At the finish of June, on the similar day that the Supreme Court restricted the Environmental Protection Agency’s skill to manage climate-heating air pollution from the nation’s energy vegetation, the Baker administration issued its newest Clean Energy and Climate Plan, which lays out its technique to eradicate 7.5 million metric tons of annual climate-heating emissions (an 11 p.c discount from 2020 ranges) inside the subsequent 3 years.
The plan locations a heavy emphasis on transportation – the state’s greatest supply of climate-heating pollution – and, for the first time, it acknowledges that Massachusetts residents might want to drive much less to ensure that the state to satisfy its targets.
Massachusetts regulation requires the state to chop climate-heating air pollution – mainly from fossil fuels – by 33 p.c relative to 1990 ranges by 2025, by 50 p.c by 2030, and to successfully eradicate greenhouse gasoline air pollution by 2050.
The state has already decreased greenhouse pollution by roughly 25 p.c since 1990, principally from the closure of a number of giant coal-fired energy vegetation, which had been as soon as the state’s greatest polluters.
But immediately, the greatest polluters in Massachusetts aren’t factories or energy vegetation: they’re the roads and highways managed by MassDOT.
The tailpipes on vehicles, vehicles, and different automobiles generate 37 p.c of the state’s local weather air pollution – roughly twice as rather more than all of the state’s remaining methane gas-fired energy vegetation.
And whereas different sectors of the Massachusetts financial system are decreasing their consumption of fossil fuels, air pollution on MassDOT’s roadways has been getting worse.
Highways truly generated extra climate-heating air pollution in 2015 than they did in 1990, regardless of improved gasoline effectivity requirements on particular person motor automobiles.
“One major cause of increased emissions is the considerable increase in total statewide vehicle miles traveled (VMT) over the past 30 years,” observes the state’s new local weather plan. “Passenger vehicle travel in the Commonwealth has grown from 48.9 billion annual miles in 1990 to 61.1 billion annual miles in 2019.”
During that very same quarter-century, MassDOT spent tens of billions of {dollars} widening highways, principally in the Boston area, whereas under-investing in the area’s transit programs.
The Baker administration’s earlier local weather plan, launched final winter, appeared poised to proceed that pattern, by focusing most of its consideration on subsidizing electrical automobile purchases with out attempting to cut back the period of time that Massachusetts residents waste sitting of their vehicles.
But in the 12 months since then, the state’s electrical car packages have come beneath intense scrutiny. StreetsblogMASS has reported on how the state’s MOR-EV rebate program overwhelmingly advantages rich households, and the way the state’s personal surveys indicated that the rebates had little impact on consumers’ selections.
Electric Trucks and Buses Are Coming… Just Not Fast Enough to Save the Climate
The new local weather plan stresses that electrical vehicles will nonetheless want to exchange gasoline-powered engines on the Commonwealth’s roadways.
But even when that occurs, Massachusetts residents and companies may even must drive much less.
“First, the Commonwealth will achieve a modest reduction in total vehicle miles traveled compared to baseline projections, in spite of continued projected population and economic growth, by providing more Massachusetts residents with more alternatives to personal vehicles,” in response to the plan’s transportation part. “Second, the Commonwealth will rapidly transition the vehicles on our roads to electric vehicles.”
The plan additionally outlines some particular actions the Commonwealth will take to make that occur, together with:
Baker Administration Developing E-Bike Incentive Program
Last week, the federal Department of Transportation in Washington introduced its personal initiative that might require states to trace climate-heating emissions from their highways, and set targets for these emissions to say no over time.
“Every state and local government in this country is seeing the impacts of climate change on their communities and infrastructure,” mentioned Deputy Federal Highway Administrator Stephanie Pollack in a press assertion. “States have a critical role to play as we work nationwide to bring down greenhouse gas emissions and slow those impacts.”
Unlike different states with main local weather insurance policies, the newest Massachusetts local weather plan nonetheless doesn’t set a particular goal for decreasing in-state “vehicle miles traveled” by motor automobiles.
California is aiming for a 15 p.c discount in complete light-duty motorized vehicle miles traveled (VMT) by 2050 by constructing extra housing in walkable neighborhoods, increasing transit, and rising charges on drivers. And Washington’s state local weather plan requires a 30 p.c discount in driving per capita between 2008 and 2030, and calls on its Department of Transportation to “make VMT reduction, efficiency, and equity explicit priorities for transportation funding.”