Climate Change Policy: Transportation Policies
The transportation sector has long had a target on its back when it comes to global carbon emissions and the ability to potentially see public policy action in a real way. From the tailpipe emissions of cars and trucks to the carbon-intensive nature of aviation, transportation has consistently accounted for over one-quarter of global carbon emissions, though new technological solutions like high-speed trains or electric vehicles are really starting to pick up momentum. But because of how large and complex the transportation sector is, more than simply technological improvements are needed and government support for such possibilities is seen as necessary.
Among the most prominent options for transportation climate policies are the following:
Vehicle Performance Standards
What is it: Vehicle performance standards are requirements for the level of carbon emissions allowed to be emitted by cars and trucks when they are driven, typically expressed in terms of miles per gallon, or MPG, (since a gallon of gasoline burned will emit a given amount of emissions, so greater ability to drive for the same fuel will reduce overall emissions). As hybrid and electric vehicles have become more evasive, governing bodies have added in a measure of miles per gallon equivalent (MPGe) that accounts for the emissions required to generate the electricity that powers these vehicles.
Is it enacted anywhere: The United States has implemented vehicle performance standards since 1975, under the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, with the goal of reducing the reliance of foreign fossil fuels after the uncertainty from the Arab Oil Embargo in the 1970s. These standards have been updated many times, with some states also adapting more stringent vehicle performance standards prescribed by California.
In Favor of Vehicle Performance Standards:
“Under the standards, the country’s cars, pickup trucks, SUVs and minivans are getting much cleaner. EPA’s online counter shows that new vehicles sold since model year 2012 have already avoided the emissions of more than 242 million tons of carbon pollution. The 2012-2025 standards are the biggest federal climate-protection program in place. If fully implemented, cleaner vehicles sold as a result of the standards will cut pollution that warms the planet by nearly 6 billion tons.
By reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the standards slow the warming of our planet, and they protect our health by reducing the number of high-smog days that would come with a hotter world.”- Natural Resources Defense Council
Against Vehicle Performance Standards
“Economists have long been skeptical of fuel economy standards because they are an inefficient means of reducing fuel consumption and emissions. The majority of U.S. consumers demonstrably prefer larger, more powerful vehicles, such as pickups and SUVs. But vehicle manufacturers continue to produce large numbers of small vehicles, which have a higher fuel economy, in order to comply with fuel economy standards. As a result, manufacturers and dealers are forced to discount the prices of new cars, undermining their overall profitability.”- Julian Morris, senior fellow at Reason Foundation and executive director of the International Center for Law and Economics
Read more:
Federal Vehicle Standards – Center for Climate and Energy Solutions
Federal Clean Car Standards – Environmental Defense Fund
Vehicle Fuel Fees
What is it: Because the most harmful part of transportation to the climate is the emissions associated with burning fuel, taxes on gasoline are a common tool to make driving more expensive and thus incentivize people to find alternative forms of transportation and drive personal vehicles less. While gasoline taxes have been implemented as revenue-raising measures for transportation infrastructure longer than they’ve been considered a climate policy, they are an increasingly useful way to encourage transportation emission reductions.
Is it enacted anywhere: According to the Tax Foundation, every state in the nation has a gasoline tax, ranging from as low as 15 cents per gallon in Alaska to 59 cents per gallon in Pennsylvania.
In Favor of Vehicle Fuel Fees:
“A gas tax could be one important element of an integrated energy policy.”- Alan Mullally, former CEO of Ford
Against Vehicle Fuel Fees:
“Tax hikes have a negative impact on economic growth. As discussed, higher gas taxes mean higher gas prices which reduce the discretionary income of millions of Americans. Reductions in discretionary income often correspond with diminished economic growth. In fact, analysts at Goldman Sachs predict lower gas prices could add as much as half a percentage point to GDP growth this year.”- Emma Boone, Americans for Tax Reform
Read more:
Fuel Taxes: An Important Instrument for Climate Policy – University of Gothenburg
Aborted Fuel Tax Initiative in France: Its Ramifications for Green Growth – Inter Press Service
Vehicle Climate Fee – City of Boulder Colorado
Electric Vehicle Policies
What is it: Electric vehicle policies can encompass a variety of different strategies, from incentives for purchasing new electric cars to supporting the installation of charging infrastructure to converting municipal fleets to be powered by electricity and much more, but the goal is the same: transforming the base of vehicles on U.S. roads to be powered by electricity (already less carbon-intensive than internal combustion engines and getting better as the grid decarbonizes) rather than gasoline.
Is it enacted anywhere: The U.S. government included provisions in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to provide tax credits for the purchase of electric vehicles, while at least 47 different states, according to the Hybrid & Electric Vehicle Technology Collaboration Programme, offer regulations promoting electric cars.
