Resources to "Cut Carbs" from the Transportation Sector
Federal Policies & Funding Resources
Several major bills pending in Congress contain provisions and funding that will support planning for and implementation of measures that reduce GHGs from the transportation sector. Competition for funding will be fierce, but -- with advance planning -- Oregon metropolitan areas can position themselves well.
Surface Transportation Authorization Act (pending). The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee released its blueprint for reauthorization of the nation’s federal surface transportation act June 2009. An Office of Livability within the Federal Highway Administration will advance environmentally sustainable modes of transportation, including transit, walking, and bicycling. This Office will encourage integrated planning, linking land use and transportation planning, to support the creation of livable communities. A Metropolitan Mobility and Access program will provide significant dedicated funding to help the largest metropolitan regions address congestion and its impacts via a newly-created National Infrastructure Bank, which will provide grants, loans, loan guarantees, lines of credit, private-activity bonds, tax-credit bonds, and other financial tools to help metropolitan regions implement their plans and finance a range of strategies, including improved transit operations, congestion pricing, and expanded highway and transit capacity. Click here for a summary of the proposed legislation [PDF].
Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act (pending). The Boxer-Kerry climate change bill requires states and MPOs to develop long-range plans for GHG reductions from transportation and provides funding for scenario planning and implementation of GHG reduction strategies. The Senate version of the climate change bill proposes to allocate 2.4% of revenues towards smart growth and clean transportation, more than double what the House proposed. Funding provisions include a Planning & Competitive Grant Program (planning grants for all MPOs that participate and a competitive grant program to provide performance-based funding for States and MPOs to incentivize and implement their transportation-related greenhouse gas reduction plans) and transit funding for capital needs and preventative maintenance, as well as transit operating assistance in areas under 200,000. Click here for Smart Growth America’s summary.
Livable Communities Act (pending). This Act is intended to help local communities plan for and create better and more affordable places to live, work, and raise families by cutting traffic congestion, reducing GHG emissions and gasoline consumption, protecting rural areas and green spaces, revitalizing existing Main Streets and urban centers, and creating more affordable housing. Funding through the Act is heavily weighted toward supporting the most regionally integrated partnerships – partnerships that include multiple counties or, in some cases, multiple states. Highlights include:
- Competitive Comprehensive Planning Grants to help communities develop comprehensive regional plans that incorporate transportation, housing, community and economic development, and environmental needs. The Act authorizes $400 million in competitive grant money over four years.
- Competitive Sustainability Challenge Grants to enable communities to implement cross-cutting projects according to their comprehensive regional plans. $3.75 billion is authorized over three years to help communities create and preserve affordable housing, support transit-oriented development, improve public transportation, create pedestrian and bicycle thoroughfares, redevelop brownfields and foster economic development.
- A new Interagency Council on Sustainable Communities, consisting of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other federal agencies, will coordinate federal sustainable development policies.
- A new Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities will be housed at HUD to coordinate sustainable development policy and administer HUD’s sustainability initiatives. It will recommend and conduct research on sustainability, implement and oversee Livable Communities grant programs in coordination with the Interagency Council, and provide guidance, best practices and technical assistance to communities.
More info on the Livable Communities Act available here.
Adaptation Resources
TRB Special Report 290: Potential Impacts of Climate Change on U.S. Transportation. This report discusses potential impacts of climate change on U.S. transportation and suggests appropriate adaptation strategies and organizational responses. The Transportation Research Board and National Academies’ Division on Earth and Life Studies formed a committee comprised of experts in climate science, meteorology, transportation planning and engineering, transportation operations and maintenance, risk analysis, and economics to conduct the study. More info here [PDF].
