Building Resilience Advocacy Day

A coalition of community-based organizations representing Unite Oregon, Oregon Just Transition Alliance, Oregon League of Conservation Voters, Oregon Environmental Council, Climate Solutions, and Community Energy Project, together with advocates and community members gathered today at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem to advocate for the Building Resilience Bill Package (SB 868, 869, 870, and 871). This package of bills is intended to contribute to the ongoing efforts to tackle the climate crisis in Oregon. It is a holistic approach that addresses energy efficiency in both new construction and current homes and buildings.  

Climate justice advocates argue that by 2050, a third of the homes and buildings in Oregon will have been built in the next three decades. These should all be built in a climate-friendly way, to be healthier and more resilient against growing climate harms.

For existing buildings, we must scale up access to heat pumps and energy efficiency upgrades, like sturdier windows and doors and more insulation. This will help lower energy bills as well. We have federal, state, local, and utility programs to help people finance these upgrades. We must maximize these benefits and prioritize frontline communities. The goal in Healthy Heating & Cooling for All is to deploy half-a-million heat pumps in Oregon by 2030.

Oregonians deserve healthy, affordable, resilient homes and buildings that run on clean energy.  Right now, too many of our homes and workplaces put us at risk from the harms of climate change, and the way we heat and cook with fossil fuels is worsening matters, especially for lower-income and frontline communities.

Rene Braga, a Unite Oregon community organizer from the Rogue Valley, experienced the effects of climate change first hand when his mom lost her home to the Almeda Fire of 2020. He said “we need to take action in Oregon, so all our homes and buildings are more resilient to protect us from climate harms. We need to make sure new construction is built smart from the start and remove barriers for all Oregonians who want to improve current homes and buildings to waste less energy, protect us from climate extremes, and run on clean energy. We MUST prioritize helping those most harmed by climate extremes and fossil fuels in vulnerable communities like mine.”

Oregonians deserve healthy, affordable, resilient homes. Climate justice advocates stress that adopting the Building Resilience Bill Package will help achieve this goal. The bill will also help lower energy costs, a huge assistance to our communities, especially with the rising cost of fossil fuel.

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