Oregon Democrats try to learn from British Columbia’s carbon tax B.C.’s tax was backed by conservatives and cut emissions without harming rural communities. Can it work elsewhere? by A man on stilts wears state of Jefferson regalia at a Timber Unity rally in front of the Oregon Capitol in Salem, Feb. 6, 2020. (Bradley W. Parks/OPB) This report is contributed by Jefferson Public Radio, a partner in Getting to Zero, InvestigateWest’s yearlong reporting initiative. In 2019 and again in 2020, Oregon Republicans walked out of the state Legislature to prevent a vote on cap-and-trade climate bills. The legislation was meant to drive down the state’s carbon emissions, but Republicans feared the bills would place the greatest burden of higher fuel prices on sparsely populated rural communities.