FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 6, 2023
 
Press Contacts:
Bethany Cotton, Cascadia Wildlands, (541) 434-1463
Dylan Plummer, Sierra Club
                     
Eugene, Ore. — The City of Eugene voted five to three tonight to phase out fossil fuels like gas in new homes and buildings, a historic step that will cut climate pollution, improve air quality, and lower utility bills for households. The vote from the City Council delivered a major victory to the dozens of climate, environmental justice, health, housing and racial justice groups who organized for more than two years in favor of the policy.
 
“After years of deliberation, Eugene has taken a critical step to cut dangerous air pollution and meet its climate goals with the passage of this ordinance,” said Eugene City Councilor Emily Semple. “With this policy, our city is now set to help lead Oregon in a just transition to clean renewable electricity in homes.”
 
The ordinance approved by the Council requires that all new residential construction, including single-family homes and multi-family buildings three stories and below, be constructed all-electric starting June 30, 2023.
 
Eugene is the 97th city across the country to pass a climate policy incentivizing or requiring electric appliances in new homes and buildings. New all-electric homes in Eugene cut climate pollution by 74% compared to homes that burn gas, while lowering utility bills by nearly $400 dollars annually, according to an analysis from RMI. 
 
“Burning fossil fuels in homes poses an imminent threat to our health and climate. It’s clear we cannot let this source of pollution grow unchecked. I am proud of our City’s leadership in paving the way for local governments across Oregon to take this step in transitioning new homes to clean energy,”said Eugene Mayor Lucy Vinis. 
 
In addition to warming the planet, gas appliances are also a major source of air pollution, both indoors and out. A literature review of the dozens of studies connecting gas appliances like stoves in homes with dangerous air quality prompted the health department in Multnomah County, Oregon to recommend a transition away from gas appliances last year. A recent study from RMI, University of Sydney, and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine found that more than 12% – or one in eight – of childhood asthma cases nationwide can be attributed to gas stove pollution. 
 
“Communities of color in Eugene are more likely to breathe hazardous air in our neighborhoods – our homes should be places of refuge, not one more source of pollution for overburdened lungs. The City of Eugene took an important step today to increase access to healthy all-electric homes,” said Jerrel Brown, environmental and climate justice organizer with the NAACP Eugene-Springfield. 
 
The vote from the City of Eugene came despite fierce opposition from Oregon’s largest gas utility, NW Natural. In the months leading up to the vote, NW Natural angered some Council members by pursuing a range of scare tactics to dissuade the City from moving forward with the climate policy, including providing misleading verbal and written communications to the Council. 
 
“In the face of an aggressive misinformation campaign from NW Natural and the fossil fuel industry at large, local leaders in Eugene have taken a bold step to achieve its climate targets and protect the public from air pollution,” said Dylan Plummer, Senior Campaign Representative with the Sierra Club. “Elected officials across Oregon should follow Eugene’s lead. Local leadership in standing up to polluters has never been more important.” 
 
NW Natural’s misinformation campaign extended outside of Eugene, to communities across Oregon considering electrification measures. Last week, the New York Times reported that in Multnomah County, NW Natural hired a toxicologist with ties to Big Tobacco, to testify at a County hearing, attempting to cast doubt on the science connecting gas stoves to health harms. Records also show that another expert from Gradient Corp sent written testimony to the Eugene City Council on behalf of NW Natural, which was later forwarded to Oregon legislators. Last week, organizations with the Fossil Free Eugene Coalition submitted comments to the City highlighting Dr. Goodman and NW Natural’s false and misleading claims.
 
“The passage of Oregon’s first electrification ordinance is a tremendous victory for the public health and safety of Eugene residents,” said David De La Torre, healthy climate program director at Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility. “As communities across Oregon continue to face the impacts of the COVID 19 crisis and wildfire smoke, it is critical local governments are taking action to reduce exposure to pollutants that contribute to respiratory health impacts, and which increase risk and vulnerability to serious illness.” 
 
Phasing out gas in new homes and buildings is an important first step, and advocates now hope that policy makers in Eugene will work to expand access to electric appliances in existing homes. 
 
