Abstract
The United States (US) is currently not ready to meet its Paris agreement 2030 climate change mitigation goals. With more aggressive and targeted regulation and legislation, this outlook could drastically change. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was a step in the right direction for climate change mitigation policy but it fell short in one massively important category, addressing public transportation. The US transportation sector accounts for 28% of all greenhouse gas GHG emissions; leading the next highest sector by 3%. This policy statement delves into the legislative and educational needs regarding the funding of new green public transit models. By analyzing current legislation, as well as other US climate policies, I seek to set guidelines for new and more aggressive strategies in green transportation, as well as funding and education towards creating a less car-dependent culture. A tangible switch in favor of public transportation over individual automobile dependence would greatly reduce emissions and significantly improve the chances for the US to achieve its climate change mitigation goal for 2030.
Introduction
The US is in dire need of sweeping legislation regarding climate change mitigation. As it stands, the US with its current climate change mitigation initiatives, programs, and bills are not insufficient to reach the Paris Agreement goal of a 50% reduction in GHG emissions by 2030. Policies such as the IRA have made significant strides in efforts to mitigate climate change but have fallen short of the true needs to effectively meet this extreme challenge. With the suggestions and guidance offered in this policy proposal, I seek to amend these shortcomings and create a plan that can guide the US to a prosperous and green future. Introducing a system for tax credits for utilization of public transport, shifting of funding towards increased infrastructure for public transit, and hybridizing the next generation of public transport buses will correct the course to accomplish this lofty goal. While additional policy changes are necessary for the US to realize its goals for 2030, the introduction of these would be a massively important step in the right direction. A less car-dependent society is exactly what the US needs to massively reduce transportation emissions. Therefore, more aggressive legislation regarding the electrification and hybridization of public transportation and infrastructure will reduce GHG emissions drastically by 2030 by reducing fossil fuel and automobile dependence.
The Inflation Reduction Act
The IRA is the most ambitious bill to date regarding climate change mitigation. In addition to this, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the IRA is “the most significant climate change legislation in U.S. history.” With an influx of $370 billion towards climate change mitigation and green infrastructure, this is a massive step in the right direction. This is important because all emissions sectors of the United States are being targeted in this bill, which is necessary if the US plans to reduce its GHG emissions 50% by 2030. Despite this positive development, only approximately $23.4 billion has been directed towards transportation. This means that even a smaller percentage of this funding is being directed toward public transportation. The IRA also features several concessions by not tackling fossil fuel funding, which opens the door to the continued use of fossil fuels and aids in keeping this industry alive. Even more alarmingly, the IRA touts a “40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030”, an entire 10% less than the 2030 Paris Agreement goal. To account for the projects that are desperately needed, funding must be pulled away from the $20 billion in subsidies and around $100 billion in tax breaks given to fossil fuel corporations every year to more effectively tackle this climate crisis. Currently, the transportation emissions sector is not being effectively targeted. With more aggressive and intuitive legislation this could be amended.
Methods for 2030
A three-pronged approach is necessary for the US to reach its Paris Agreement obligations by 2030. Firstly, to encourage the use of public transportation, tax credits must be implemented as a tangible incentive for shifting away from automobile use. Secondly, the US must commit to developing green infrastructure such as passenger rail outside of main population centers and existing transit hubs. Lastly, the current fleet of diesel buses are incompatible with efficient emissions reductions by 2030 and must be replaced with much more energy- and emissions-efficient hybrid-electric vehicles. Currently, there are few physical incentives for Americans to use public transportation, this could be easily amended with a form of tax credits for the purchasing of transit passes. Encouragingly, tax credits have already shown real world success with policy implementation in Canada. I seek to recreate this success with a 15% tax credit for a purchased transit pass, which would allow for annual or monthly transit passes to be written off on taxes, putting money directly into citizens’ pockets. This will help to shift away from automobile dependence, providing an economic and environmental benefit. It would be effective because the process is incredibly simple to understand, unlike the current tax credit system regarding EVs for example, which is very narrow in eligibility and scope.
Improving rail infrastructure outside of major transit hubs is important, too. For example, the population of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs is about 9 million people while the population of Tokyo sits at about 14 million. According to the nonprofit research center Urban.org, Chicagoland emits 3-4 times more greenhouse gases than Tokyo every single year. This is the consequence of the disparity in the development of public transportation infrastructure. Tokyo possesses an extremely developed and well-funded public transport system and, although Chicago has a modern and efficient public transit system inside the city, it is severely lacking in the suburbs. Chicago proper has a highly-developed transportation infrastructure and this is the case in many large cities in the US. The ability to scale this infrastructure outside of these main hubs would be essential to encouraging public transit use, thus lowering emissions. Current legislation is insufficient for this infrastructure development and must be prioritized to not only reduce emissions from single automobile use, but also shift transportation preference in favor of public transit. Before this shift can occur , the infrastructure must be available to use, and in many places it is simply not an option. Figure 1 displays this inability to use public transport in action, with all public transport networks in the US paling in comparison to one form of transport available in Europe: high speed rail.
Lastly, according to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute, about 80% of the current bus fleet in federal public transportation uses diesel combustion engines. For the United States to meet its Paris Agreement obligations the US must shift completely to electric-hybrid vehicles. Studies done by this same institute show that these modern buses can be up to 75% more efficient in lessening GHG emissions as compared to diesel and with specialized filters this figure can reach up to 90%. Even more shockingly, even though these hybrids cost on $300,000 more per unit than diesel on average, they will actually save around $170 thousand in fuel costs, another reason to make the shift. To fund these programs the FTA must overcome its severe deficits at less than 2% of all federal funding. By pulling funding away from the bloated budget of the Department of Defense, the United States could fund these projects with ease.
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| Figure 1: Comparison between all available public transport in the US (top) and high speed rail in Europe (bottom) |
An Optimistic Future
Swift implementation of these policies and programs in the US can right its current climate change mitigation wrongs and set an optimistic direction to Paris 2030. Climate change mitigation activities already exist and in the tax credit example, have been proven effective when implemented. Most importantly, the US has excellent public transportation infrastructure in large cities and transport hubs, but the key is scaling this infrastructure to target severely lacking areas of the country where this public transportation is unavailable. With greater policy ambition and more aggressive implementation, the US can use tax credits, rail construction, and hybridization of public transport to effectively target the transportation emissions sector and drastically reduce its carbon footprint in preparation for Paris Agreement compliance in 2030.
Works Cited
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