On Thursday, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality announced during a commission meeting that CALSTART, a nonprofit that focuses on reducing carbon emissions from the transportation sector, will run the state’s Community Climate Investment program.
“I’m personally really excited about this milestone and getting much closer to work that’s going to benefit communities throughout the state, particularly our communities most impacted by pollution and with less access to clean energy options, including our tribes, our rural communities, our low-income communities and communities of color,” DEQ Director Leah Feldon said during the meeting.
This is the second time DEQ has attempted to launch the Community Climate Investment program. The agency had to restart in 2025 after the Oregon Court of Appeals invalidated the program.
The Community Climate Investment credit program stems from the Climate Protection Program, which sets mandatory caps on greenhouse gas emissions from oil and gas companies in the state over the next two decades. If companies do not lower their carbon emissions, they are required to buy credits through the program.
Those funds would then be invested in climate action projects, like creating more renewable energy, retrofitting and weatherizing buildings.
DEQ said CALSTART was selected after a 10-week search and extensive review.
CALSTART’s past experience running similar programs nationwide made it a top choice, Feldon said.
“As the name suggests, they did have their beginnings in California, but they have been operating in Washington, Colorado, and New York as well, and now soon to be Oregon,” she said. “They really demonstrated broad experience with balancing the fiduciary responsibility as a third-party administrator of public funds with demonstrated experience in implementing projects in environmental justice and disadvantaged communities and this balance is exactly what we were looking for.”
For now, CALSTART will work with local groups to identify opportunities to reduce carbon emissions.
CALSTART Program Manager Connor Herman said he’s looking forward to working with DEQ “to advance a clean, affordable energy future for communities across the state.”
But the Climate Protection Program is being sued by fossil fuel groups, labor unions and trade associations, who claim the agency does not have authority to implement it.
Despite these challenges, Environmental Quality Commission member Mark Webb said he is excited by the selection of CALSTART.
“There’s uncertainty and there’s some frustration with the Climate Protection Program and this program in particular, in the broader Oregon community context,” he said. “...I think there’s probably not a better organization to start this process. I’m sure there’ll be a lot of learning, but I’m fairly confident it’ll be successful in terms of the outcomes we’re targeting.”
DEQ and CALSTART plan to complete an agreement by the end of the year.
