TCI Regional Policy Design Stakeholder Submissions

Let’s end our dependence on fossil fuels so we and our kids can continue to live on this planet. Using public transportation is a good start.

As a citizen of New York State, I am requesting that New York formally join the plan to reduce emissions. This policy must have a strong component of climate justice by prioritizing clean investments in areas overburdened by pollution and for those who are low income. Thank you to all of the states involved with this initiative- this project shows that efforts at the state level can progress while corruption and big oil influence in the federal government takes us backward.

We need clean car emissions. Our environment has too much pollution. Please make this a better world to live in.
thank you,

In my City of Portland, Maine, public transportation (bus) has already started its conversion to electric busses. There is no time to waste, such that everyone need follow our City's example. Please make conversion off of fossil fuels mandatory for every public transit offered.

I am happy to add my name in support of this effort to control CO2 emissions, protect our health and preserve the planet for those who follow us. The recognition of the importance of soclal justice as an integral part of this plan is crucial.

Our transportation system is stuck in the dark ages. Traffic congestion from millions of cars and trucks are polluting our lungs and planet more than ever before. But as we enter this new decade, we have an opportunity modernize how we get from point A to point B.

We need to move quickly to address transportation emissions & shift to a cleaner transportation model if we are to have a prayer of averting the most catastrophic effects of the climate crisis. We need clean, high speed rail services to be expanded & we need ready access to charging stations for electric vehicles, support for cleaner alternative fuels & support for those among us who simply cannot afford hybrids or plug-in vehicles. Massachusetts needs to join this effort & work aggressively toward our goal of a cleaner transportation grid.

Over the past decade, the Northeast region of the United States has helped lead the country—and the world—in supporting and developing clean, renewable sources of electricity. Taken together, the policies of Northeast states, from Maine to Maryland, have generated billions of dollars in investment for solar, wind, and efficiency. One driving force behind this investment is a regional initiative that caps emissions from the electricity sector, charges power plants for the emissions they generate, and invests the revenue from those fees into efficiency and clean energy programs. This initiative has helped fundamentally change the region’s electricity sector: we have achieved unprecedented penetration of renewables, nearly eliminated the use of coal, and reduced overall electricity use at a time of economic expansion.
The next big step for the region is to bring that same sense of commitment, ingenuity, and purpose to clean transportation.
Transportation is the largest source of pollution in the Northeast region, comprising more than 40 percent of total regional global warming emissions (Georgetown Climate Center 2015). In addition to the health impacts associated with rising temperatures, soot and ground-level ozone from the region’s cars
and trucks are responsible for more than 50,000 asthma attacks, 1,000 deaths,
and other pollution-related illnesses that incur approximately $27 billion in total health care costs every year (Holmes-Gen and Barrett 2016). The health impacts of transportation affect all of us, but especially vulnerable are children, the elderly, the chronically ill, and people in low-income communities (who often live in or near freight corridors).
A growing number of people are choosing to live in neighborhoods where nearby amenities and public transportation can make car-free living more feasible. Above, the Boston Harborwalk, more than 40 miles long, connects the city’s waterfront neighborhoods. Forward-thinking policies can help the region adapt to growing populations and reduce dependence on personal vehicles.