“It is already challenging enough to find affordable and accessible housing in Eugene. No tenant should be forced to put their health in harm’s way to put a roof over their head,” noted Timothy Morris, Executive Director of the Springfield Eugene Tenants Association. “We are glad that the City of Eugene has voted to expand access to healthy all-electric homes for future renters.” 
 
Starting this year, Oregon households will be able to take advantage of federal incentives through the Inflation Reduction Act to support the transition to healthy electric appliances – including up to $8,000 per household for an electric heat pump, $1,750 for a heat pump water heater, and $840 for an electric stove. 
 
“We applaud Eugene for taking this significant step toward enlivening our city’s Climate Action Plan, protecting public health, and building a more resilient community,” said Bethany Cotton conservation director with Cascadia Wildlands. “We look forward to working with the city on the next steps to ensure the community can easily access electrification incentives and ensure a just transition off of fossil fuel reliance in buildings and transportation.”
 
“The most vulnerable families in our community may not be aware that every moment they spend cooking to feed their families, they are breathing in poisonous gasses and chemicals that can cause serious diseases like asthma or increase the risk of pneumonia. Yet, these same families are often renters, without the say-so in what appliances are installed in their homes. With the help of ordinances based on public health concerns such as the action taken by Eugene’s City Council today, homes and apartments of the future will be safer because electric appliances don’t emit toxic pollution,” said Lisa Arkin, Executive Director of Beyond Toxics.
 
Find free-to-use photos and footage here. Please attribute to the Fossil Free Eugene Coalition.
 

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Contact:
Bethany Cotton, Cascadia Wildlands, (541) 434-1463
Noah Rott, Sierra Club

Eugene, OR — Over 100 community members rallied ahead of a Eugene City Council hearing last night to support the city’s proposed policy to phase out gas in new homes over climate and health concerns. At the rally, 63 people testified in support of the proposed ordinance, providing hours of testimony to the council about the benefits of electrification. 

“The broad participation and turnout from all corners of the community makes us optimistic that leaders will seriously consider the concerns of residents and pass a first-of-its kind policy in Oregon,” said Paige Hopkins, Climate Justice Organizer with Beyond Toxics. “Eugene won’t be able to achieve its climate goals without addressing the use of gas, and in the process we can lower energy costs and address air pollution in our communities.” 

If approved, Eugene will become the first city in Oregon to require all-electric new buildings in residential construction, with the goal of transitioning existing residential and commercial buildings from gas by 2035. The hearing was the last opportunity for the public to provide comments before the city council votes on a final policy early next year — and the culmination of years of organizing by Fossil Free Eugene, a coalition of environmental justice, racial justice, and housing advocates. 

“The intersection of climate change and housing justice is clear. Tenants rely on our local government to protect us, plan for our future well-being, and to make decisions that help keep us safe, housed, and healthy,” Tim Morris, Executive Director of the Springfield Eugene Tenants Association testified. “We rely on your choice — your choice to not be swayed by misinformation campaigns and instead to invest in the future of your constituents.”

In a letter to the Eugene City Council, a group of over 40 building and architectural firms and individual building professionals endorsed the policy, highlighting the imperative to transition the building sector away from fossil fuels as it is considered one of the fastest growing sources of emissions in the city. The group also emphasized the role of all-electric, efficient appliances such as heat pumps, which have been shown to significantly reduce household energy costs and cut climate pollution. 

The Active Bethel Community (ABC) neighborhood association, which represents an already pollution-overburdened working class neighborhood in West Eugene, also submitted a letter in support of the ordinance, highlighting the disproportionate impacts of pollution from gas stoves and industry in predominantly low-income and communities of color. In their letter, they also affirmed their opposition to NW Natural’s recently withdrawn hydrogen blending pilot project, citing the significant health and safety risks.

Earlier this month, the Multnomah County Health Department released a report recommending a transition away from gas appliances in homes due to health risks, citing evidence that homes with gas stoves have significantly higher levels of indoor nitrogen oxide pollution, which increases a person’s susceptibility to respiratory infections, and evidence that children living in homes with gas stoves are 42 percent more likely to develop asthma symptoms. 

