Transportation
The Georgetown Climate Center works with state and federal officials and other stakeholders to help bridge any policy gaps that emerge between transportation and climate policy. The Center also assists states in forging ahead with the deployment of infrastructure for electric and clean fuel vehicles, freight efficiency planning, and transportation policies that reinforce the development and maintenance of sustainable communities.
One of the Center's biggest projects is the facilitation of the Transportation and Climate Initiative - a collaboration of 11 Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states plus the District of Columbia.
News and Updates
The Freight Efficiency workgroup within the Transportation and Climate Initiative recently commissioned a study by Dr. James Winebrake of the Rochester Institute of Technology to explore freight movement in the TCI region. As Dr. Winebrake's study shows, more than 80% of all freight moved in TCI states is transported by heavy trucks, which often produce more greenhouse gas emissions than other modes of transportation.
The U.S. Senate passed S. 1813, the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), on March 14, 2012. MAP-21 is a two-year transportation reauthorization bill with $109 billion in total funding.
The Georgetown Climate Center has a prepared a summary of the bill, with particular focus on provisions that affect states. To view the summary, click here.
The House must still take action on a bill, which may not happen until mid-April, according to...
On December 29, 2011, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California granted partial summary judgment to the plaintiffs in Rocky Mountain Farmers Union v. Goldstene, holding that California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) violated the dormant Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution. The court also granted the plaintiffs a preliminary injunction, prohibiting enforcement of the LCFS until the litigation is completed.
Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill acted in response to summary judgment motions filed by California and by two groups of plaintiffs – one associated with corn ethanol producers and led by the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union (RMFU), and one associated with petroleum producers, refiners and users led by the...
Private- and public-sector organizations from across the country, including General Motors, Tesla, Coca-Cola, and Northeast Utilities, gathered with representatives from northeast states and clean cities coalitions recently to discuss ways to expedite the deployment of electric vehicles.
The dialogue was the first stakeholder event held to discuss next steps for the Northeast Electric Vehicle Network. The states launched the initiative in October.
A couple of suggestions raised by participants included:
- Identifying best practices for incentives (both monetary and non-monetary) to encourage the sale of electric vehicles and the development of electric vehicle infrastructure.
- Taking action to remove obstacles to electric vehicle...
On December 1, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued a proposed rule to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve fuel economy for light-duty vehicles for Model Years (MY) 2017-2025 (76 Fed. Reg. 74854,75420). The agencies announced the proposed standards in a Supplemental Notice of Intent (NOI) in late July, and originally hoped to issue the proposed rule by late September...
On November 9, the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee unanimously passed S. 1813, “Moving Head for Progress in the 21st Century Act,” or “MAP-21” (Boxer, D-CA), a two-year surface transportation bill that will allow greater flexibility for state spending and tighter accountability measures for state Departments of Transportation (DOT) and Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO).
MAP-21 will maintain current baseline surface transportation spending, plus inflation, for two years. The EPW committee’s portion of the bill covers the “highways” section, while the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs is...
More than 80 media sources ran a story last week about the launch of the Northeast Electric Vehicle Network due, in part, to an Associated Press piece that helped break the news. The story was picked up by News Day, Business Week, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal and the Boston Globe to name a few.
The story was also aired extensively on radio and TV networks, including NPR affiliates, Northeast Public Radio and the following TV stations: NWNJ TV (New Jersey – New York), WFMZ-IND TV (Philadelphia), WTXF-FOX (Philadelphia), WUSA-CBS (Washington, DC – Hagerstown, MD), WGGB-ABC (Springfield, MA – Holyoke, MA), WNYT-NBC (Albany – Schenectady – Troy...
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