TCI Regional Policy Design Stakeholder Submissions

After careful consideration of several aspects of the TCI I have several comments.

The verbiage around the act and it’s purpose is light on details about funding formulae and the amount of control given each organization. Will representation be pro rata - with New York and Pennsylvania controlling most of the money or will it be an organization of equals- where Rhode Island is on equal footing with New York.

Although the carbon fees, which let’s face it are taxes, are punitive. Most of the benefits for this will be the urban areas where there are more transportation options. People living in rural or exurban areas tend to have to spend more for motor fuels because of the need to travel greater distances. This group receives the least benefit but will probably pay more per vehicle. I also did not see an exemption for farm uses of diesel and gasoline.

Politically, their may be issues with the state governments allowing the fees to be collected and turned over to a non-governmental entity over which they do not exercise direct control. Also there does not seem to a sunset clause that would require the agreement be actively voted on for renewal. And, in the past, Massachusetts politicians have been less than honest about which programs will actually receive the money from certain taxes.

I am extremely concerned about the changes our climate and planet are undergoing as the result of excessive burning of fossil fuels over the past 150 years, and especially the past half century. I am frankly baffled at the deep denial of the problem of human-caused climate change by the seeming majority of my fellow citizens. I emphatically support the Transportation and Climate initiative as one method in the effort to head off the impending climate disaster. All creatures on the planet, human and otherwise, are in dire need of us - the most affluent and greatest contributors to the problem - to make this effort.

Reducing pollution from transportation is a key component to reducing Pennsylvania's emissions.
Public transit investments that could be made with TCI proceeds would be valuable.
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.

I am writing to express my support for the Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI).

Transportation is responsible for much of Pennsylvania's, and the nation's, contribution to climate change. Hence, reducing pollution from transportation is a key component of reducing Pennsylvania's total greenhouse gas emissions, and investing in public transportation would greatly help to reduce such emissions. For example, in Luzerne County, the Luzerne County Transportation Authority has several hybrid buses in its fleet. However, although such vehicles produce fewer harmful emissions, electric buses would eliminate emissions. Investing TCI funds in public transportation could help counties, like Luzerne, purchase electric buses. TCI funds also could be used to improve public transportation in currently under-served communities and in communities that experience the worst vehicle pollution. Hence, I ask that Governor Wolf and other leaders join together to from the TCI, and I urge those leaders and policy makers to choose the most aggressive greenhouse gas reduction targets that the most recent climate science tells us we need to meet in order to adequately reduce Pennsylvania's, and the nation's, substantial carbon footprint.

Thank you for considering my comments.

It is a critical to improve transportation and address the climate crisis!
NY State should join the TCI as a leader.
The NE corridor is heavily traveled and presents an opportunity to demonstrate leadership in this win-win scenario. Improving transportation and assuring sustainable fuels are used to power electric trains etc is vital to decreasing carbon footprint. Alternative methods of transport such as bicycle, and rapid recharge stations along highways, esp interstates such as Rt #95 and NY State Thruway to enable increased electric car usage.

If designed correctly, this program could help to create safe roads for biking and walking, more frequent and reliable public transportation, greater access to electric vehicles, and a more equitable system with cleaner transportation options for everyone in the region.

Climate Change needs to be addressed now with such inititiaves esp. since transportation is the single largest emitter of heat trapping gases.

Already it is easy to discern the changes in temp and rainfall precipitation at my home in the Catskills Watershed. Less frequent, though much heavier rainfall amounts has led to demonstrable erosion, passage of pollutants and particulates into the Est Kill and Schoharie Watershed.

Act responsibly and take action now.
thank you,
Robert Posch

I favor and respectfully ask you to do the same any and all actions that lessen our society's addiction to and dependence on fossil fuels. Thank you!

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.
Choose the aggressive greenhouse gas reduction target that the most recent climate science tells us we need.
The policy must prioritize clean investments in areas overburdened by pollution and/or for those who don’t have access to transportation choices.

