Oregon was positioned to pass a statewide cap-and-trade bill similar to California’s, which puts a price on carbon emissions and other pollutants. HB 2020 was intended to have state industries purchase allowances to determine how much pollution they’re afforded annually and reinvest that capital into the state.
“On California climate investments it’s the same idea for Oregon,” said Andy Wunder, western states advocate for Environmental Entrepreneurs. “Essentially, as companies buy allowances from the state to comply with the carbon cap and their compliance obligations, the state will then take that money and invest it in communities across the state, and a significant chunk of that investment will go into rebates and incentives for people to put solar on their rooftops.”