FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, April 17, 2024
CONTACT: Masayo Simon, 541-852-2883, masayo@RogueClimate.org
Climate Advocates Across Oregon Urge Ashland to Pass Policy for
Climate and Clean Air
[ASHLAND, OR.] Dozens of statewide and local climate leaders sent a letter voicing their support for the Ashland Youth for Electrification Campaign’s proposed Climate & Clean Air Policy Package aimed to lessen fossil fuel use in the city. The letter was presented to the Ashland City Council on Tuesday evening by representatives from Ashland Youth for Electrification.
As a result of youth-led pressure, the Climate & Clean Air Policy Package has already won support from Ashland’s Climate and Environment Policy Advisory Committee. In January, the committee recommended that the city council draft and vote on a suite of policies that would improve community health while working to meet Ashland’s climate goals. Now, communities and climate organizations from across the state are looking to Ashland to lead the way.
“We have clear support locally and from across the state for our demands to begin transitioning Ashland away from fossil fuels,” said Kiera Retiz, Ashland High School Junior and member of Ashland Youth for Electrification. “Now, what we really need is for Ashland City Council to act with the urgency needed to match the climate crisis. We’ve been asking them to put the Climate & Clean Air Policy on the agenda for months now–and will continue to loudly show up at each council meeting until they do.”
The proposed Climate & Clean Air Policy Package is a suite of policies that would include:
- A low nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions standard to limit indoor pollution from gas appliances for new homes.
- A pollution fee for hooking up new homes to a gas line. The fee would go towards a fund that would help low-income households with climate upgrades.
- An end to the construction of new gas lines along public streets and sidewalks starting in December of 2025.
- A resolution to reduce fossil fuels in existing homes and new commercial and industrial buildings in the future.
“The Climate & Clean Air Policy Package proposed by Ashland youth is a holistic and viable way for Ashland to begin meeting the city’s climate goals from the Climate and Energy Action Plan. It’s been seven years since the plan was created, and the city has delayed implementation. It is time for tangible climate action,” Said Susie Garcia, Rogue Valley Coordinator with Rogue Climate. “Rogue Valley communities and supporters from across the state are calling on the Ashland City Council to show that they care about our futures by passing these common sense policies.”
Organizations that signed onto the letter include: Rogue Climate, Southern Oregon Climate Action Now (SOCAN), Rogue Food Unites, Rogue Action Center, Oregon Just Transition Alliance, Oregon Business for Climate, Sierra Club, Oregon League of Conservation Voters, Run on Climate, Community Energy Project, Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility, Electrify Now, 350 Deschutes, 350 Eugene, 350 PDX, Cascadia Wildlands, Stand.earth, Breach Collective, Carleton Hard Architects, Birdsmouth Design-Build, Climate Reality Project, Mobilizing Climate Action Steering Committee, Columbia Riverkeeper, Fossil Free Eugene, Verde, KS Wild, The Sustainability Collective, and Fair Housing Council of Oregon.
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