A cap on carbon emissions of at least 25% by 2032
An increase in the minimum investment in overburdened and underserved communities (>35%)
Request that investments be put towards active transportation like better sidewalks, bicycle infrastructure, and high quality public transit

According to a recently released study by Harvard and other institutions, if the program is designed appropriately, up to 1,100 lives can be saved annually, and the region could see $11 billion in health benefits each year.

Transforming Rural Transportation to Benefit All Vermonters with TCI

The status quo of transportation in Vermont isn’t serving the best interests of our communities. Instead, it’s hurting our environment, health, and wallets. With Vermont’s rural geography, Vermonters drive 20 percent more than the national average to get to work and spend a large part of their incomes on gasoline and car maintenance. Our cars and trucks make up over half of our state’s greenhouse gas emissions, and the tailpipe pollution spewing from them contributes to an influx of health problems, drives hospital visits and burdens Vermonters with healthcare costs.

The good news is that Governor Scott has an immediate opportunity to shift us away from the dirty status quo and invest in Vermont’s future. It’s called the Transportation and Climate Initiative, or TCI for short. TCI would establish a multi-state program that caps emissions from motor fuels in the Northeast and invests in clean transportation solutions as early as 2022.

Multiple polls in Vermont and across the region have shown broad, bipartisan support for a cleaner, safer, healthier, more equitable and modern transportation system. Legislative and business leaders, urban and rural communities, and stakeholders across the political spectrum are all on board to reduce transportation pollution, create thousands of new jobs and save consumers billions of dollars in healthcare costs. (If this sounds good to you, take action: Residents from across the region can offer their comments on the draft plan at the online portal through February 28th.)

Opponents of TCI are mostly dirty energy companies and well-funded allies that are happy to keep profiting off Vermonters, polluting our communities and climate as they take hard-earned dollars out of state. (In Vermont, 80 cents out of every dollar spent on motor fuels is sent out of state.). Imagine instead if we kept that money in Vermont: How many jobs could we create, how many electric vehicles could we adopt, and how many transit services could we expand and improve?

Given the urgency of intertwined climate and public health crises, clean transportation policies must be even more ambitious than what states have proposed so far. Reducing pollution from motor fuels only 20 to 25 percent by 2032, what the current TCI plan has modeled, falls far short of Vermont’s climate protection goals. A stronger program would mean more emissions reduced, more jobs and wealth for communities, less childhood asthma, and more lives saved.

The states’ draft plan for TCI already projects big benefits; a 25 percent reduction in motor fuels could prevent over 1,000 premature deaths and 1,300 asthma attacks per year in the region and raise up to $23 million dollars for Vermont to start. Imagine the benefits under a stronger pollution reduction target, such as 45 percent.

While the state advances incentives for electric vehicles (which just started and must be increased), we have massive room for improvement to clean up our transportation system in an equitable way that benefits all residents, including a statewide shift to electric buses, infrastructure to enable more telecommuting, more affordable housing near work and transportation hubs, and more accessible and affordable transit with new innovations such as micro-transit. These policies will set us on a course to reach our goals and save Vermonters money. Funding generated from the TCI — the top fuel distributors would need to purchase pollution permits — can help make them happen.

Throughout this process, we must ensure that Vermont’s rural and low-income communities that are underserved and have the least access to clean and safe transportation options are first in line for investment and benefits.

We need to look towards our future, bettering our transportation and moving forward on climate progress. We can’t let dirty energy interests continue to pollute our communities and hold Vermonters hostage to the whims of oil barons. Given federal attacks on clean car standards, 2020 is the year that state leaders must work together on regional solutions to transform our transportation systems. Governor Scott should join his fellow governors to finalize a strong and just regional Transportation and Climate Initiative to limit climate pollution from motor fuels this spring.

Robb Kidd
Conservation Program Manager
Sierra Club Vermont
Montpelier
robb.kidd@sierraclub.org