Environmental advocates from across Connecticut have vowed to maintain pressure on Gov. Ned Lamont and the General Assembly to pass legislation that would enable state participation in the Transportation and Climate Initiative Program (TCI-P).

A dozen advocates co-signed a statement urging passage of the program, which would institute a declining cap on allowable carbon emissions from gasoline and diesel fuel sold and require suppliers to purchase carbon allowances at auction.

Those allowances would generate hundreds of millions of dollars during a 10-year period starting in 2023, which the state would reinvest in programs and infrastructure that reduce transportation emissions. The emissions cap would reduce carbon emissions from on-road transportation by at least 26% through 2032.

Lamont’s latest decision to pause the pursuit of TCI-P has affected the region as well. Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker and Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee announced that their states would back away from the program, which all three states and DC signed a memorandum of understanding to join in December 2020. 

Advocates said walking away from TCI-P should not be an option.

“Pulling their support for TCI was a short-sighted move by the Lamont administration, which kicks the can even further down the road on addressing carbon pollution,” said Louis Rosado Burch, Connecticut program director at Citizens Campaign for the Environment. “Connecticut residents want bold leadership from their elected leaders. TCI is a necessity, not a luxury to be put on the shelf for another day.”

Acadia Center and its partners in Connecticut’s Transportation Future coalition maintain that businesses, mayors, community leaders and public health professionals support TCI-P and its economic, public health and climate benefits, said Amy McLean, Acadia Center’s Connecticut director and senior policy advocate. 

“Environmental justice leaders have worked closely with state agencies and the legislature to center equity and transportation justice in Connecticut’s implementation of the TCI,” McLean said. “While Gov. Lamont appears content to press pause on that important work, we are committed to moving it forward.”

Off Target

Another advocate added that Connecticut is at a crossroads. Charles Rothenberger, climate and energy attorney at Save the Sound, said it has been more than two months since the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) announced Connecticut is not on track to meet its statutory 2030 and 2050 economy-wide reduction targets.

The Connecticut Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory, which tracks progress on emissions targets, shows that the state emitted 42.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2018, the most recent year that data are available. That is 2.9% higher than the state’s 2020 emissions goal and a 2.7% increase from the 2017 inventory. Transportation emissions, at 15.8 million metric tons, exceeded the combined emissions of the electricity and residential sectors and have been rising since 1990 despite improvements in fuel economy. In addition, vehicle miles traveled have increased faster, further increasing emissions. (See Conn. Falls Behind on Mandated Emissions Targets, GHG Inventory Finds.)

The inventory makes two recommendations that would require action from lawmakers in the General Assembly: Adopting California emission standards for buses, light commercial trucks, single-unit short-haul trucks and similar vehicles; and implementing TCI-P. This spring, a bill to enable TCI-P made it out of the General Assembly’s Environment Committee but did not reach a full vote. Calls to include TCI-P in a special session never came to fruition.

“Our leaders need to step up to the plate and show the same urgency in their policies that they’ve shown in their rhetoric,” Rothenberger said. “The cost of inaction is too steep.”

‘Powerful’ Opposition

Last week, Lamont cited rising gas prices as an obstacle to enabling TCI-P legislation, saying the policy would be “a pretty tough rock to push” through the General Assembly. (See Lamont’s TCI-P Reversal Surprises Environmental Advocates, Lawmakers.)

“We are up against the richest and most powerful industries in the world in the fight against climate change,” said Megan Macomber, policy advocate for the Connecticut League of Conservation Voters. “The pushback on TCI shows us how loud these fossil fuel industries can be, but they do not represent the will of the majority.”

Republican lawmakers and gasoline trade associations labeled TCI-P as a “gas tax” in the form of potential pass-down costs from fuel suppliers to consumers.

DEEP analysis shows participation could boost gas prices by 5 cents/gallon beginning in 2023, assuming fuel suppliers will pass down 100% of allowance costs to consumers. Multiple consumer protection safeguards, including a cost-containment reserve, would kick in at 9 cents/gallon.

Opponents said the 5- to 9-cent increase applies to the first year of TCI-P alone, with prices potentially rising by as much as 26 cents.

Macomber added that a poll by Langer Research Associates showed that 78% of respondents ages 18-29 said climate change is a severe problem that needs to be addressed. 

“Major climate programs like TCI must not fall victim to in-party fighting or be used to leverage political agendas,” Macomber said. “With 2022 elections on the horizon, elected officials should double down on their efforts to reduce fossil fuel emissions, not shy away from the fight.”