“Using Eugene Water and Electricity Board’s 2021 published emissions intensity, an RMI analysis found that the emissions reduction for an all-electric home was 74 percent compared to a mixed fuel home, a reduction of 30 metric tons of CO2 over a 15-year period,” said Jonny Kocher, Senior Associate with RMI. “The analysis also found that all-electric homes built with Energy Star-rated heat pumps cost $3,446 less than a mixed fuel home in the City of Eugene. These savings are because heat pumps can both heat and cool, avoiding the need for both an air conditioner and furnace.”

Across the nation, more than 90 cities and counties have voted to phase out gas in new construction. Just this month Washington State became the first in the nation to require highly efficient heat pumps for new commercial and residential buildings.

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The post Press Release: Eugene City Council Hears Overwhelming Support for Healthy Homes Policy first appeared on Cascadia Wildlands.

Contacts:
Bethany Cotton, Cascadia Wildlands, (541) 434-1463
Danny Noonan, Breach Collective

EUGENE, OREGON — In a major step toward a clean energy future, the Eugene City Council voted today to move forward with a suite of measures advancing the transition off of gas in homes and buildings. The motions include one directing staff to draft ordinance language to mandate that all new homes be constructed 100% electric by June 1, 2023; a second advancing conversations to transition new commercial and industrial construction to require all electric; and a third directing the City Manager to formalize Eugene’s goal of electrifying all existing residential and commercial buildings by 2035.

“The first step when you are in a hole is to stop digging. As the consequences of climate change bear down on our state, it has never been more clear that we cannot afford to expand the use of fossil fuels by connecting new homes to the gas system. Eugene’s vote today brings us one step closer to the clean energy future for homes we urgently need,” said Dylan Plummer, senior campaign representative with the Sierra Club.

The votes come as the city of Eugene swelters in triple digit temperatures this week – the latest climate-fueled heat wave to strike the Northwest, where access to cooling in homes remains low. In addition to cutting climate pollution, electrifying homes using highly-efficient electric appliances like heat pumps, which provide affordable cooling, will also boost household resilience in the face of extreme heat.

“The urgency of acting on climate could not be more clear: our communities are experiencing the impacts of climate inaction now: sweltering heat and high wildfire risk, along with the indoor air pollution related health impacts of continued reliance on dirty, dangerous fossil fuels,” said Bethany Cotton, conservation director with Cascadia Wildlands. “Eugene has an ambitious climate plan, but heretofore has not done enough to enliven that document. We applaud the council for moving these resolutions forward and look forward to them finalizing the ordinances this fall.” 

In addition to voting to advance ambitious targets for electrifying homes and buildings, the City Council also voted to direct the City Manager to return to the city with a public engagement plan regarding the transition of existing buildings to all electric, focused on social, environmental and economic equity. To effectively serve the low-income communities and communities of color that are most burdened by fossil fuel pollution, high energy bills, and climate crisis, Eugene’s policy framework for transitioning existing homes to run on 100% clean energy must be developed in partnership with local community leaders.

“Transitioning homes in Eugene off of fossil fuels in favor of clean energy can advance public health, racial, and income justice. We look forward to partnering with the city in developing a policy framework that will ensure low-income communities and communities of color are prioritized in the transition to healthier homes, and not left behind,” said Eloise Navarro, environmental climate justice coordinator with the Eugene/Springfield NAACP.

Eugene’s vote directing staff to draft ordinance language phasing out gas in new homes and buildings follows months of community engagement and workshops — during which NW Natural, the gas utility serving the city, sought to derail the policy, despite the health, climate and economic benefits. In recent testimony from the utility in an ongoing rate case surrounding its proposed 11.8% rate hike for residential customers, the utility affirmed its intent to bill utility customers for staff time spent fighting Eugene’s climate policy for new homes.

