TCI Regional Policy Design Stakeholder Submissions

Please be sure to address emissions of all municipal vehicles especially to include school buses and emergency services’ vehicles.

We need dramatic action on climate, and transportation is one area where change can help. Unfortunately, carbon caps are not nearly enough, in part because they are not (or have not been) enforceable. Overburdened and underserved communities need more investment; much more effort should be put into supporting better health _and_ transportation by installing good sidewalks, bicycle infrastructure, and better landscape design (to encourage and reward people on foot or other self-powered means of transportation, such as wheelchairs, bicycles).
Durham can become a beautiful city as it becomes more green (in both senses of the word). Landscape architects and urban designers with a strong record of accommodating ecosystems and improving habitats for both humans and wildlife should be brought on board. In most neighborhoods it's not possible to walk on sidewalks, because there aren't any; even when there are, there's little to enjoy the experience of being on foot; there are few bicycle lanes. Instead of endlessly expanding roads for more lanes of traffic, we need to think holistically about making communities more self-sufficient, with less need to travel by car or bus for necessities.

The Governor is to be applauded for this approach. We do not have much time left to cut emissions and the price and 'inconvenience' of the consequences are exorbitant. REGGI has shown how painless a carbon cap and trade system is. Our economies have grown and our energy prices have dropped. While a direct carbon fee and dividend system would be more transparent and give residents money into their pockets, at least we are tackling transportation emission to some degree. We also need to do a good job to explain this effort to the public. Thank you very much.

I live in Hallowell, ME. I care about this because air quality is vital to our health. I support Governor Mills for participating in the regional design process. I hope that the policy design reflects the best and latest available science on climate emissions from transportation and will tough on pollution. I request that the policy have a strong component of equity that ensures that low-income, rural, or aging populations are not hurt by this program -- after all an old jalopy is all some people can afford. I think that it is wonderful that this is a bipartisan project. I would love to see increased access to clean public transit in my community. Especially with winter setting upon us, I think it is important to recognize the double impact of diminished air quality from low cloud layers and increased exhaust from individual vehicles. Incentives like rebates for purchasing electric or hybrid vehicles could go a long way to making a better world for ourselves, our children, and grandchildren.

The TCI appears to be a reasonable way to hold states, local governments, and companies who work in fuel industries, accountable for the damage they are doing to the environment. The plan has effects that can reach many people; approximately 72 million with 52 million vehicles across 12 states. The scope of this project is what makes it difficult to implement but also what makes it a potentially revolutionary plan.
Some detractors of the plan argue that the claim the TCI is based on is of dubious scientific standing: namely that climate change is increasing the number of extreme weather events, and that these weather events are dangerous threats to the states in the region. It will perhaps take more than good data to convince people of the escalating danger of these storms, in both an economic and public health sense, but in Vermont alone average yearly precipitation has increased nearly six inches, and extreme weather events are having an increased impact on Vermont (https://statesummaries.ncics.org/chapter/vt/).
The TCI plans to use funds generated from the allowances to invest in programs that will enable residents to transition from single-occupancy vehicles (SOV’s) to environmentally friendly and low cost alternatives. Others have claimed that the funds will be invested into “most favored lobbyist’s industry coffers” as well as “administration costs.” The TCI memorandum of understanding specifically states that must address TCI project goals, such as carbon dioxide reduction, cleaner air, and more access to sustainable transportation. To claim that the government would do otherwise is baseless, especially if we can hold our leaders accountable.
It is likely true that higher gas prices will disproportionately affect rural Vermonters.
It is also true that many businesses rely on reasonable gas prices to operate their business and maneuver through their daily lives. This is primarily owed to the fact that our society has built itself around the combustion engine: to move goods and people all over the world in a relatively short amount of time is a pillar of our modern world. Yet it is also something of a crutch.
The current system, using personal cars and chauffeuring family members (children, the elderly, and those unable to drive) grants a sense of independence that public transportation will have a hard time replicating. However, this not only places a strain on members of the community that can drive, but also those that constantly must ask for rides: to the grocery store or doctor appointments. I think for the proposed plan to be truly effective in bringing transportation equity, a system would have to be added to ensure that these rural Vermonters are given compensation in some form. Even though the payoff in investments to clean and accessible public transportation will eventually reach them, there will be a lag time. During this time, these Vermonters will still be paying higher prices for gas for cars that they don’t have reasonable alternatives to, with nothing to show for the higher prices they paid.
This is an obvious flaw in the current memorandum, but it is also somewhat barebones, and more of document to give states an idea of what to expect. Thus, there is room for public pressure on our representatives concerning these critical issues left out. Despite this incomplete structure, in the public webinar, the TCI used an investment modeling tool and REMI model economic inputs and outputs to estimate the reductions in carbon dioxide and overall effect on the economy. It was found that there would be reduced overall fuel expenditures, lower congestion, and lower vehicle operating and maintenance costs across all levels of caps (20, 22, and 25 percent).Though the initial wait for the investments in clean energy to become tangible to rural Vermonters, I believe that with a support mechanism for these more vulnerable groups, the TCI is a plan with too many positive benefits, for the economy and more importantly, the environment, to ignore.

Hello,

I am environmental scientist in Massachusetts. Thank you for your bipartisan efforts. Climate change is the most pressing issue of our era, one that impacts all aspects of our life, including national security, immigration, and the economy. It has the potential to kill thousands of people, due to flooding, heat waves, crop failure, and increased disease prevalence. In the northeast, we have felt the effects already, with average winter temperatures up 3.8 degrees Fahrenheit since 1970. Winters are shorter; flowers and bees die due to early warm spells followed by frosts.

In your plan, I ask you to price carbon high enough to follow the guidelines set by the latest climate science. It also needs to be developed so that it does not impact low income members of society. We are all counting on you to account for the true cost of fossil fuel use.

Best,

Travis Petersen

I support a strong transportation initiative that helps reduce the carbon emissions that come from the transportation sector (the largest sector). We need bold actions to transition to electric cars, make electric buses available, provide for a strong system of public transportation, and make our neighborhoods walkable and bikable.
Take bold actions now to help do what must be done.
I appreciate all of your work to make this happen.
Sincerely, Tracy Stein

This is bull***t on a cracker disguised as a feel good policy to lower carbon emissions. The only thing this does is increase the price of gasoline at the pump for the consumer and it’s not going to stop us from driving gasoline vehicles. It’s just another fancy way for the governors of these states to take money from people. You take more money from people, less people can afford your stupid ass electric vehicles. We live in northern states where logging is a huge industry. Increasing the cost of gasoline will have a huge effect on loggers and in turn on lumber. How is it you can say we need more housing and then increase to cost of lumber via the cost of gas? Do y’all even look at the impacts beyond your own dollar signs? I think it’s time to rid ourselves of these thieving state governments for good.

Northeastern states worked successfully together to tackle power plant pollution through the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), which is supporting energy efficiency and weatherization investments through Efficiency Maine that lower energy costs and pollution. Transportation is our biggest source of carbon pollution and contributes significantly to climate change. Transportation contributes to serious health issues like asthma which starts in childhood and has economic consequences throughout life. I support the collaboration afforded by this TCI initiative!