TCI Regional Policy Design Stakeholder Submissions

Approaching this by raising costs for rural Maine is absurd. Let's find better ways to reduce emissions besides screwing the working class.

Please design a regional low-carbon transportation policy proposal that would cap and reduce carbon emissions from the combustion of transportation fuels through a cap-and-invest program or other pricing mechanism… [and]… to complete the policy development process within one year, after which each jurisdiction will decide whether to adopt and implement the policy.”

I do not support raising gas taxes. I cannot afford paying higher gas prices due to hidden taxes. It is bad for Maine - and all the other states involved. I cannot afford a new car that is battery powered. This is not something Maine's Governor should be doing to us taxpayers. Stop this nonsense now! And what about the fossil fuel used to make the batteries, to recycle the batteries, and the carbon fuel - electricity - to charge the batteries, and to build these cars???? Charge the extra taxes to the people buying these cars ....

The Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI) is a cap and invest economic plan for addressing Vermont’s largest sector of carbon emissions, transportation. Caps are based on current emissions levels and set with periods of compliance, during which systems can shift to accommodate these new allowances. The profits of auctioning off allowances will be allotted by each participating state to public transportation systems, efficiency rebates, and other environmentally and socially adjacent policy programs. This initiative will decrease emissions and increase fuel prices for consumers, but the degrees to which it has those impacts in comparison to “business as usual” models will depend on oil prices, policy rollbacks, and other contextual factors that play out in the coming years.

One crucial consideration that must be reflected upon in the adoption of TCI is the distribution of its impacts. Equity concerns emerge across geographical, economic, social, and racial differences within the state. As a student living in one of the densest areas in Vermont, Middlebury, I am interested in the spatial implications, and ensuing social implications, of the initiative on more rural and more urban places. Increases in gas prices will have more profound impacts on people living in more rural parts of the state and people who don’t have the means to purchase EVs to avoid those gas prices. These trends trigger questions about the equity of the TCI.

One of the central ways in which the TCI begins to address these inequity issues is by affording each state the flexibility of choosing what programs or rebates to fund with the proceeds of the allowances. I think that it is crucial to the acceptance of this initiative that the distribution of those profits be clearly and proactively articulated. Given the diversity of geographic dynamics in Vermont, I think that it would be most beneficial to base those allotments on the makeup of specific regions, instead of on the state as a whole. For example, in places like Burlington and Middlebury, it is far easier than in more rural places to utilize multi-modal public transportation and to choose to walk and bike instead of using single-occupancy vehicles. This statement is true even more so if public transportation is better funded in those contexts. In more rural places, funding should be used to mediate the increasing costs of fuel, either through EV rebates, state car buy-back programs, or other redistributive measures. Understanding the diversity of places and of people’s experiences of transportation, it is essential to consider what program funding would be most helpful in specific contexts.

These are not singularly transportation considerations. Networks of transportation interact with human health, ecological resilience, the zoning and density of our built environments, labor and job accessibility, housing markets, population demographics, and factors of the climate crisis. Not only must the equity of adopting the TCI be considered but also the equity of the alternative, not adopting the TCI. The dangers of under-maintained road systems, the burdens of fuel prices and not having public transportation options, and the vulnerabilities to climate crisis events already fall on more rural and lower-income communities. The proceeds of the TCI can begin the work of mediating and redistributing those impacts through the funding of community-sponsored and context-specific programs and measures.

Any idea presented that will create an unwanted tax is a terrible idea. The TCI will create at least a $0.17 increase in the cost for both regular and diesel fuels. In a large state such as Maine, that is already the highest taxed state in the Union, adding another tax to our fuel will break some truck drivers and companies as well as send more of us toward the poverty line. This is a terrible idea.

The TCI is an essential step forward for the Eastern US to combat climate change. Many states, including Vermont, have ambitious emission reduction goals under a Global Warming Solutions Act or similar legislation that will only be met with a stringent and permanent policy that addresses transportation. In Vermont this is especially important because transportation produces nearly 40% of Vermont’s emissions. A cap and invest program which confronts the greatest source of emissions while also investing in new technologies and supporting desirable and equitable transportation initiatives will contribute positive gains towards these climate goals.