“The Eugene City Council has been subjected to months of fossil fuel industry manipulation tactics from NW Natural. Today, the Council listened to the hundreds of community members who testified and emailed them supporting a just transition and proved that they will not back down from delivering on healthy and climate-resilient homes for their constituents,” said Aya Cockram, coalition coordinator with Fossil Free Eugene.

“After months of intense lobbying, advertising and other scare tactics by one of Oregon’s largest fossil fuel corporations, it is relieving to see Eugene City Council hold firm and continue on the path towards building electrification. Electrifying new residential buildings is the low-hanging fruit, and we now have a clear timeline for making that happen. But it is encouraging that Council also signaled their commitment to taking on the challenge of electrifying new commercial buildings and our existing building stock,” said Danny Noonan, climate and energy strategist with Breach Collective.

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Position Title: Coalition Coordinator, Fossil Free Eugene Coalition
Location: Eugene, OR
*This position is work from home, and coalition meetings are currently being held remotely due to the pandemic. However, we expect to resume in person meetings at some point in 2022, thus being based in Lane County, Oregon is required.
Reports to: Fossil Free Eugene and Lane County Coalition Steering Committee
Pay: The successful applicant will work as a contractor at $28/hour for 20 hours/per week. The position does not include office space or benefits and the contractor is responsible for making all tax payments. The Coalition Coordinator position is currently funded for two years.
 
Application deadline: Priority review begins January 24th, 2021 (although candidates are encouraged to apply ASAP). Open until filled.
Desired start date: February 28, 2021

ABOUT FOSSIL FREE EUGENE AND LANE COUNTY
Fossil Free Eugene and Lane County is a coalition of grassroots organizations and community members calling on the City of Eugene to follow through with the climate goals that it set for itself, and lead the way to forging a just transition away from fossil fuels for all of its residents. In 2014, the city of Eugene passed the Climate Recovery Ordinance (CRO) with bold targets to reduce our consumption of fossil fuels and prevent catastrophic climate change. Now, more than six years later, the city has done little to ensure that these goals are met. As the climate crisis continues to worsen, and our local community is impacted by climate-driven wildfire and drought, it is time for the city to act.
 
The coalition seeks to prevent construction of new fracked gas (methane) infrastructure in buildings in the City of Eugene, and develop an equitable and just framework and funding mechanism for transitioning existing buildings off of fracked gas in the near future. Coalition members are also working at the County level to attain similar goals toward transitioning off of fossil fuels.
 
COALITION COORDINATOR POSITION SUMMARY
The Fossil Free Eugene and Lane County coalition is seeking a coordinator to work with our ever-growing coalition of organizations and advocates working to ensure a community powered by clean renewable electricity and thus more resilient to climate change. The Coordinator will schedule and facilitate regular meetings of the Steering Committee and full Coalition, will keep agendas and notes and work with the Steering Committee on implementing and revising the Coalition’s campaign plans. The Coordinator will also focus on outreach and collaboration with Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC), rural and low income communities in the Eugene area and across Lane County, as well as key unions that stand to be impacted by the transition off of fossil fuels. The Coordinator will be responsible for updating the coalition website and engaging across social media channels.
 
This is a part time position requiring reliable internet, phone and computer access.

QUALIFICATIONS
The Grassroots Organizer must have excellent organizational and interpersonal skills as well as an ability to prioritize tasks in a dynamic, campaign-heavy setting.

Candidates must have:

• A passion for grassroots movement building and local-scale campaigning
• A commitment to building a more diverse, equitable and inclusive climate justice movement
• An ability and desire to form meaningful relationships with diverse constituencies
• Commitment to building a movement through cultivating volunteers, creating personal connections with community members and leaders, and supporting fellow coalition members in their work
• A commitment to minimizing the campaign’s environmental footprint
• An ability to have fun and a sense of humor
• Be fully vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19 by the position start date

Experience:

• Experience engaging and organizing the public in conservation or social justice campaigns and building successful relationships with diverse stakeholders
• Experience using modern office and communication systems, including fluency in social media engagement
• Experience planning, coordinating, and executing outreach events

Education:

