Massachusetts Joins Historic Multi-State Pact to Reduce Transportation Pollution
T4MA Praises Governor Baker for National Leadership on TCI
Transportation for Massachusetts (T4MA), a coalition of more than 100 transportation, environmental, business, and planning organizations, today applauded Governor Baker for making Massachusetts among the first states to join the Transportation & Climate Initiative (TCI), an innovative, bipartisan, regional program that will improve the state’s transportation system while reducing tailpipe emissions, the largest source of pollution in Massachusetts today.
“Massachusetts has a proud history of national leadership on major public policy issues and Governor Baker has maintained that tradition by becoming a founding signatory to a program that will make real progress on climate change, one of the most pressing issues of our time. Perhaps more importantly, he has created a program that will bring significant public health, environmental, and economic benefits to residents of Massachusetts,” said Chris Dempsey, Director of Transportation for Massachusetts.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare deep inequities in our public health and transportation systems. The images of essential workers struggling to get to work to provide us with health care, food, and other necessities in the midst of the pandemic cannot be unseen. They deserve better. TCI will be an important part of our recovery from the pandemic as well as an enduring mechanism for lowering greenhouse gas emissions, reducing the public health impacts of pollution, and growing our innovation economy,” Dempsey said.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has made the connections between climate change, air quality and public health disparities more apparent than ever,” said Metropolitan Area Planning Council Deputy Director Rebecca Davis. “In addition to curbing carbon emissions in the transportation sector, adopting TCI will improve air quality, reduce health inequities and provide funds to reinvest in clean transportation solutions.”
“Securing Massachusetts’ place in the Transportation & Climate Initiative has been a focus of our advocacy work for years, and our members commend Governor Baker for formally joining this multi-state coalition,” said Jennifer Benson, President of the Alliance for Business Leadership. “This is the most significant step forward in a decade for our efforts to reduce emissions and identify new revenue for public transportation in Massachusetts, and we look forward to more states joining this process and helping us make this collaboration as impactful as possible.”
“We thank Governor Baker and urge other governors across the region to join him in taking bold action to reduce the Commonwealth’s — and the nation’s — largest source of carbon pollution. TCI will help us raise more clean transportation dollars so that we can focus on building a healthier and cleaner 21st-century transportation system, one with less pollution, less gridlock and more public transit,” said John Stout, MASSPIRG transportation advocate.
“Addressing climate change is a goal shared by our entire coalition, including 495/MetroWest’s business community, local governments, transportation providers, and other partners,” said Jason Palitsch, Executive Director of the 495/MetroWest Partnership. “We are proud that Massachusetts is continuing to play a leadership role in this effort that has brought together stakeholders not always found around the same table, to focus on shared interests. Not only will TCI lower emissions, but we are confident it is a key step in advancing our economy toward a more efficient future and creating jobs.”
Governor Baker was joined by Governors Gina Raimondo, Democrat of Rhode Island, Ned Lamont, Democrat of Connecticut, and Mayor Bowser of Washington, D.C., in announcing their jurisdictions’ participation in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) committing them to TCI and general principles for its implementation. The MOU grew out of a multi-year process that included dozens of listening sessions and workshops, and input from thousands of stakeholders representing the fuel and energy industry, the automotive and clean transport industry, business associations, community groups, local and state governments, NGOs, labor, faith leaders and the environmental-justice community.
How TCI Works
TCI places a regional cap on the total amount of pollution from tailpipe emissions. The large petroleum companies that sell and distribute motor vehicle fuels in the region would be required to purchase a limited number of allowances, or permits, to account for the pollution their fuels create. Proceeds from the sale of allowances are sent back to the states, where they will be invested in clean transportation options for consumers and businesses.
TCI is based on a similar cap-and-invest program in the electricity sector known as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). RGGI has proven to be successful in lowering emissions while funding energy-efficiency programs like the popular Mass Save program, increasing gross domestic product in RGGI states, and reducing electricity bills for consumers and businesses.
Public Health Benefits
According to a recent study led by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, TCI could result annually in between 280 and 1,000 avoided deaths and 980 and 4,700 avoided juvenile asthma cases. Health care cost savings from TCI would reach at least $2.7 billion per year and as much as $11 billion per year when the program is fully up and running by 2032, far outweighing the costs of the program. Health benefits occur in every county in the region, both rural and urban.
Environmental Benefits
TCI helps the environment in two ways. First, it reduces transportation pollution by capping tailpipe emissions across the region. The cap declines over time, meaning that over the course of the program the state can expect less pollution, cleaner air, and improved public health. Second, it uses proceeds from the sale of emissions allowances to invest in transportation improvements that will further cut pollution and benefit the environment. The states can use the funds to invest in a myriad of green transportation options for consumers and businesses, including public transit, walking and biking infrastructure, rebates and incentives for electric vehicles, teleworking, and the construction of affordable housing near transit.
Economic Benefits
TCI will help the economy by creating a more efficient system to move employees and goods, and by driving the development of new low-carbon technologies, companies, and industries. Massachusetts could gain more than 17,000 permanent jobs and $1.9 billion in associated payroll, $2.5 billion in new business sales, and $3.5 billion from improved efficiency and productivity. For these reasons, more than 100 major investors, companies, and institutions with operations and employees throughout the region are supporting TCI.
Environmental Justice Considerations
Because low-income and disadvantaged communities have been historically and disproportionately impacted by the negative effects of a broken transportation system, especially the effects of harmful air pollution, environmental justice has been one of the foundational principles guiding the development of TCI. Under the MOU, each state will be required to set aside at least 35% of TCI-generated benefits for communities that are underserved by clean transportation alternatives, disproportionately bear the costs of the current transportation system, or suffer disproportionate impacts of vehicular pollution and climate change. Individual participating states may decide to set aside an even higher percentage. The MOU also establishes a process to ensure that communities that suffer from environmental justice are represented in the implementation of TCI. Each participating state will establish an Equity Advisory Board composed of diverse stakeholder groups, including residents of underserved and overburdened communities, to advise on decision-making and equitable outcomes.
About Transportation for Massachusetts
Transportation for Massachusetts (T4MA) is a diverse coalition of more than 100 member and partner organizations with a stake in improving transportation across the Commonwealth. Our coalition advocates at the state, federal, and local levels for transportation policies that are innovative, sustainable, and environmentally friendly. We want a transportation system that strengthens our economy and our communities, while also being safer, healthier, more affordable and reliable.