TCI Regional Policy Design Stakeholder Submissions

Please do everything possible to create transportation systems which minimize production of gases which contribute to global warming immediately, if not sooner. thank you

The time for action on climate change was yesterday. Despite the scientists sounding the alarms on rising temperatures, elected officials have routinely failed to act. Greenhouse gas emissions must be tackled systemically for substantial reductions in output to occur. With consistent climate denialism emanating from the Trump administration, the onus is on state elected officials to enact bold prescriptions to this growing crisis. The onus is also on fellow citizens to pressure our representatives to make the correct decisions for us. I chose to attend Middlebury College because I believed Vermont is a national leader As an environmental policy major at Middlebury College, I have learned a great deal about the unprecedented attention this crisis requires; the Transportation Climate Initiative fits the mold for bold and sweeping action that the world desperately needs. The Global Warmings Solutions Act’s passing demonstrates the ability for this state to lead in the fight against climate change. Now, it is up to us on whether we continue moving forward on this issue.
The Transportation Climate Initiative’s declining emissions cap is a key step in reducing carbon dioxide emissions in the region, but the opponents of the bill routinely focus on the economic hindrances of the bill on low income Vermonters. In specific, they argue that increasing fuel prices would disproportionately impact their constituents. It appears the two sides are speaking past each other at times. On the third page of the Draft Memorandum of Understanding of the Transportation and Climate Initiative (MOU), the bill states that the benefits of a “cap-and-invest program flow equitably to communities that are undeserved by clean transportation alternatives… .” The bill sets the record straight; the goals outlined by the Transportation Climate Initiative ensures that lower income Vermonters will receive economic benefits through investments funded by the rise in fuel prices. It is designed to protect the most vulnerable citizens in the state. Moreover, if we fail to act with the looming threat of climate change, these same people will experience economic and environmental hardships. More extreme weather events, increased costs of food prices, and the degradation of the environment will impact underprivileged communities the hardest. Through a cap and invest system, revenue garnered from the program will supply the necessary mitigation reforms and economic subsidies for these vulnerable populations.
Opponents of the Transportation Climate Initiative must come to terms with the looming truth; if we don’t act now to protect poor and working-class Vermonters from the climate crisis, they will suffer in the long term. During this legislative cycle, elected officials will be choosing between two radical futures. In the radical future with the passage of the Transportation Climate Initiative, more Vermonters will economically benefit through subsidies, improved transportation services, and home weatherization. In the other radical future, in which the Transportation Climate Initiative is struck down by Phil Scott and the “economic pragmatists,” the most vulnerable in this state will have fewer amenities and tools to effectively combat the climate crisis. We are at a juncture in Vermont legislative history. The Global Warmings Solutions Act was a necessary step, and the Transportation Climate Initiative will build on the climate legislation that has preceded it. The passage of this bill balances on the eventual answer to these two questions: Will those who haven’t taken a side on this issue choose to fight the climate crisis with earnest? Will Governor Phil Scott side with the fossil fuel lobbyists or the most climate-vulnerable citizens of Vermont?

I often drive high school students around to activities and events in local towns and to transportation hubs in Portland, Maine. I am in full support of regional policy development for transportation in the northeast and mid-Atlantic that focuses on reducing fossil fuel use and air pollution. A bonus would be abating road congestion. Now is the time to ramp up efforts to research alternatives to the status quo because it's not sustainable. I want these kids to see that intelligent, concerned, non-narcissistic citizens are doing something now to address climate change.

I'm writing in support of this initiative. A significant percentage of carbon pollution is caused by the transportation sector. I am in full agreement that new policies need to be developed to reduce fossil fuel use and encourage non-polluting fuel sources and mass transportation alternatives. By working together, the TCI states, including mine (Maine) can take steps that need to be taken very soon to make a difference in saving humanity from the ravages of unhinged climate change.

We have no time to waste and cannot follow the "do-nothing"/rollback approach of the Trump administration.

No taxation without representation! This RINO governor has taxed the middle class into poverty. No to this tax!

I am against the TCI. It's a hidden tax. The Mass. tax payers voted against a gas tax.