• Undergraduate degree preferred, although a passion for grassroots organizing to effect change is more relevant; advanced degree in a relevant field beneficial but unnecessary
• Understanding of climate science

Abilities:

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, written and verbal
• Comfort facilitating meetings of diverse stakeholders, both virtual and in person
• Strong grasp of intersectional organizing principles and comfort working with diverse volunteers and allies as well as strong group facilitation skills
• Excellent judgment and confidence to make decisions
• Strong time and task-management skills
• Computer and other standard office equipment skills sufficient to prepare flyers and other communications, update Salsa CRM database records, email, and website posting
• Ability to work some weekends and evenings

Additional valuable, but not required skills:

• Spanish language fluency
• Experience in local or county government advocacy

WORKLOAD BREAKDOWN

Coalition Coordination: 40%
Coordinating all coalition meetings and activities, convening and facilitating meetings, developing agendas, distributing notes and information to coalition listserve, etc.
 
Organizing and Outreach: 40%
Growing the coalition via digital and traditional organizing and outreach strategies and tactics, with a specific focus on BIPOC, low income and systemically excluded communities in Eugene and Lane County. Organize coalition members and supportive businesses to testify at City Council meetings and attend other key meetings and events (virtually and eventually in person).
 
Communications and Media Engagement: 15%
Maintain and update the coalition website. Regularly engage on social media channels. Coordinate use of shared digital outreach materials. Distribute coalition press releases and respond to media inquiries.
 
Development: 5%
Work with the steering committee to report campaign progress to our funders.

HOW TO APPLY
We are currently accepting applications. Priority review will begin January 24th, 2022. Applicants are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. The position is open until filled. Due to capacity, only those applicants invited to interview will be contacted. We anticipate a mid-February, 2022 start date.
 
Email a cover letter, resume with three professional references, and relevant writing sample (not longer than 10 pages) as a single PDF to apply@cascwild.org with “FFE Coalition Coordinator” in the subject line. No phone calls or additional emails please. Thank you for your time and interest!

The Fossil Free Eugene Coalition is committed to cultivating a diverse, empowered, and respectful community in the workplace and beyond. We do not discriminate against individuals on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, parental status, marital status, veteran status, ancestry, or national or ethnic origin. People of all ethnicities and gender identities and sexual orientations are welcome and encouraged to apply.

We are an equal opportunity employer.

The post Fossil Free Eugene & Lane County Seeks Coalition Coordinator first appeared on Cascadia Wildlands.

Join us in speaking at the next City Council meeting!
Monday, May 24, 2021 
Join @ 7:15 PM | Begins @ 7:30 PM

Online Virtual Event, Free and Open to the Public
Zoom link

How To:

*Use the “raise hand” zoom function to ensure that you get a chance to testify. It’s critical that we continue to keep up a presence at all city council meetings letting them know that this is a critical issue for our city, and that they cannot continue to kick the can down the road on climate issues.

Find template testimony here, and a fact sheet that you can use to add additional information to your testimony. It is always most powerful if you create a unique testimony focused on your lived experience and why you care about electrifying buildings and fighting the climate crisis. 

If you’re not able to testify, please consider using our online action to tell them to regulate fossil fuels in the city, or even better, write them a personalized comment and send to: mayorcouncilandcitymanager@eugene-or.gov.

Fossil Free Eugene is a coalition of local grassroots organizations calling for the end of fracked gas in Eugene. Here are our demands:

1. Mandate the transition of all utilities in Eugene to 100% renewable energy by 2030
2. Ban the construction of all new fossil fuel infrastructure in Eugene
3. Levy a fee on NW Natural and other climate polluters to create a justice fund to transition low income and historically marginalized communities from fracked gas to electric appliances, and to retrofit these homes to increase efficiency

You can read more about the Fossil Free Eugene coalition here.

The post Tell City Council: It’s Time for a Fossil Free Eugene — Monday, May 24 first appeared on Cascadia Wildlands.

