Ana Molina

Oregon has experienced some of the worst climate disasters in recent years; in the face of wildfires, floods and extreme cold, energy is crucial for keeping people alive. And one thing is clear: the for-profit, centralized energy system is not serving the needs of everyday people.

From the development of energy-intensive AI data centers in Eastern Oregon and hydrogen blending with natural gas in Portland, to massive offshore wind development along the Southern Oregon Coast, energy corporations and their allies race for profit while we’re left to suffer extreme climate events. To make matters worse, the investor-owned utilities push misinformation to legislators and regulators with near-infinite resources and capacity, leaving our communities completely out of the equation.

But we’re holding them accountable.

At Oregon Just Transition Alliance (OJTA), we support 18 frontline environmental justice organizations in our shared mission to create ownership over our collective future and move Oregon toward an economy that values workers and the environment. We believe that a Just Transition means that communities decide where their energy comes from and where it is going. Our team at OJTA works to coordinate state-level initiatives that are connected to the local struggles of the low income, BIPOC and rural communities on the ground.

We demystify legislative and commission processes for real, everyday community-members so that they can meaningfully engage in shaping their energy futures. In 2021, we launched the Environmental Justice Leadership Institute. Over the last three years, several community members who first learned about these issues at the Institute have joined local and statewide organizing efforts.

Our movement is growing and our organizing is working! We’ve pushed for and won environmental justice policies that lower greenhouse gas emissions from our utility sector and set targets, prioritize energy efficiency and home weatherization and build community resilience. The alliance is also helping communities build the energy future they want to see: moving money towards resilience hubs and community solar projects, and supporting local organizations in learning about these  funds.

At OJTA, we’re trying new tactics in an effort not to recreate the same extractive and profit-driven system we have now. We want to build a community-owned and -operated energy system, where people have access to the power they need, and where local communities and indigenous tribes have a real say in siting and permitting of new developments. OJTA member organizations are already reimagining how energy can work for people not profit in their communities–it’s up to all of us to continue to stand in solidarity.