TCI Regional Policy Design Stakeholder Submissions

Eventually, all transportation must be electrified. A carbon fee and dividend is the most useful method, at
present, to drive this process. Electric cars and busses can be subsidized in by increased additional
gasoline tax with revenue used to reduce fare prices on trollies and busses to support public transportation
and decrease auto use, and assigning part of the carbon fee to reduce fares.

Please support transportation policy that 1) imposes a carbon price high enough to be effective at reducing carbon emissions and 2) is crafted to avoid imposing a burden on low and moderate income people.

I believe the TCI is long overdue and will help us transition to electrified transportation, just as RGGI has done for renewable energy. I encourage TCI states to be as aggressive as possible to encourage utilities, suppliers and end users to aid a rapid transition. I also hope TCI can expand beyond the 9 states to a national initiative. Thank you for this critically important initiative!

I am a former wind energy engineer. I am very concerned that we reduce carbon emissions as soon and as fast as possible.
1. Do a carbon tax or fee or cap and invest. Do NOT propose a cap and trade program!
2. Collected fees must be returned to citizens - to ensure strong public support
3. Make sure the dividends are structured to make sure low income communities are not unduly burdened by the transition to a green economy
4. Make sure that the tax or cap is adjusted each year to reduce emissions to zero by 2050
5. Provide rigorous independent studies to document the expected efficacy and possible down sides of the proposed plan

We have no time to lose! Any proposal must meet these requirements as it needs to be publicly acceptable and effectively reduce emissions!

Dear TCI Team,

I am so grateful for your hard work to expand regional carbon pricing to a new sector of the economy and to do so in an inclusive, collaborative, bipartisan manner. I look forward to learning more about TCI but want to share some of my hopes based on my first impressions, study of RGGI, and enthusiasm for MA's current fee and rebate proposal H.2810 from which we could all learn.

1. The price must be high enough to drive emissions reductions. For all the revenue RGGI has generated, I have yet to find a single economist who argues that the RGGI price (a paltry $4-$5 when last I checked) is high enough to drive emissions reductions. (All arguments I've seen have attributed falling emissions to our use of natural gas.) TCI must decide on a way to measure the effect of the price on consumer behavior, perhaps coupled with nudges at the moment where people are paying for fuels to encourage them toward greener solutions. Like H.2810, I hope that this price will be set to increase until regional emissions targets are met, rather than chosing an arbitrary ceiling.

2. H.2810 also uniquely proposes redistribution of 70% of its funds directly to families to financially equip them to make greener decisions. These rebates are weighted by income to ensure financial protections for the low-income communities most affected by climate change. This is the only carbon pricing bill to my knowledge that has received explicit support from Environmental Justice organizations in MA, and I think we must consider whether a rebate structure is possible in TCI to ensure that no family is left in a difficult situation. I also look forward to learning how TCI is working to engage and address the concerns of these organizations as expressed here: https://climatejusticealliance.org/climate-justice-equity-principles-transportation-climate-initiative/

3. Please continue to emphasize that the TCI is transportation sector specific. We should use the wide-reaching aspects of this project to highlight that home heating/cooling emissions remain untouched and that the unimpressive effects of RGGI in the electricity sector still need to be rectified. In our battle for H.2810 in MA, countless legislators are saying to us "H.2810 is not necessary because TCI will solve that problem." Instead, lets focus on the synergistic aspects of these two legislative efforts, with the climate crisis as the bottom line.

Thank you so much,
Eben

I am a member of a group of concerned citizens that are developing a plan to reduce carbon emissions generated by building operations in our town. We feel this is an issue we can address to some degree locally. However, to reduce GHG emissions from the transportation sector we need regional efforts such as the TCI. I am fully supportive of the TCI and request that the resulting policy have a price that's high enough to effectively reduce emissions and at the same time protect rural and low/moderate income populations. I am grateful to see bipartisan support for the TCI.

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 am a resident of Lexington, and I do volunteer work educating and lobbying on climate action for Citizen' Climate Lobby and the Massachusetts Campaign for a Clean Energy Future. I am pleased that the Governor is pursuing a multi-state transportation and climate initiative. For the program to be effective, it needs to include a price on carbon that is high enough to reduce emissions, and uses (or rebates) the funds raised in a way that protects low and moderate income residents.

Please have a policy with a price high enough to effectively reduce emissions according to the latest science.
Please have a policy with a strong component of social equity and that doesn't hurt rural or low/moderate income people.
Thank you for the bipartisan nature of this project. Government at work for the people!