Jan 4, 2024

MEDIA CONTACT: Serena Larkin, Sightline Institute, serena@sightline.org   

FULL ARTICLE, MAP, CHARTS: 180 Sites Account for a Quarter of Cascadia’s Carbon Pollution

Alaska, British Columbia, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington count 180 stationary facilities that each emit more than 100,000 metric tons of carbon annually, accounting for roughly a quarter of the entire region’s carbon pollution. New research from regional think tank Sightline Institute identifies the dozens of major polluters that dirty Cascadia’s air and add to the region’s climate-warming pollution every day, even in places with strong climate policies. 

Topping the list are fossil fuel-fired power plants, oil and gas facilities, and forest products facilities, like pulp and paper mills. Many of these sites enjoy notable loopholes in the climate policies of reputationally green Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia.  

“A relatively small number of businesses are responsible for an outsized share of Cascadia’s climate pollution,” said Emily Moore, author of the research and director of Sightline Institute’s climate and energy program. “Despite the technical and political challenges to cleaning them up, they still deserve policymakers’ attention—because Cascadians deserve a healthier environment.” 

Read the full analysis: 180 Sites Account for a Quarter of Cascadia’s Carbon Pollution  

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Emily Moore, Director of Sightline Institute’s Climate and Energy program, leads the organization’s work transitioning Cascadia away from fossil fuels and toward cleaner energy sources. Find her latest research here, and follow her on Twitter at @_enmoore_. 

Sightline Institute is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit think tank providing leading original analysis of energy, housing, democracy, and forests policy in the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, British Columbia, and beyond.  

 

January 4, 2024