"The Trump Administration continues to dismantle federal climate policy, and Biden-era goals are drifting increasingly out of reach. As the federal government of the world's second-biggest polluter abdicates responsibility, state and local governments must accelerate the decarbonization efforts. This is especially true for the transportation sector, the country's biggest emissions source, as state and local governments are key decision makers on highway and transit spending."
"Unfortunately, even states that have pledged to take climate seriously are failing to reduce transportation emissions at the rapid pace that is needed. At the root of this failure is an unwillingness by policy makers to inconvenience drivers and meaningfully depart from a car-dominated transport system. As progress on climate goals falters, it is time for state transportation leaders to come to terms with an inconvenient truth: climate goals are not feasible without a swift and methodical reallocation of road space away from cars."
Federal rollback of climate policy and slipping Biden-era targets increase pressure on states and cities to accelerate decarbonization. The transportation sector is the nation’s largest emissions source, and state and local governments control most highway and transit spending. Many states pledged net-zero targets yet are not cutting transportation emissions quickly enough. Political reluctance to inconvenience drivers and persistent commitment to a car-centric system impede progress. Achieving climate goals will require both electrifying vehicles and substantially reducing driving through deliberate reallocation of road space away from cars. Current plans overemphasize electrification and underprioritize reducing vehicle miles traveled.
Read at Streetsblog
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