Institute’s President and CEO John A. Charles, Jr. submitted a detailed public comment warning that the Oregon energy plan could push the state toward energy poverty.

The Project “aims to assess Oregon’s progress toward meeting the greenhouse gas emission reduction goals established in Executive Order 20-04.” Gov. Brown’s order upped the ante to “reduce greenhouse gas emissions by…80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.”

The best thing about the 7-page report is that it documents ODOE’s outlandish ideas in one place for all to see. The table of 48 “Gap Measures” (pp. 3-7) ODOE plans to use for modeling TIGHGER 2.0 would impose draconian regulations on Oregon ranching, agriculture, transportation and energy in seeking to eliminate virtually all use of fossil fuels.

To pick just one, they imagine eliminating backup diesel generators by 2035. Never mind that diesel backs up power for almost all critical infrastructure, as well as boring production facilities that can’t be rapidly shut down without doing tremendous damage.

Two more radical items topping the list for “climate action” propose that we make Oregon a vegan state and, “Reduce beef and pork consumption 50% by 2025, and shift to seafood.” Another gap measure would “Reduce poultry and egg consumption 30% by 2050. Reduce dairy consumption 30% by 2050.”

When Cascade filed a public records request for lists of “interagency partners” and “sectoral subject matter experts” who offered up these gap measures, we found an echo chamber of 21 agency and electrification advocates. (*see below)

No need to worry about the economic impact of a Trillion Dollar Energy Law. We’re going to be prosperous because the governor has appointed a “Prosperity Council.”

READ THE COMMENTS SUBMITTED BY JOHN CHARLES ON TIGHGER 2.0 DRAFT GAP MEASURES

*TIGHGER Interagency Partners and Sectoral Subject Matter Experts

1. Oregon Department of Administrative Services
2. Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services
3. Oregon Department of Energy
4. Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
5. Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development
6. Oregon Department of Transportation
7. Oregon Health Authority
8. Oregon Housing and Community Services Department
9. Oregon Public Utility Commission
10. Metro
11. Andrea Kreiner
12. Dean Moberg
13. Energy Trust of Oregon
14. Forth Mobility
15. Habitat for Humanity Oregon
16. Northwest Power and Conservation Council
17. Oak Ridge National Laboratory
18. Sustainable Northwest
19. Sustainable Solutions Group
20. Umatilla Electric Cooperative
21. Wy-East Resource Conservation and Development

 Naomi Inman is External Relations Manager at Cascade Policy Institute, Oregon’s free market public policy research organization. As a staff journalist and writer, Naomi helps Cascade make the case for free-market policies through media affairs and publications.

John A. Charles, Jr. is President and CEO of Cascade Policy Institute, Oregon’s free market public policy research organization. He researches, writes, and presents testimony and analysis on state and local issues important to the freedom and opportunity of all Oregonians.