PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — On Friday morning, climate-focused Oregon students rallied to demand that Gov. Tina Kotek stop fossil fuel corporations from expanding operations in the state.
One oil transport company, Zenith Energy has 22 fossil fuel storage facilities across North America — including a Portland terminal on 5501 NW Front Ave. According to the company, its Portland terminal stores traditional petroleum products and renewable fuel.
However, climate justice organization the Breach Collective reports that most of the crude oil that the company stores isn’t used in Oregon. The organization says that many community members have lobbied against Zenith Energy’s storage facilities, which could cause train derailments, safety hazards in liquefaction zones, and other environmental issues.
In August 2021, the City of Portland’s Bureau of Development Services denied the Land Use Compatibility Statement that Zenith Energy needed to continue operations in Portland. But later in October 2022, the city approved the company’s LUCS despite prior plans to “pursue a clean energy future.”
Another energy company that Oregon students are striking against is TC Energy, which aims to raise the volume of fracked gas in the Gas Transmission Northwest pipeline by 150 million cubic feet daily.
Breach Collective says TC Energy’s proposal, called the GTN XPress, would “lock the Northwest into expensive fossil fuel energy for decades, impact the health and safety of nearby communities, continue fracking on Tribal lands, and exacerbate the climate crisis.”
Oregon politicians including Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden have publicly denounced the pipeline. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has also asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to reject TC Energy’s proposal.
Now, students with the Portland Youth Climate Strike and Deschutes Youth Climate Coalition are calling on Gov. Kotek to follow Gov. Inslee’s lead. They marched and chanted from the Oregon Convention Center to Pioneer Courthouse Square at 11 a.m. on Friday.
“Because Kotek is so early into her term in office, she can have her agenda center climate justice in a way we haven’t seen before,” said Jacob Glass, a senior at Ida B. Wells High School. “She has the opportunity to be a climate leader and this is the time for her to make that decision on whether she will stick to the status quo of climate inaction or be the climate champion Oregon needs.”