Oregon’s 35-day short legislative session left little for climate and environmental advocates to celebrate when it wrapped up earlier this month. Instead, they say, support for climate action, both state and federal, has dwindled.
The Trump administration and the Republican-backed U.S. Congress rescinded billions of dollars originally allocated for climate action across the country over the past year. That’s cost Oregon hundreds of millions of dollars that would have gone to alleviating strain on the power grid, helping Oregonians save money on electric bills and increasing solar adoption.
Some lawmakers hoped to help fill those gaps when they convened in Salem in February.
Legislators attend the opening session at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem, Ore. on Monday, Feb 2, 2026.
Saskia Hatvany / OPB
And some climate priorities did win lawmakers’ approval. A bill fast-tracking siting and permitting for renewable energy projects passed with Gov. Tina Kotek’s support, and now awaits her signature.
But more environmental policy proposals failed than advanced.
Among them was a balcony solar bill that would have created rules for Oregonians wanting home-based solar power at a much lower cost than rooftop solar. Another bill would have expanded technology known as “virtual power plants,” a crowdsourced approach to alleviating strain on the power grid when energy use is high.
But these bills won’t make it to Kotek’s desk for her signature.
As Democrats who dominate the state Legislature focused on a dire state transportation budget and on funding an overhaul of Moda Center to keep the Trail Blazers in Portland, climate was on the back burner.
That’s a stark change from 2019 and 2020, when Democrats in Salem made climate policies a top priority — pushing for cap-and-trade legislation that would have sharply limited greenhouse gas emissions. Both years, Republicans walked out of the Capitol to successfully prevent a vote, saying each year’s proposals would have undercut logging, farming and rural life.
This year, some Republicans again opposed Democratic climate policies, but Democrats, who continued to have large majorities, were also largely focused on other issues.
That’s left environmental advocates and lawmakers focused on climate change, frustrated about the month they spent in Salem, and hoping for stronger action when the Legislature convenes for a longer session next year.
“We need the Legislature to prioritize climate work. As much as they prioritize all these other things — virtually everything else — and without that, we will continue to fail to address the moment and do our part to solve climate change,” said state Rep. Mark Gamba, a Democrat from Milwaukie, who was a chief sponsor or supporter of many House bills related to climate action.
Coming into this short session, Gamba said he knew anything that needed state funding was going to be tough to pass.
Oregon lawmakers faced a massive transportation funding shortfall, federal tax cuts that would have trickled down to the state’s tax code without action, and cuts to programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known informally as food stamps.
“It’s massive amounts of money,” Gamba said, adding that filling these gaps will take “far beyond what our revenue is going to be able to handle.”
Negotiations and policymaking aimed at filling those gaps took time and attention away from climate action, he said.
Oregon state Sen. Jeff Golden, a Democrat from Ashland, also saw financial pressures and other issues push lawmakers’ climate priorities aside.
“Climate has really taken a backseat,” Golden said. “We are not progressing anywhere close to the pace we have to, and I think the advocates, who are really concerned about that, have a good reason to be.”
Golden, who announced 2026 would be his last year in office after decades of public service, was the chief sponsor of the climate superfund bill. It would have required fossil fuel companies and other polluters to pay into a fund to compensate for their contributions to climate change and the damage caused by extreme weather.
“People say, ‘Don’t get too ambitious in the short session,’ and there are good reasons for that, but I don’t think we cannot let a single session, long or short, go by without a serious conversation about our climate future,” he said. “And I chose this bill because it’s part of a national movement.”
Two states, New York and Vermont, passed their own versions of this legislation, he said.
But the bill died in Oregon, despite gaining more support from legislators and climate advocates than last time it was proposed, Golden said.
Legislators were “besieged by crises” that allowed other bills to jump the line in front of climate action, he said, and issues like transportation funding took “all the oxygen out of the room.”
Golden also described a shift in public opinion about climate change, with many people thinking about it only in the context of disasters, like wildfires or extreme heat.
But environmental and climate advocates are not giving up. They see momentum behind some of the failed bills they supported this session, and hope it will continue to build next year.
Rogue Climate organizing director Jess Grady-Benson said her group was extremely disappointed with the lack of attention to climate action this session, especially around the climate superfund bill.
“The costs of climate change are already being paid by our communities — in folks losing their homes, some folks losing their lives, the impacts to our health, lost days going to school or being able to play sports outside because of the smoke or being able to work outside,” she said. “And the investments we’re going to need as a state to prepare our communities to be more resilient in the face of increasing extreme weather are significant, and so legislators have a choice to make.”
Nearly 50 organizations statewide supported the bill, she said, and she takes that as a sign of momentum that could help next time the idea is proposed.
Oregon Business for Climate’s director, Tim Miller, is also already preparing to push for more climate action next legislative session.
“We’re looking to bring more and more businesses into the mix to bring their voice to advance a range of climate policies,” he said. “We’ll be looking to advance policies that help address our need for more clean power.”