Climate Change Impact Assessment for Surface Transportation in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. Building on several significant reports and projects that have been recently published, the Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium (OTREC) is conducting a preliminary assessment of the risks and vulnerabilities climate change poses to the surface transportation infrastructure system in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska region. OTREC will synthesize data needed to characterize the region, identify critical infrastructure and transportation operations vulnerable to climate change impacts, and provide recommendations for more detailed analysis and research needs as appropriate to support the management of risks and opportunities to adapt multimodal surface transportation infrastructure to climate change impacts. For more info, contact: John MacArthur, Sustainable Transportation Program Manager, OTREC, 503-725-2866
Mitigation Resources
Moving Cooler: An Analysis of Transportation Strategies for Reducing GHG Emissions. This cutting-edge report conducted by Cambridge Systematics, published by the Urban Land Institute, and commissioned by a diverse group of stakeholders (transportation experts, industry, federal agencies, environment organizations and other NGOs) examines the effects, costs and benefits of deployment of a variety of technologies and techniques for reducing GHG emissions from the transportation sector. Find this 2009 report here.
Growing Cooler: The Evidence on Urban Development and Climate Change. This study documents how key changes in land development patterns could help reduce vehicle GHG emissions. It was developed as part of the Urban Land Institute’s sustainability initiative in cooperation with Smart Growth America, Center for Clean Air Policy, and National Center for Smart Growth Research and Education. Based on a comprehensive review of dozens of studies by leading urban planning researchers, the book concludes that urban development is both a key contributor to climate change and an essential factor in combating it. Find this 2007 report here.
Cost-Effective GHG Reductions through Smart Growth & Improved Transportation Choices. In this 2009 report, the Center for Clean Air Policy analyzes the benefits of reducing GHG emissions through smart growth, improved transportation choices, and transportation pricing and estimates that comprehensive application of best practices could reduce annual GHG emissions 145 MMTCO2 in 2030 — equivalent to the annual emissions of some 30 million cars or 35 large coal plants. Their analysis indicates that these reductions can be achieved profitably, when factoring in avoided infrastructure costs, consumer savings and projected tax revenue growth. See the report here [PDF].
CCAP Transportation Emissions Guidebook. This two-part guidebook provides basic “rules of thumb” to calculate emissions reductions from the implementation of specific transportation and land use policies by state and local governments. The Guidebook Emissions Calculator covers GHGs, air pollution and energy use. Part One focuses on Land Use, Transit & Travel Demand Management. Part Two focuses on Vehicle Technologies and Fuels. See both reports here. (To access the free CCAP guidebook, you'll have to complete a form. This information is for CCAP records only and will not be sold or made available to the public.)
Mindmap: Elements Affecting GHG Emissions from Transportation. This dynamic mind map developed by ODOT senior transportation analyst Brian Gregor shows factors and actions that affect GHG emissions from the transportation sector. The user can navigate through the mind map to discover information and impacts based on specific sections and sub-sections. To “test drive” the mindmap click here.
Additional Resources
Two Billion Cars. At present, there are roughly a billion motor vehicles in the world. Within twenty years, the number will double to two billion. Daniel Sperling and Deborah Gordon’s 2009 book discusses the implications of this doubling, as well as means for mitigating the detrimental effects. See Dan Sperling being interviewed by Jon Stewart of the Daily Show.
Where We Want To Be: Household Location Preferences and Their Implications for Smart Growth. This paper by the Victoria Transport Policy Institute investigates consumer housing preferences and their implications for future urban development patterns. Market research indicates that households increasingly prefer smart growth features such as location accessibility (indicated by shorter commutes), land use mix (indicated by nearby shops and services), and transportation diversity (indicated by good walking conditions and public transit services), and many will choose small-lots and attached homes that offer these features over large-lot sprawl homes that do not. The current stock of large-lot housing should be adequate for decades, but the supply of small-lot and attached housing will need to approximately double by 2025 to meet consumer demands. Find the report here [PDF].
Smart Growth Implementation Assistance Program. Many communities want to foster economic growth, protect environmental resources, enhance public health, and plan for development, but may lack the tools, resources, and information to achieve their goals. In response to this demand, the EPA developed the Smart Growth Implementation Assistance Program. More info here.
Essential Smart Growth Fixes for Urban and Suburban Zoning Codes. EPA’s Development, Community, and Environment Division, also known as the Smart Growth Program, has produced a document to help communities that may not wish to revise or replace their entire system of codes and ordinances, but nevertheless are looking for “essential fixes” that will help them create the smarter, more environmentally responsible, and sustainable communities they want. More info here [PDF].