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) is an existing cap and trade program for the electricity sector enacted in 2009 by many of the same states. The existing framework of this durable and effective program is evidence that the states could design an effective program for transportation as well. Nonetheless, various policies and investments should be considered and implemented alongside a pricing strategy to achieve the results our climate and our future requires. Many of these states have a renewable portfolio standard that complements RGGI to create effective, well rounded policy. A similar idea can be applied to the transportation sector. For instance, requiring a certain amount of the public vehicle fleet to become electric or ensuring housing developments are in line with our transportation goals. A combination of a cap and invest program, mandates, and investments would work together to create powerful climate policy for the transportation sector in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic.

The flexibility of the cap and invest design is advantageous. The cost containment reserve ensures that the price of allowances, and therefore the price that is passed to the consumer, does not exceed an unreasonable amount. This cap price and floor price should be predetermined at a level that will guarantee sufficient emissions reductions to make strides in Vermont’s greenhouse gas reduction goals.

Most importantly, it must be ensured that the TCI is designed to address existing inequity in our current transportation system and address additional inequity that will be created through the implementation of the TCI. A vital part of the design of the TCI allows the states to invest the income from the allowances as they see fit. This way, the TCI provides states with an opportunity to address their specific most pressing transportation needs. Due to the diversity in demographics and transportation needs across states, this aspect of the TCI is critical. For Vermont, this has numerous benefits. Investments in transit upkeep and expansion will allow Vermonters to get around who cannot or wish not to rely on personal vehicles as much. And with expansion of long-distance public transit and local bike and walking routes more citizens will be encouraged to get out of the SOVs. The funds that are raised should also be put towards ensuring that the Vermonters most at risk of increased gas prices (i.e. people who rely heavily on their vehicles for work and life and are at financial risk if gas prices increase) can receive rebates. The planned incidence modeling on households by RFF is an important next step in ensuring this equity. Overall, the TCI can make great strides in addressing Vermont’s largest sector of emissions while improving transit options, allow for greater mobility in the state, and reduce the need to drive as much in the first place.

Please consider support of a regional electric charging corridor extending from Maine to Massachusetts and also reaching north to connect Canada and Maine. Access to charging infrastructure is vital for residents of rural states like Maine to be able to purchase and drive electric vehicles. Also, please consider long term transportation solutions like creation of a high speed electrified railway to help create high skill jobs in Maine and also provide sustainable access to tourism destinations in state. A railway connection from Boston, Portsmouth, and Portland, with destinations such as Bar Harbor, Sugarloaf, Sunday River and Mount Katahdin could provide easy low carbon access to help continue Maine’s tradition as Vacationland. Thanks for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Kyle B.

I just had hand surgery so I cannot write a long letter but I am deeply concerned about pollution both in our air and our waterways and would like the following to be in both improved and considered for all new initiatives

reducing pollution from transportation is a key component to reducing New Jersey's emissions

public transit investments that could be made with TCI proceeds would be valuable

leaders please choose the aggressive greenhouse gas reduction target that the most recent climate science tells us we need
I urge that the policy prioritizes clean investments in areas overburdened by pollution and/or for those who don’t have access to transportation choices

Having recently seen The Human Element, I am even more aware of the chemicals our atmosphere is infused with at our hands. Little kids are breathing through face masks made to look like elephant faces multiple times a day at home and in school to stay alive. They explain that it feels like drowning when their damaged lungs fail to deliver adequate oxygen due to the pollution from the convenience of using fossil fuels. Our definition of fossil fuel necessity has been smothered by the scientific data that shows how we are destroying our life support systems. Shame on us for complaining that we don't like an additional gas tax. Our first responsibility is to life. We have lost our way as we minimize its fragility and our necessary stewardship. All around us we see the consequences accrue and the death of species; plants, animals and loved ones. My concern is that this legislation is as vetted and as extreme in its effectiveness as is humanly possible. I believe the team assembled and the sponsors behind this initiative are taking their moral role as shapers of our children's futures seriously. I thank you. Sign. Enact. Better our futures.