TCI Regional Policy Design Stakeholder Submissions

Transportation is required for most jobs in Maine, particularly outside the larger denser population centers. But Maine is also greatly at risk from our low average income and sensitivity to petroleum based fuel prices. Maine is particularly sensitive to the health impacts of air pollution and many sectors of our economy are already feeling impacts of climate change. It is essential to our ability to thrive that clean transportation be a high priority and that funding be available to help rural Maine communities and residents take part, and not be left behind. Here in Somerville our quality of place depends on the ponds, streams, woods, farms and habitat. Yet 31% of people commute between 40 and 90 minutes, and overall, townspeople average about 30 minutes to commute to work, and nearly the same to visit a market. We need affordable clean transportation solutions.

Thank you for this work and of course we need collaborative policy initiatives like this and much more. Right now, the well-off can buy our own way into the lowest carbon options, but they are expensive and out of reach of most people. Developing fair and comprehensive solutions that not only force change but are economically accessible is the real trick.
Gary Stern

I believe the greatest crisis facing humankind is climate change. All life as we know it is in danger. Every effort must be made to reduce GHG ASAP! Ignorance and greed and fear of change lead some to ignore the reality of the climate crisis. Please do all in your power to improve our transportation system.

Our outdated transportation system is Maine’s largest source of climate pollution—and it doesn’t even meet the needs of Maine people.
Maine people deserve clean, modern, affordable transportation options that deliver economic, health, and climate benefits to local communities.
It makes sense for Maine to work with neighboring states through TCI’s bipartisan, proven policy model.

Please consider that many who wish not to see a rise in personal fuel cost have not considered the true cost the present climate crisis we face will bring... not only economically to themselves but to the environment and future generations. It is our younger generations who will be experiencing the devastation of our present behavior and inaction, and who will be bearing a cost far greater than the few dollars increase a tank of gas may require. It is not their fault. They are not being apprised as to what is truly happening. It is imperative that a regional low-carbon transportation policy proposal be designed 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. Thank you for attending to this very urgent matter.

Our outdated transportation system is Maine’s largest source of climate pollution—and it doesn’t even meet the needs of Maine people.
Maine people deserve clean, modern, affordable transportation options that deliver economic, health, and climate benefits to local communities.
It makes sense for Maine to work with neighboring states through TCI’s bipartisan, proven policy model.
We must design a transportation system with the softest carbon footprint possible!

Full Disclosure: I am a rail and transit advocate for the Sierra Club - and also a member of the New England Electric Railway Historical Society (aka Seashore Trolley Museum).

As an active member of the Seashore Trolley Museum, my volunteer work constantly reminds me of the long forgotten role of light electric railways in the history of both Maine and New Hampshire. But equally important is that our museum also has examples of the high speed interurbans that i was ale to ride out of Chicago in my youth, and even numerous cars from other parts of the Midwest that i was never able to ride.

The whole pint of this submission is to remind the TCI initiative that the more populated rural and exurban areas of New England had public transportation options before the 1950's when automobile ownership became commonplace. And even into the 1970's, both the conventional railroads and intercity bus lines provided an equally lng forgotten transportation service to rural communities.

As a member of the Sierra Club, our focus must be on finding ways to sharply reduce carbon emissions from the transportation sector, which means in great part finding various means to sharpy reduce the number of private automobiles that are used almost daily for commuting to work and similar purposes.

To whom it may concern,

on behalf of the Global CCS Institute I am submitting the report "THE LCFS AND CCS PROTOCOL: AN OVERVIEW FOR POLICYMAKERS AND PROJECT DEVELOPERS" which explains the protocol for carbon capture and storage (CCS) California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) was amended with in 2018. The protocol took effect in early 2019 and incentivizes CCS projects that reduce the lifecycle emissions from fuels consumed in California. Recognizing that climate change is a transnational problem, it also incentivizes direct air capture (DAC) projects reducing the stock of CO2 in the atmosphere. According to the International Energy Agency, to meet the Paris Agreement, CCS is expected to deliver 7 percent of cumulative emissions reductions by 2040, which translates into roughly 2000 operating facilities globally. Currently, there are 19 operating, large-scale CCS facilities globally, including in ethanol and hydrogen production, as well as on power production. While the technology is seen as deployment-ready, it has not been widely deployed due to a lack of policy confidence. However, the recently reformed 45Q tax credit and the LCFS CCS protocol are examples of a value on carbon providing policy confidence for CCS deployment. At least two planned facilities announced recently have cited the LCFS CCS protocol as a key enabling policy mechanism.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Lee Beck

I'm not an expert on transportation, but I am an environmental scientist, and I am seriously concerned about the world's sluggishness in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. I would like to say that I wholeheartedly support the TCI goal of moving to low-carbon transport! I will preferentially vote for leaders who move forward on this issue