“Cutting Carbs” Workshop Proceedings. The Oregon Environmental Council has held four “Cutting Carbs” workshops for transportation professionals, one in Portland December 2008 and three in Salem, Springfield and Central Point December 2009. Through information, tools and resources, we seek to aid local public and private stakeholders in their ability to reduce transportation-related GHG emissions. Click here for workshop proceedings.
“Cutting Carbs” listserv. Cutting Carbs is a listserv for Oregon transportation professionals who are working to combat climate change within their spheres of influence. The purpose is to share information on news, events, activities, and projects related to reducing transportation’s contribution to global warming. Sign up here.
State-Level Policy Recommendations
In 2004, the Governor’s Advisory Group on Global Warming concluded:
“Global warming is not just another environmental issue. … Absent decisive actions across the globe … [t]he impacts of such changes on Oregon citizens, businesses and environmental values are likely to be extensive and destructive. Coastal and river flooding, snowpack declines, lower summer river flows, impacts to farm and forest productivity, energy cost increases, public health effects, and increased pressures on many fish and wildlife species are some of the effects anticipated by scientists at Oregon and Washington universities.”
The Advisory Group produced a series of recommendations for combating climate change in its 2004 Oregon Strategy for Greenhouse Gas Emissions, which was updated by the Governor’s Climate Change Integration Group in the 2008 A Framework for Addressing Rapid Climate Change. These reports provide strategic recommendations for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across all sectors, including transportation. Information on the state’s strategy, including these reports and Oregon's climate change goals, can be found at the website of the current Oregon Global Warming Commission.
Transportation and Growth Management Program
Oregon’s Transportation and Growth Management Program (TGM) supports community efforts to expand transportation choices for people. By linking land use and transportation planning, TGM works in partnership with local governments to create vibrant, livable places where people can walk, bike, take transit or drive wherever they want to go. Blueprint planning and related projects will be eligible for funding. TGM provides roughly $5M in projects every two years, with federally matched dollars. This program has moved to an annual funding cycle; pre-application packets were made available October 30, 2009. More info here.
HB 2001 and HB 2186 of 2009 + SB 1059 of 2010
HB 2001 requires the Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC) to set a target for reductions in light vehicle (< 10,000 lb) GHG emissions for the Portland metropolitan area. Metro, the Portland region’s Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), is required to develop two or more land use and transportation scenarios before January 2012 that will not only meet population and employment growth, but also meet the region’s share of necessary reductions in transportation-related GHGs. Metro is then required to work with local governments to adopt the preferred scenario through scheduled updates to transportation and land use plans. The Central Lane MPO for the Eugene-Springfield metropolitan area is similarly required to develop (but not adopt) such a scenario by January 2013.
HB 2186 established a Metropolitan Planning Organization Greenhouse Gas Emissions Task Force, which brought together Oregon MPO representatives and land use and transportation planning stakeholders, to recommend next steps to engage all six MPOs (Portland Metro MPO, Salem Keizer Area Transportation Study MPO, Corvallis Area MPO, Central Lane MPO, Rogue Valley MPO and Bend MPO) in doing their part to reduce GHGs from transportation. The Task Force finalized its recommendations to the 2010 Legislature on December 4, the first phase of which were passed in SB 1059. Visit this page for Task Force proceedings, recommendations and useful resources. SB 1059 requires state agencies to develop a state-level strategy to reduce greenhouse gases from transportation; set transportation-related greenhouse gas reduction targets for all six of Oregon's major metropolitan areas; develop a toolkit to assist local governments and metropolitan planning organizations in reducing greenhouse gases from transportation; educate the public; and develop guidelines for scenario planning (sophisticated transportation and land use planning that meets multiple goals, including protecting our climate). It also requires local governments within areas served by an MPO to consider what actions they might take transportation-wise to reduce greenhouse gases.
Suggestion for additional resources?
Contact Chris Hagerbaumer at the Oregon Environmental Council at chrish at oeconline.org or 503-222-1963 x102.
