“It’s a Big Hit!”: More Than 9 Out of 10 Back Transportation & Climate Initiative

Two-Thirds of Registered Voters Support Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Distributors Paying for Pollution; Survey Covers Seven States in Region: CT, MD, MA, NJ, NY, PA and VA.

Boston Globe, Boston, Massachusetts

By Gaurab Basu

Transforming our dirty transportation system has long been an urgent public health issue.

Connecticut Post, Connecticut

By Lauren Bailey

COVID-19 is striking neighborhoods that were already suffering before the pandemic: one of the most likely indicators of severe respiratory illness is living in an area with high levels of air pollution. Many of these communities also endure high rates of poverty yet are home to the essential workers on the front lines of the crisis. This pandemic has put the inequity of our climate crisis into stark contrast and has made the dire need for reductions in toxic emissions even more clear.

Richmond Times Dispatch, Richmond, Virginia

By Kelsey Crane

Virginia’s transportation system is in need of serious improvements. Continuing with the status quo of perpetual highway expansion is outdated and isn’t meeting the needs or serving the best interests of our communities. Instead, it’s hurting our environment, health and wallets. Burning motor fuels produces almost half (45%) of the climate pollution in the commonwealth, and that tailpipe pollution also contributes to an influx of health problems and hospital visits that burden Virginians with health care costs.

Theoharides: Transpo emission pact still priority Commonwealth Magazine / Massachusetts, June 17, 2020. Matt Murphy: “Rather than creating a disincentive, Theoharides said the current pandemic has made a 'compelling' argument for why TCI is necessary. 'I think it’s built an even stronger case for TCI and the investments we can make with the revenue at a time when revenue might be limited,' she said." 

Polling publicly released today from The Nature Conservancy done by the bipartisan pollster team of New Bridge Strategy and Fairbank, Maslin, Maulllin, Metz & Associates shows that three quarters of small town and rural voters in Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states support the creation of a state clean transportation fund. This is significant as transportation improvements and funding are being considered by the jurisdictions participating in the Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI). TCI is an effort by policymakers from 12 eastern states and the District of Columbia to design a region-wide policy that would both reduce carbon emissions from transportation and provide improved efficiency of and access to transportation systems.