Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard

By HILLARY BORRUD

The Oregonian | OregonLive

Gov. Kate Brown is traveling to Germany on Saturday as part of a delegation of West Coast governors. They plan to uphold their part of the Paris global warming agreement rejected by President Donald Trump.

It will be Brown’s third official international trip as governor since she took office in February 2015. Her two previous trips abroad were trade missions to Asia, the most recent just last month.

Brown is scheduled to speak on Tuesday in Bonn about the role of states in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

“With Trump’s decision to back out of the Paris Agreement, I’m joining other state leaders to keep our country moving forward on climate,” Brown said in an email sent out by her campaign on Thursday. The Democrat is seeking reelection in 2018.

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Pablo Martinez Monsivais

The governor has previously described the international agreement to reduce emissions as “the best chance we have to create jobs, promote trade, spur innovation, and preserve American competitiveness in a 21st century economy.”

Brown is taking her chief of staff Nik Blosser, energy and climate advisor Ruchi Sadhir and communications director Chris Pair to Germany with her, according to spokesmans Bryan Hockaday. Two members of the state police’s Diplomatic Protection Unit, which is responsible for the governor’s security, will also accompany her.

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Hillary Borrud | The Oregonian/OregonLive

The governor’s office won’t know the total cost until after the trip, but the state also is not footing the entire bill, Hockaday wrote. Private groups are covering part of the cost for a “delegation of U.S. states” including Oregon to attend, according to the governor’s office.

The other governors in the delegation are also Democrats: Jay Inslee from Washington, Jerry Brown from California and Terry McAuliffe from Virginia. A couple of Republican governors are sending staffers to the talks, as are some Democrats.

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AP Photo/Eric Risberg

Two of the private groups paying for the trip, The Climate Registry and Climate Action Reserve, are nonprofits that handle accounting and reporting of carbon emissions and projects that are designed to reduce pollution. They could have a major role in Oregon, if lawmakers pass a $1.4 billion carbon pricing plan as many Democrats want to do in 2018. The Georgetown Climate Center, part of the university's law school, is also helping pay for the public officials' travel to Germany.

The Climate Action Reserve also paid for Sadhir to travel to the Paris climate talks in 2015, the East Oregonian reported. Oregon's government ethics law allows public officials to have nonprofits cover the cost of certain trips where they will represent the state.

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Photo Courtesy of Oregon Governor's Office

Brown's first official international trip as governor was a trade mission to China, Vietnam and Japan two years ago to promote Oregon products, strengthen existing business relationships and explore opportunities to increase the state's exports to Asia.

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Photo Courtesy of Oregon Governor's Office

Last month, Brown traveled to Japan and Hong Kong on her second trade mission. It included meetings with container shipping companies that Oregon officials hope might agree to restart container shipping service at the Port of Portland's marine terminal.

So far, no shipping deals have been announced.

-- Hillary Borrud

hborrud@oregonian.com

503-294-4034; @hborrud