TCI Regional Policy Design Stakeholder Submissions

Dear Governor Mills,
The citizens of the state of Maine do not need another tax because our government chooses not to live within its means.
We are not your personal piggy banks wallet or savings account.
We are a big state and travel is part of our life making it hard to travel within our own state only hurts us as Citizens please do not raise the gas tax thank you Lou galgano

The attached comments specifically address the proposal to use a cap-and-invest approach. I propose that instead of funding the programs from auction proceeds as suggested in the framework that the funding come from a tax and that all proceeds be invested as planned in the cap-and-invest approach. There are too many differences between historical market trading programs that successfully reduced emissions and what is proposed for the TCI to expect that the proposed program will work as well. In addition, there are advantages to a tax which can be summed up as simpler is better.

In short, the TCI is flawed. As mentioned by many environmental justice advocates and professionals; this and programs like RGGI do not go far enough to ensure that pollution is reduced at sites where exposure is most significant. A policy that exercises the use of the market to determine reductions allows only further loopholes into the process of assuring reductions at large, nonetheless controls over increased pollution in areas needing immediate ceasing of pollution. For these reasons, and with consideration for RGGI having been adopted, I think that we are too far along to reinvent the wheel on mechanisms similar in this policy to an ideal one, so I propose that it be changed drastically to accord with the proponents of this information or not adopted at all: https://climatejusticealliance.org/carbon-pricing-toolkit-vol-2/

The TCI should stipulate a reduction clause and anti credit stockpiling directive to ensure that communities already exposed to multiple forms of pollution, namely Newark, NJ, are enforced substantive and progressive reduction in pollution firstly and uninterrupted, all while the assurance of no overages in pollution limits and renewable energy implementations are inserted in such a locale that faces the most pressing need for intervention.

Support the transportation & climate act that will cut pollution to avert climate crisis & hold polluters accountable for pollution. Also we need more public transit and electric vehicle infrastructure in rural areas as well as expanding commuter rail & electric vehicles and streets in suburbs safe for walking and biking. Finally, there needs to be greater sustainable & equitable housing near transit and electric bus fleets in urban areas.

To whom it may concern,
Attached are comments on behalf of Consumer Energy Alliance concerning the Draft MOU of the Transportation Climate Initiative. We appreciate the opportunity to provide our feedback.

Transportation is the largest source of air pollution in the region, and we need to build a modern, clean, safe, and accessible transportation system for the 21st century. The more we limit pollution from motor fuels, the more jobs we create, the more the economy grows, the healthier our air becomes, and the more lives we save. Colorado should join TCI to fund better transportation infrastructure, reduce traffic, and make my community a cleaner, safer place to live.

We need to push the shift to sustainable transportation aggressively. As the cost of this cap is pushed onto consumers, more and more commuters in the area will have to turn to either sustainable vehicle options or public transportation. Of the two, I think public transportation is more effective – it doesn’t have as severe an upfront environmental impact, it helps multiple people at once, and the benefits would only increase if the vehicles themselves were green. However, the current public transportation system is too inefficient to be beneficial. If my commute to work is 15 mins by car and an hour by bus, of course I wont take the bus! The money earned from TCI needs to be applied towards improving our public transport and incentivizing people to use it.