Oregon Establishes Natural and Working Lands Net Carbon Sequestration Goals

CONTACT:
Commission Chair Catherine Macdonald, 503-475-6782
Jennifer Kalez (ODOE), 503-480-9239

The Oregon Climate Action Commission and Oregon Department of Energy established natural and working lands net carbon sequestration goals for the state during the commission's meeting on July 17, 2026. The goal setting followed direction in House Bill 3409, which was passed by the Oregon Legislature in 2023 (and further amended by Senate Bill 1525 in 2024).

The bill directed ODOE and the OCAC to consult with the Oregon Department of Forestry, the Department of Agriculture, the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, and the Department of Fish and Wildlife to establish nonbinding biological carbon sequestration and storage goals for Oregon's natural and working lands. The action updates a recommendation made by the commission in its 2021 Natural and Working Lands Proposal.

In a report to the commission discussed during its July 17 meeting, the Oregon Department of Energy presented three options for voting commission members to consider. OCAC members chose the third option and adopted bold new goals for net sequestration in Oregon's natural and working lands:

Achieve net sequestration of at least 57.6 MMTCO2e per year across all land categories by 2035.

Achieve net sequestration of at least 62.4 MMTCO2e per year across all land categories by 2050.

The goals, while voluntary, set a guidepost for considering land management and stewardship as part of Oregon's ongoing climate action - and they are critical. Even if Oregon met all of its greenhouse gas emissions goals, it would still be necessary to remove legacy emissions already in the atmosphere to keep the global temperatures from rising beyond the global targets. Oregon's lands can help at a scale no other carbon removal technologies have achieved yet.

ODOE and the OCAC will continue to track land-based net sequestration and storage, as first published in 2025's Land-Based Net Carbon Inventory, and report on progress toward achieving these new natural and working lands goals by tracking natural climate solutions implementation over time. Natural climate solutions are actions that maintain or enhance ecosystem resilience and community well-being while also sequestering and storing carbon.

Later this year, ODOE and the OCAC will release a draft report on natural climate solutions and metrics, which will outline natural climate solutions for the state and how to track them and their effects.

"Among its many responsibilities, the Oregon Climate Action Commission is tasked with tracking and evaluating greenhouse gas emissions, recommendations on how the state can reduce emissions across all sectors and uses, as well as with making recommendations on what is needed to mitigate the impacts of a changing climate," said OCAC Chair Catherine Macdonald. "Climate specialists report that we need to reduce our emissions and increase actions that sequester and store carbon to address the climate crisis. This newly established goal is complementary to the sector-based emissions reductions goal. It will help us track Oregon's emissions and removals and help the commission make holistic climate action recommendations to the Legislature."

"Oregon's natural and working lands play a critical role in addressing the climate crisis and supporting the health and well-being of communities across the state," said Oregon Department of Energy Director Janine Benner. "Establishing this land-based goal is an important step to drive the collaborative, voluntary action necessary to increase resilience across our landscape to support the daily lives of Oregonians while also helping address our carbon pollution problem."

Oregon Climate Action Commission to Meet Virtually on August 14, 2026, and Upcoming Committee Meetings