Contacts:
Dylan Plummer, Grassroots Organizer, Cascadia Wildlands, (541) 434-1463
Avery Temple, Climate Justice Fellow, Cascadia Wildlands

City of Eugene Hits Brakes on NW Natural Contract Renewal, Citing Climate Goals

30+ Grassroots Climate Groups Claim Victory as City Council Stalls on Talks

EUGENE, OR – After three months of public pressure and countless hours of public testimony about the climate and health impacts of fracked gas, the City’s franchise negotiations with NW Natural last night hit an impasse. Members of the Fossil Free Eugene campaign hailed this new development as a victory, as the franchise agreement being discussed was set to lock the city into a ten-year contract in which the fracked gas corporation could use the City’s right of way to expand its infrastructure and capacity without restriction. 

Dylan Plummer, Grassroots Organizer with Cascadia Wildlands, said:
“I am heartened to see the City taking bold steps to reconsider contract terms with NorthWest Natural after many months of grassroots pressure to act on climate. NorthWest Natural is following the same fossil fuel playbook used against communities across the country to try and intimidate our town — astroturfing tactics, veiled threats, and public relations designed to delay, divide, and distract. Last night a majority of our City Council showed us, the youth of Eugene, that they’re not fooled and are ready to take bold action to transition to renewable energy and protect our future.”

Councilor Jennifer Yeh said:
“While I was supportive of the efforts to negotiate a new franchise agreement and carbon reduction agreement initially, because I felt like having NorthWest Natural as a partner in this agreement would be ideal, it seems that dragging out these unsuccessful negotiations is not going to benefit anyone. It’s time for us to look for different ways to achieve our climate recovery goals concerning the use of natural gas”

“We cannot continue to use fossil fuels like we have in the past. If NorthWest Natural does not want to be a partner in reducing these negative impacts, then we need to find other ways to protect our community, as a community.”

“Why encourage the increased use of a harmful fossil fuel, when we can transition to safer carbon free options… Eugene may be a small city, but by adding our efforts to the efforts of other communities, we can make real change”

Mayor Lucy Vinis said:
“I don’t want to be a model to show how a city is held hostage to a franchise agreement that doesn’t serve our higher goals. It is an important moment to stand really clearly for what we see as our legacy work going forward.”

“This meeting is a point in time to just say that we’re most likely to see this lapse, it’s not to say that we’re not continuing to negotiate, that we’re not going to continue to try and find a path… but we’re at this point of time where we’re just not close enough”

Councilor Claire Syrett said:
“Two years ago we gave NorthWest Natural an opportunity to step up and join us in demonstrating leadership on addressing climate change, and to create a model of an agreement that other communities could follow… As we’ve gone through this process, I have seen NorthWest Natural dragging their feet, engaging in a public relations campaign that spreads lies about what we are doing, that they are not sincere in wanting to come to an agreement that would actually benefit us.”

“[The franchise agreement that NorthWest Natural is proposing] is really a lopsided agreement that pays lip service to their state commitment to work towards greenhouse gas reduction. This is an industry that is facing an existential crisis: fossil fuels need to be phased out. We were hoping to work together towards a transition to a future that we need to embrace, but NorthWest Natural seems to be working the tobacco industry playbook instead, seems determined to push back on these efforts instead of facing the future with grace and integrity.”

The city of Eugene has been in a protracted back and forth with the gas utility for over a year and a half over the future of using “natural” fracked gas to heat homes, schools and businesses in the city, and Councilors are openly discussing the possibility of walking away from negotiations. 

Eugene has demanded that the utility commit to emissions reductions necessary to reach their climate goals. Yet the utility has refused to budge, leading to drawn-out negotiations and multiple six-month extensions of the current agreement. The current extension is set to end in May, and City employees say that they need to have a plan of action by mid February at the latest to avoid a lapse in the agreement.

