TCI Regional Policy Design Stakeholder Submissions

I support policies that promote strong environmental standards and a healthy future for our state and planet.
Thank You

TCI is not nearly ambitious enough given the scale of the climate emergency. However, if specific policies are clearly defined by TCI it will provide a start in the right direction. Given that Vermont gets all of our fossil fuels from other states, we should clearly join TCI, but must create policy that ensures equity for lower-income and rural Vermonters.

Vermont TCI should include:

-A mechanism to mitigate the impacts of TCI on low-income populations in rural areas with acknolwedgment that rural consumers must use more fossil fuels in order to get to work and commerce centers

-Higher EV and renewable energy rebates for low-income residents

-Increased weatherization funding for low and moderate income Vermonters and access to renewable energy sources via community solar development

-Development of safe roads for biking and walking, and focus on smart growth centers

-Investment in agricultural and natural responses to the climate emergency including carbon farming and forest health, acknowledging the impact of higher fuel rates on farmers, sugarmakers and others who work in agricultural and forestry professions


-Investment of TCI funds in clean energy, energy efficiency, and more robust public transportation to expand career opportunities and make jobs more accessible. The Vermont Green New Deal aims to do this, and is an essential part of all Vermont climate legislation.

Please find the attached comments from the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents 99% of cars and light trucks sold in the U.S., tier-one original equipment suppliers, as well as technology and other automotive-related companies.

In summary, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation recommends that in order to accomplish the goals of the TCI, the program should:
• Establish consistent policies across regional and state lines
• Reduce the carbon intensity of liquid fuels
• Reduce the cost barrier with vehicle incentives for electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles
• Build out electric vehicle charging and hydrogen fueling infrastructure

I have lived in Md for over 50 years and I am very proud of my state. I am proud that Maryland is joining states across the region that are trying to protect the climate and improve transportation through the development of a policy collaboration called the Transportation & Climate Initiative (TCI). Please don't be swayed by the lobbies for the oil and gas companies. Thanks for reading this.

For the past decade, I have been deeply involved in developing concrete policy and investment solutions to address climate change in Vermont in a manner that can both contribute to our economy and ensure affordability for its citizens. I am an economist with 30 years experience in this field (20 at the World Bank), a core member of Governor Scott's Climate Action Commission, a member of VCRD's Climate Economy Action Team, and a Senior Fellow at the Energy Action Network (advising on the recent publication of "Cap and Invest: A Review of Policy, Design, and Models and their applicability in Vermont").

I say all of this because I do not come to this recommendation lightly. The decision to join TCI is a big one and deserves careful consideration. Having studied this question extensively over the past several years, not only in Vermont but also in a number of other jurisdictions, I can say unequivocally that joining TCI is the most fundamental way for Vermont to make genuine progress in meeting our energy, climate, economic and affordability goals.

TCI presents a unique opportunity to focus on the single greatest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Vermont, and the one that keeps GROWING - transportation - in a way that builds on the success of our nation's first successful Cap and Invest program (RGGI - started under Jim Douglas), and in a way that generates the revenue needed to invest in clean transportation solutions that focus on those who need it most. RGGI allowed Vermont to join others in the region to focus on dramatically reducing BOTH greenhouse gas emissions (by 40%) in the electric sector while ALSO reducing consumer costs. Vermont has strategically invested the revenues raised from RGGI, directing the $2 million annually into weatherization programs that help Vermonters stop wasting energy and save money. That is good for our environment, our economy AND for affordability. But it only covers the electric sector, which accounts for only about 10% of our overall GHG emissions. TCI would focus on the elephant in the room - our vehicles - which account for 44% of our emissions, and is growing rather than declining.

Importantly, by joining TCI, Vermont would not have to go it alone. Like RGGI, we would join others who have already committed to reducing their carbon pollution, thereby increasing the impact of emissions reduction AND the ability to generate revenue to invest in the systemic changes that need to occur in the transportation sector to improve access and electrification. In fact if we DO go it alone by NOT joining TCI, we would be putting ourselves in jeopardy by cutting off a substantial source of revenue that we desperately need to address fundamental issues of access and equity in transportation that we currently face.

Research shows that no jurisdiction (State, region, country) in the world has made the progress needed to reach significant GHG reductions without some form of either Cap and Invest or carbon pricing policy in place. By capping pollution, we can guarantee the pace at which our progress can be made, while allowing the participating entities to decide on their own how to reduce their emissions. When looking at successful examples of Cap and Invest in the US and Canada (e.g.,RGGI, California and Quebec), it is clear that each has demonstrated that a triple win is possible: reduced emissions, increased economic output (compared to non-participating jurisdictions) and revenue that can equitably accelerate the transition to a clean energy economy.

Finally, we all know that there are insufficient revenues available in our current budget to address the issues of access and equity in the transportation sector, and certainly not enough to electrify the sector at the pace needed to reach our climate goals. We continue to place our most vulnerable citizens - our children - on diesel-emitting schoolbuses every day, causing increasing levels of health issues and pollution. Our rural population has little to no access to public transit. Our low- and middle- income population cannot afford to switch to electric vehicles. TCI offers the possibility of generating additional revenues to address some of these critical issues while also reducing our collective climate pollution.

I am grateful for all the effort that Vermont has put into the discussions surrounding TCI so far. I am also grateful to the Scott administration for creating a Climate Action Commission which strongly recommended joining a Cap and Invest program for the energy sectors not yet covered by RGGI. Now is the time to act on all the important groundwork that has been laid. I urge Vermont to join others who are actually doing something concrete to make a difference for our future. We know this type of policy works. Please do it.

There is no doubt that climate change is the single biggest threat to our economy, to affordability, to our very survival. I notice the changes around me each and every day, and it breaks my heart to think of what we are leaving to our children. I hear them talking about how irresponsible it would be for them to bring children into this world, how they see the window closing in on them. We all know the time is short, and the time to act is now. So let's do it.

Two recent experiences that solidified my regard for public transportation:
In the Netherlands well maintained, clean public buses are valued above bicycles, pedestrians, and, most importantly, cars, so much so that they control traffic lights by pressing a button on the dashboard! This system makes using buses desirable for their reliability, efficiency, economy, and climate sensitivity. Impressive!
I live in a rural, isolated setting and would need transportation home after an outpatient procedure, for example. Since here in the USA we lack deserved regard for pervasive public transportation, nothing exists to accommodate my needs let alone any national sentiment that invites and supports all economic classes to see the vitality of public transportation as an obviously convenient, obviously responsible, and obviously ecologically sound commodity. I personally have cancelled or missed medical needs and job related demands. Let's invest already!

We are in the midst of a Climate Crisis. The continued existence of civilization depends on our drastically reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Since transportation is the sector responsible for the most emissions. The Transportation Climate Initiative is a method of reducing emissions, the only credible problem currently on the table. We need to give it our full support.