TCI Regional Policy Design Stakeholder Submissions

I am writing today to express my support for a strong carbon pricing policy in the transportation sector.
As a mother of three, I am very concerned if we can turn around and take action on climate change in time to avert the worst effects on our kids and grandkids. Having lived in Europe for a long time, I follow their efforts to reign in green house gas emissions closely, and I am glad that in the US, states and cities are finally getting on board and taking regional initiatives of their own.

I am thrilled to hear that the Transportation Climate Initiative is developing a policy that would put a price on carbon for our transportation sector. I am grateful and very optimistic for this policy, as it is a bipartisan endeavor.
In order for the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern states to achieve our necessary climate goal, pricing Carbon is a genial first step. The policy needs to
- put a price on carbon high enough to effectively decrease emissions (new technology enables higher efficiency, less consumption, but only if the old way gets more inconvenient or too expensive), and this price needs to be based on the latest science.
- Furthermore, the new policy needs to make sure that rural or low income populations are not hurt disproportionately.
The Citizens’ Climate Lobby has been working in a similar carbon pricing nation wide for years now. Please inquire how their model (clear, transparent pricing over 10 years, with the dividend distributed to all Americans equally) can inspire the new policy to be adopted by the TCI.
Thank you for taking my comments,
Adelheid Koepfer
35 Whiffle Tree Road
Wallingford, CT 06492

As a mom, what comes to mind first are the school busses. Please include in the MOU and work towards replacing ALL diesel school busses with electric busses, and support school districts in doing so! Diesel stinks, makes the kids sick, is expensive, and wrecks havoc to the environment and the busses are loud. It is of utmost urgency to finally replace all busses with healthy, quiet, emission-“free” alternatives.

As financing system, I propose the “fee & dividend” model as exemplified by Citicens’ Climate Lobby in Congress, HR 763. Fee on carbon is raised at the source (well, or port of entry), and dividend is reimbursed to the people. Cap and trade has not yielded enough results in the last decade or so, we need a more comprehensive model. With distribution of dividends to the people, everyone can keep up with raising costs, especially lower income families. Business could “earn” dividend in relation to number of employees, see the bill that was proposed in CT General Assembly.
Fee and dividend has been accepted by Nobel prize winners and countless other economists as the best, quickest, most transparent and most effective way to reduce emissions. It works for transportation as well.
Other issues: push EV charging infrastructure, make public transit more attractive (eg New Haven-Springfield line has no commuter trains for morning rush hour, how silly is that?), get freight off the roads and on the tracks, decrease truck traffic, incentivize car pools and car sharing, support local electric bus lines!, stop sprawling parking lots, push better efficiency in air and sea traffic...

Ct is a small state with a lot of traffic going through it. We need to encourage low carbon transportation for the health of our residents, the health of our environment, and for the health of the planet.

Thank you to the Initiative for working towards a clean transportation future. It is most urgently needed!
Please also consider the following suggestions:
- Electrification of school bus fleets. Cities and school districts, including in colder climate areas, are demonstrating that this is economically viable. Financial incentives and/or creative financing options are needed for school districts as this will affect the health of not only future but current students
- instead of cap-and-trade, please consider Fee-and-Dividend systems like the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividen Act (Initiative supported by Citizens’ Climate Lobby), that would take care of the worries of low/ fixed income regional residents about raised prices
- with all due respect, even the most modern diesel is still not clean. Neither diesel nor natural gas should be part of any long term plan for transportation
- more public transportation along our main traffic axis. Daily commutes to/ from/ between larger cities need to become mostly public, more affordable and more convenient than individual traffic

Please keep working on this Initiative, keep integrating as much public input and scientific data as possible, publicize all findings, and urge regional legislations to implement asap! Thank you.

We must take action to combat the climate crisis. Our children’s future depends on it.

I strongly support the Transportation Climate Initiative. The quicker we get behind clean energy, energy efficiency, and mass transportation the better off we will be as a state. Investing in these areas will create jobs, help reduce carbon emissions and clean the air. Thank you

Mainers deserve creative new choices and new investments to meet our transportation needs; the one thing we know is that pouring pollution into the atmosphere and sending our hard-earned money out of state for the oil that causes that pollution are NOT the way forward.

I support increasing clean transportation in the form of electric school busses, which have the added advantage of decreasing exposure to diesel fumes for our children, and increasing electric charging stations to facilitate the use of electric vehicles. I support the use of rebates to encourage the purchase of electric and hybrid cars. I also support a program to reduce carbon emissions from combustion engines by cap and invest programs or other financial measures.