Getting Back on Track: Aligning State Transportation Policy with Climate Change Goal
Source: Smart Growth America
State transportation policy has the potential to significantly reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while also effectively meeting the nation's wide-ranging mobility needs. Few studies have specifically sought to evaluate how states' transportation policies impact GHG emissions. This report seeks to build on the work of Moving Cooler, a 2009 report by Cambridge Systematics, which quantified the carbon reduction benefits of various transportation strategies. The analysis here evaluates how well state-level transportation decisions are aligned with efforts to reduce GHG emissions by examining a selection of key transportation policies currently in place in the 50 states. The findings suggest that there is tremendous potential for states to make progress on reducing transportation-related carbon emissions. The report's recommendations suggest ways states can improve their climate performance while meeting their mobility needs.
