TCI Regional Policy Design Stakeholder Submissions

I would love to see: More choice of less expensive electric cars; advertising to shame rich people into stop driving huge, gas wasting cars; recharging stations at every rest stop on all major highways.(A family could stop and have a snack while charging their car. Knowing charging stations stations would be available would make people more comfortable moving to all electric cars.)
I drove to the rich western suburbs of Boston on Feb. 20, 2020. I watched carefully as I drove. I saw 1 hybrid car and 1 Tesla. The rest of the cars were very expensive cars, some V6’s and some V8’s !! I see this as shameful !! How are these people so ignorant !!
Otherwise, we need to make all forms of public transportation buses, trains, and subways all electric ASAP. Thank you for all you do.
Sincerely, Rebecca Bennett

As a student currently working on transportation concerns in Middlebury, I was very curious to read the Memorandum of Understanding put forward by the Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI). The TCI proposes the establishment of a regional program composed of 12 states and Washington, D.C., all committing to transition to a low-carbon, sustainable transportation sector through the implementation of a regional cap-and-invest program.
I agree with the TCI’s emphasis on cleaning up the transportation sector. If we’re going to act on climate change, we need to act fast. The 2018 IPCC report gave us twelve years (now ten) to cut global greenhouse gas emissions 45% below 2010 levels to have any hope of limiting warming beyond 1.5C. The recent ratification of the Global Warming Solutions Act (H.688) by the Vermont House is a promising start to what will hopefully be decisive, thoughtful, and socially-just continued action by the Vermont government to curb emissions.
The TCI is another step forward for Vermont, one unique in that it specifically tackles transportation, which makes up nearly half of the state’s current climate pollution. Curbing transportation emissions is a must if Vermont seeks to meet our commitment to the 2015 Paris Climate Accord by 2025. So yes, let’s join the TCI…BUT…
It MUST fully center the needs and rights of low income and working-class Vermonters in a just transition to a renewable energy-powered transportation future.
This is the question I always want to ask when considering climate legislation: who is going to be squeezed? Implementing a cap-and-invest system with a declining cap certainly puts the pressure on fuel suppliers, but that pressure is in part passed off to Vermonters filling up their tanks at the gas station. For some, the TCI will help lower the cost of transitioning to an electric vehicle (EV) and make it more feasible with rural electrification. But what about those Vermonters who simply do not have the budget for a new vehicle, whether or not it’s electric and whether or not the cost is lowered?
More accessible to some does not mean accessible to all.
This is the very issue the Vermont legislature hesitated on last session with a carbon tax proposal. House Speaker Mitzi Johnson said she can’t see a “straight-up carbon tax” being viable without already having a better public transportation system in rural areas. Isn’t that the same problem we see in the TCI, that putting a cap on carbon allowances might ultimately hurt rural and working-class Vermonters the most? The difference being that the TCI hides behind hopes of EV incentives and electric charging stations that simply do not make sense for many Vermonters.
To its credit, the TCI does include a clause on equity:

“BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that Signatory Jurisdictions will work with communities to ensure that the benefits of a cap-and-invest program flow equitably to communities that are underserved by clean transportation alternatives, disproportionately bear the costs of the current transportation system, or suffer disproportionate impacts of vehicular pollution and climate change”

I’m glad that there is recognition of the disproportionate costs of transportation to vulnerable groups, but I would hope to see social and community justice front and center of Vermont’s implementation of the TCI, rather than relegated to a side note.
I’ve experienced firsthand the frustrations of working-class people facing rising fuel prices when I lived in Bordeaux, France during the beginning of the yellow vest protest movement in November 2018. The high price of gas and a high of living in general hit the French middle and working-classes the hardest, especially in rural and peri-urban areas. People across the country demonstrated for weeks calling for lower fuel taxes, a solidarity tax on wealth, and a minimum wage increase, among other demands. I can’t help but draw some, albeit limited, parallels to Vermont. The unrest in France is a stark example of what happens when governments enact climate legislation without fully considering and addressing the needs of those who are currently the most dependent on the system the way it is now. Vermonters are perhaps not numerous enough to pressure their government the way that French protesters did, which gives legislators here all the more responsibility to be proactive about the way they implement any new transportation legislation.
Vermont could benefit greatly from increased electrification, expanded and improved public transportation, and smart development. That’s why I’m saying yes to Vermont participating in the TCI…BUT doing so by centering the needs of low income and working-class Vermonters. I don’t pretend to know the perfect solution, but I do encourage those making the decisions to find ways to minimize the burdens placed on individuals and households and maximize their ability to lead a dignified life.

THERE IS NO CLIMATE CRISIS!!! There is ample evidence that CO2 cannot cause warming and does not cause warming. The global temperatures have not risen by more than 1 degree C in the last 100 years. The numbers have been manipulated to fit the IPCC agenda. Michael Mann was defeated in Canadian court because he wouldn't provide the data to prove his "hockey stick graph" was not a fraud. 500 scientist from all over the world have sent a letter to the UN asking for a debate with their scientists regards their data. This is absolutely not settled science.

This Initiative is extremely important to create momentum and collaboration to address our deadly emissions from transportation which constitute a third (and growing) of our carbon emissions in the US. We need to address these problems not only because of our pressing need to avoid the catastrophic implications of climate change but also because air pollution and crashes are also killing so many of us right now- including young people. Strong investment in clean, efficient public transport and non-motorized transport as well as improved land-use is a win-win-win move forward. Smart electrification of our vehicles can lead to many benefits in terms of saving money and costs in public health, but this too requires investment, cooperation and strategy that this initiative is helping to do. Finally, in New York, we passed the inspiring Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act with ambitious targets for carbon emission reduction and social justice. We will not succeed without a strong initiative to address transportation and since NY is part of an important regional system, we must work closely together on this initiative to succeed in our goals. This initiative is absolutely critical for us to move forward and is long overdue. It deserves support.

I strongly support Vermont signing on to the Transportation and Climate Initiative. It is clear that if we are going to meet our climate commitments (which we must for the future of the state and the next generations) that we must address transportation climate pollution by increasing housing density in our cities, and supporting non-fossil fuel infrastructure including that for bicycles, pedestrians, trains, and electric vehicles, as well as increasing transportation options including on evenings and weekends so that families and individuals can truly go carfree. The Transportation and Climate Initiative is a good vehicle for helping us reduce carbon and meet our goals and will bring revenues to the state to build the needed infrastructure to replace a car-dependent and fossil-fuel dependent population.

Reducing pollution from transportation is a key component to reducing New Jersey's emissions. Public transit investments that could be made with TCI proceeds would be valuable in terms of reducing air pollution, improving transportation, and propelling our clean energy economy. I ask that leaders choose the aggressive greenhouse gas reduction target that the most recent climate science tells us we need. I also urge for policy that prioritizes clean investments in areas overburdened by pollution and for those who don’t have access to transportation choices.

“…design a regional low-carbon transportation policy proposal that would cap and reduce carbon emissions from the combustion of transportation fuels through a cap-and-invest program or other pricing mechanism… [and]… to complete the policy development process within one year, after which each jurisdiction will decide whether to adopt and implement the policy“