How should the next administration decarbonize transportation?
Keeping track of the (many) democratic proposals
Here in the US, the last month has seen a batch of new Democratic Party proposals to tackle climate change, all with an eye to a potential change in presidential administration in 2021. What do they have to say about transport decarbonization?
On July 14th, Joe Biden released his Clean Energy & Infrastructure plan. The plan’s most attention grabbing feature was a commitment to 100% renewable electric power by 2035. That’s very ambitious. California, typically the vanguard of climate policy in the US, has set its 100% renewable electricity target for 2045.
The transportation section got less attention, and many have criticized it for a lack of ambition. I’ll do my best to summarize it here.
The transportation elements of the plan are short on specific dollar figures, which makes it hard to evaluate in depth. It sets a goal of “every city over 100,000 having access to high quality, zero emission transit.” “High quality” is left undefined, so it’s unclear how that compares to the status quo. It supports investing in infrastructure for pedestrians, cyclists, and micro mobility, but doesn’t include specifics. And it wouldn’t be an ‘Amtrak Joe’ plan if it didn’t mention rail infrastructure, including a goal to electrify more of it. Though, again, the rail section is light on specifics.
The plan’s main emphasis is on the auto industry, with a goal of creating 1 million new union-eligible jobs in the American auto industry. It targets winning back jobs from overseas, and emphasizes using public procurement of the 3 million vehicles in federal, state, and local fleets to expand the zero emission vehicle fleet. It supports an earlier proposal by Chuck Schumer for a cash for clunkers program that subsidizes electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle purchases. Although it discusses implementing ‘ambitious’ fuel economy standards, it doesn’t include details. It also sets a goal of 500,000 public chargers, a large expansion from the 31,000 existing public electric vehicle charging stations. Finally, it includes a lot of emphasis on R & D investment in things like battery storage and renewable hydrogen.
A couple of weeks earlier, the Biden-Sanders Unity Task Force (formed in May) released their recommendations. On transport decarbonization, most of the proposals (unsurprisingly) mirror what the Biden campaign later released. Almost identical language also appears in the recent draft DNC party platform document, here.
One reason there’s been criticism of the transportation elements of these campaign plans is they’re less ambitious than yet another climate plan put forward by prominent democrats at the very end of June. (Keeping track of them all?)
The Climate Action Plan released by the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis on June 30 was over 500 pages long, with 60 pages on transportation alone. Unlike the campaign plans described above, it makes very explicit that the era of fossil fuel cars (and trucks) is coming to an end, and soon. It proposes outlawing the sale of new internal combustion engine vehicles after 2035, and new heavy duty vehicles after 2040. These would be dramatic steps in the American context, but are increasingly the norm in Europe. The UK just announced a ban on new internal combustion engine cars in 2035. Shell (yes, Shell) recently pushed for the UK to move up the date to 2030. That is one of the most easily understandable and stark differences between the plans, but there are others.
The select committee more heavily emphasizes land use as a path to transport decarbonization. It has detailed proposals for the aviation and maritime sectors, currently absent from the Biden campaign documents.
It’s a bit unfair to compare the 500 page House plan to a few paragraphs in climate campaign documents, but it’s a useful exercise. If there is a change of administration in November - and if you read this newsletter, I know you’re hoping there will be - the details of the policy that emerges is going to be critical.
All the plans described above leave out some exciting ideas for transport decarbonization, from e-bikes to low emission zones. What would your federal action plan on transport decarbonization include? Feel free to reply to this email and let me know. I’d love to cover them in future issues.
New & Worth a Read
The EPA adopts its first ever GHG emissions standards for new airplanes. But …2019 planes already beat the 2028 ‘target’?
The financial situation for American public transportation is increasingly dire.
15 states have joined California’s zero emission standard for trucks.
Fully Charged, a popular EV youtube channel, launched a global competition to find the city leading the way on renewable power & transport electrification.