Sahara Valentine, a high school organizer with Earth Guardians 350 (EG350) and plaintiff in the Juliana v. United States climate lawsuit, said:
“My generation recognizes that we will be inheriting the climate crisis, and that’s why we are fighting to prioritize a safe environment for all. It is time for City Council to show that they value my future by justly transition Eugene off of fossil fuels”

Yesterday morning, more than 30 organizations, including the national environmental organization the Sierra Club, Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility and NAACP Eugene Springfield sent a public letter to Mayor Lucy Vinis, City Manager Sarah Medary, and the Eugene City Council, calling on Eugene to walk away from franchise agreement negotiations with the fracked gas utility NorthWest Natural. The letter outlined the organizations’ concerns about the impacts of gas to climate and public health. Last month, the Eugene Sustainability Commission endorsed the platform of this newly formed alliance, the Fossil Free Eugene coalition, in a resolution.

Damon Motz-Storey, Healthy Climate Program Director with Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility, said:
“The scientific evidence is clear: not only does fracked gas accelerate the climate crisis — one of the greatest public health crises the world has ever faced — it also harms our health right inside of our homes. We must take bold action to phase out the use of gas in homes, increase home energy efficiency, and transition to clean energy by developing the local workforce.”

Beyond the immediate cessation of franchise negotiations, the coalition is calling for the city to: (1) ban all new fossil fuel infrastructure, including new gas hookups; (2) mandate a transition to 100% renewable energy; and (3) utilize the ongoing franchise agreement negotiations with NorthWest Natural to develop a fund for transitioning the community to renewables.

Avery Temple, Environmental and Climate Justice Fellow with Cascadia Wildlands, said:
“Big corporate polluters, like NorthWest Natural, cause massive harm to BIPOC communities. Fossil fuel industries induce climate change at our expense to line their pockets. We must be bold in our demands to forge a just transition away from fossil fuels and towards an equitable future for all.”

Rachel Golden, deputy director of the Sierra Club’s Clean Buildings campaign, said:
“The science is clear: we can’t avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis if we keep making new buildings dependent on fracked gas. By asking their gas utility to quit digging the climate hole any deeper, Eugene is putting action behind their words and setting a national example for climate leadership.”

Selena Blick, Fossil Free Eugene Coordinator with 350 Eugene, said:
“If the City Council is serious about meeting Eugene’s climate goals, they need to stand up to NorthWest Natural and walk away from this franchise agreement. NorthWest Natural does not have our city’s or our planet’s best interests at heart and must be treated just like any other fossil fuel company and held accountable for their role in the climate crisis.”

Cities and states across the country are embracing efforts to require that new construction utilize electric appliances instead of gas-fired ones. For most of Oregon, swapping gas for electric heating is the climate equivalent of giving up a car cold turkey. While most cities are using ordinances and building code updates to address building emissions, Eugene is taking a unique approach by critically examining their franchise agreement with their gas utility. 

The following organizations are part of the Fossil Free Eugene Coalition: Beyond Toxics, Black Thistle Street Aid, Breach Collective, Cascadia Action Network, Cascadia Wildlands, Earth Guardians 350, East Side Solar, Electrify Now, Eugene Democratic Socialists of America, Eugene Environmental and Climate Justice Committee, Eugene Interfaith Earthkeepers, Extinction Rebellion Justice Eugene, Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics and Ecology, Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation, Great Northwest Installation, Human Rights, Greywater Action, Human Stories, Many Rivers Group Sierra Club, NAACP Eugene Springfield, Oregon Chapter Sierra Club, Oregon League of Conservation Voters, Protect Our Winters – Central Oregon Alliance, Sanctuary Committee of Temple Beth Israel, The Sierra Club (National), Springfield Eugene Tenants Association, Springfield Eugene Showing Up for Racial Justice, Stand.earth, Sunrise Eugene, Solar Oregon, Twende Solar, University of Oregon Climate Justice League, and 350 Eugene.

Background and Resources:
Watch the City Council work session here (starting at around 50 minutes). Watch the public forum and the rest of the work session here. Find the draft of the franchise agreement being discussed here (starting at page 17).

Read the letter sent to Mayor Lucy Vinis and Eugene City Councilors here. Read more about the City of Eugene’s franchise agreement with NorthWest Natural here. Read about the Fossil Free Coalition here. 

Find relevant, free to use photographs here.

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