States must step up efforts to reduce harmful carbon emissions

As of last September, 16 states and Puerto Rico approved legislation requiring reductions in greenhouse emissions. The White House also set ambitious goals of cutting emissions by at least 50% below 2005 levels in 2030. They aim to achieve a net-zero economy by 2050. Contributing to 29% of all greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S., the transportation sector is now the top producer and accounts for a growing portion each year. More than half of these emissions (57%) come from personal vehicles such as cars, SUVs, and light-duty trucks. Progress in cutting those emissions has been slow, let alone efforts to measure and track them. 

MassDOT charts course for a sustainable transportation system

In 2010, the Massachusetts DOT announced its GreenDOT initiative, which focuses on three main goals: reducing greenhouse gas emissions, promoting healthy transportation options, and encouraging smart growth development throughout the state. In recent testimony to the state’s House Committee on Global Warming and Climate Change, and in a subsequent SSTI webinar, Ned Codd, MassDOT’s Assistant Secretary for GreenDOT, stressed the agency’s commitment to reducing statewide emissions.

Building the market: Putting Zero-Emission Vehicles on the road

It took decades for the current gasoline and diesel service station infrastructure to be built out, enabling longer- distance travel. As we enter an era where more drivers are considering adopting electric vehicles, infrastructure to “fuel” these zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) is lacking in a similar way to the early automobile period’s gas station shortage. In particular, the market has been slow to respond to the need for Electric Vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure. A new coalition of eight states on both coasts has released a plan to speed the adoption of ZEV technology and address this infrastructure gap.

Southern California Association of Governments adopts strong sustainability plan

On April 3, the Southern California Association of Governments unanimously adopted a 25 year transportation plan that focuses on transit, road maintenance, walking, biking, sustainability, land use, and reduction of greenhouse gases. Local officials and citizen’s groups alike hailed it as a significant change in strategy for a region notorious for clogged freeways and the worst air quality in the nation.

The Colorado Energy Smart Transportation Initiative: A Framework for Considering Energy in Transportation (SSTI and Colorado DOT, 2012)

The mission of Colorado’s Energy Smart Transportation Initiative was to develop a framework for considering energy efficiency and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in transportation decision-making. With SSTI assistance, a collaborative team composed of federal and state agencies, MPOs, and rural planning partners came together to leverage resources and promote efficiency and effectiveness among agencies by exploring ways to develop “energy smart transportation” strategies. This report includes strategies developed to incorporate energy efficiency and GHG emissions in transportation planning, increase energy efficiency and reduce GHG emissions from transportation, advance environmentally friendly alternative vehicle and fuel technologies, and increase efficiency through truck fleet enhancements, improved traveler information, and other methods.

Policy options for reducing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions from U.S. transportation: No silver bullet

Transportation accounts for 2/3 of the nation’s oil consumption and produces between ¼ and 1/3 of all the CO2 emitted from the nation’s energy consumption. TRB established a special committee of experts to explore policy …