In Favor of Electric Vehicle Policies:
“By far, the rubric assigns the highest weight to vehicle purchase incentives, which could include grants, rebates or tax credits, along with exemptions from sales tax, registration and licensing fees.”- National Association of State Energy Officials
“We have to help create better business opportunities for companies that are deploying high-speed public EV charging stations. When most people think of EV charging, they picture the small home charging stations that take about 7 kilowatts, but we’re talking about DC fast chargers which take 50 to 150 kilowatts. With these stations, you can top up a modern EV in 15 to 20 minutes instead of 8 hours. Getting those charging stations in public places where people can see them and where they know they can get a fast charge while they shop or do something else is a really key enabler to get people into their first EV.” – Chris Nelder, Manager of Carbon-Free Mobility at the Rocky Mountain Institute
“Without swift action to resolve the outstanding business, policy, regulatory, and technical barriers to vehicle-grid integration, opportunities to capture the full value of EVs may be lost. This could lead to grid constraints and increased transmission and distribution costs that prompt the construction of more peaker plants, grid upgrades, and other costly consequences.” – Smart Electric Power Alliance
Against Electric Vehicle Policies:
“To justify these staggering costs, advocates of the credit claim that electric cars as “critical to lowering our emissions and limiting climate change.” But the numbers tell a different story. Research by the Manhattan Institute found that EVs will reduce energy-related U.S. carbon dioxide emissions by less than 1% by 2050. “That reduction will have no measurable impact on world climate—and thus the economic value of CO2 emissions reductions associated with [electric vehicles] is effectively zero,” according to the study, which also found that the spread of EVs would actually increase other harmful pollutants like sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides.”- Steve Pociask, President of the American Consumer Institute
Read more:
Comparing U.S. and Chinese Electric Vehicle Policies – Environmental and Energy Study Institute
Electric Vehicle State Policy Resources – Georgetown Climate Center
Urban Mobility Policies
What is it: Urban mobility is the collection of how people move around a given city in efficient and effective manners, including driving, public transit, walking, and biking. Locally, a focus on climate-friendly urban mobility policy will shift the number of trips taken via carbon-emitting measures like personal vehicles towards less carbon-intensive (public transit) or carbon neutral (walking and biking) means. Examples of climate-focused urban mobility policies include funding for public transportation systems, installation of bike lanes, and a focus on minimizing sprawl while maximizing affordable housing close to a city center.
Is it enacted anywhere: Any city or region has its own form of urban mobility policy, with varying degrees of a climate focus turned to it. Examples of clean urban mobility policy include the European Union’s aim to free cities of conventionally fueled cars by 2050, extensive networks of bicycle lanes installed in Oslo, and congestion charges in Stockholm.
In Favor of Urban Mobility Policies:
“As the developing world rapidly urbanizes, the demands on transport systems also grow often at a faster pace than the population. Given the above tendency, an effective and coordinated approach to urban transport requires that sound policies be put into place. Such policies enunciate the direction that a government wants to take; they lay the basic framework for downstream planning as well as project identification and prioritization.”- World Bank Group
“If we’re going to be serious about tackling climate change, we really need to create a modern, clean, safe, and affordable transportation system. We’re almost 100% dependent on fossil fuels to move people and goods across the country and the world. For us in the Northeast, there’s a new program called the Transportation and Climate Initiative—the TCI region, were it a single country, would represent the world’s third-largest economy. Such regional initiatives provide more bang for your buck in terms of emissions reductions compared with local or state policies alone, and this initiative will fund and invest in what states need most for clean transportation options, including electric vehicles and charging stations, better public transit, and healthier communities that take advantage of walking and biking.” – Jeff Marks, Maine Director & Senior Policy Advocate at Acadia Center
“The most effective approach is just rethinking and reallocating the public space that is the road and the public parking spaces on roads, and this is a policy that cities can implement on their own. The gold standard example is Paris where they’re planning to repurpose 70% of the on-street parking plus a lot of the main streets. They’re reallocating space away from the private automobile to public transit, bus lanes, protected bike lanes, and much bigger sidewalks for people to walk on. And, really importantly, this includes spaces to plant trees. The space that you need to plant a tree is about the same as one parking spot.” – Eric Doherty, http://ecoplanning.ca/
“It’s up to government to create incentives and structural changes to influence individual action, particularly with transportation. For example, to drive people towards public transportation, it needs to be relatively affordable and available, meaning governments need to invest in infrastructure to enable the necessary shift. It doesn’t make sense to charge high tolls and fees to discourage private transport if you don’t have viable public transportation in place. If you subsidize public transportation and make sure it’s efficient, if you provide infrastructure, such as rail from one city to another, then you can drive that behavioral change.” – Deborah Ramalope, Team Leader – Climate Policy Analysis at Climate Analytics
“Freight is the only sub-sector whose emissions have doubled since 1990 in Ontario, and in this era of Amazon and online shopping it’s something that will continue to skyrocket. It’s driven primarily by issues of land use, road pricing, and also weak regulation of vehicles and fuels themselves. But you can’t look at just the vehicle part of it without addressing what’s causing those vehicles to be driving around so much.” – Dianne Saxe, Saxe Facts
Against Urban Mobility Policies:
Here’s what the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that Walker told the paper’s editorial writers Tuesday about why he opposed transit improvements in the county he purportedly leads:
“…Walker said he would like to grow the local economy enough so lower-income people don’t have to rely on transit and could instead afford to buy cars if they chose.”- Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker
Read more:
Formulating an Urban Transport Policy: Choosing between Options – World Bank
European Urban Mobility – Policy Context – European Union
Urban mobility at a tipping point – McKinsey & Company
