Mar 4 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Michael Milstein The Oregonian, Portland, Ore.

Oregon must immediately plan for a rapidly changing climate and develop an economy that produces far less greenhouse gases if the state is to withstand wrenching changes in its economy and landscape, a special task force reported to the governor.

Most businesses, households and government agencies lack the information and capacity to plan for and adapt to climate change that may proceed faster than many have predicted, the task force said.

The panel recommended that climate change effects be figured into planning efforts such as those affecting land use and transportation.

Gov. Ted Kulongoski appointed the Climate Change Integration Group to provide direction for the state in addressing global warming. The panel outlined the scale and dimensions of the challenge in a newly released 116-page report to the governor.

If the state is to meet the governor's goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, for example, Oregonians must cut the greenhouse gases emitted per person to less than one-quarter of current levels by 2050. That would require sweeping changes in fuel sources, transportation and power use.

The new report includes a detailed update of the state's greenhouse gas emissions. It suggests that the state is making some progress in controlling emissions, but must continue and even expand its efforts.

Emissions controls in the works will do too little to meet the governor's goals, the report says. Also, many actions recommended by a 2004 panel to help control emissions have not been adopted.

The task force, which included top state scientists and business leaders, said that though such changes may not be simple, they present economic opportunity and a chance for Oregon to lead the way for the rest of the nation.

"Meeting the climate challenge also will require a transformation in the ways we plan for the future and make decisions about infrastructure development," the task force reported. "We can no longer rely on the past as a useful predictor of the future."