Portland Officials Slam Environmental Protection Agency Climate Rollback – KXL

PORTLAND, OR – The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday moved to roll back long-standing rules that regulate greenhouse gas emissions, drawing sharp opposition from Multnomah County and the City of Portland, which warned the action threatens public health and weakens a key legal foundation for controlling climate pollution.

Local officials said the decision dismantles rules first adopted in 2009 after the agency determined greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare — a finding built on years of scientific research and upheld in multiple court challenges.

“Today’s decision by the EPA to roll back climate protections is not based in science or the public interest,” said Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson. “Instead it’s a naked attempt by the administration to boost fossil fuel interests at the expense of the public’s health and our environment.”

Greenhouse gases, produced largely by burning fossil fuels, trap heat in the atmosphere and oceans, driving climate change. The Fifth National Climate Assessment, released in 2023, found climate change is already harming people across the country, including in the Pacific Northwest. Temperatures in the region have risen about 2.5 degrees Fahrenheit since pre-industrial times and could climb between 4.7 and 10 degrees by 2080, the report said.

Officials pointed to recent extremes as evidence. The 2021 Pacific Northwest heat dome, which caused hundreds of deaths and strained infrastructure, would have been nearly impossible without human-caused warming, scientists have concluded. Oregon’s historically low mountain snowpack this year also aligns with projections that warmer winters will shift precipitation from snow to rain at higher elevations.

“The fact of the matter is that we are already experiencing the impacts of the climate crisis,” said Portland Mayor Keith Wilson. “With this ideologically driven decision the EPA is taking away some of the most important tools we have for regulating emissions, like car and truck emissions standards.”

Transportation accounts for about 40% of greenhouse gas emissions in Multnomah County, according to city analysis. But federal law limits the ability of states and local governments to regulate vehicle emissions, making federal standards a central lever for cutting pollution.

The rollback comes as part of a broader series of actions affecting federal climate programs and research, local leaders said. Despite that, both Multnomah County and Portland pledged to continue their own efforts to curb emissions and prepare for climate impacts.

“This administration is proving the importance of local climate action,” Vega Pederson said. “No one is going to do the hard work for us, and our community expects us to be leaders.”

“I am so proud of the work that the City is doing to reduce emissions and protect residents from climate extremes,” Wilson added. “We are going to lead the nation and show the world that this administration does not dictate climate policy, even as they bend over backwards to accommodate fossil fuel interests.”