New study shows Texas has low score in emissions reducing policy initatives

State policy could reduce GHG

Alex Wukman, Dec 21, 10.

A recently released report by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Smart Growth America analyzed “state-level policies to curb carbon emissions in the transportation sector” reports The City Fix. According to the report because the Federal Government has been unable to pass a comprehensive climate change bill many in the environmental sector have turned to the individual states to “make progress toward reducing carbon emissions.” However, Colin Peppard, NRDC’s deputy director of federal transportation policy told USA Today that “Most states’ transportation departments seem to be ignoring their important role in stopping climate change.”

In a blog post on the NRDC website Peppard expanded on his remarks writing that, “by failing to put clean transportation policies in place, states aren’t just forgoing carbon emissions reductions; they are also missing opportunities to improve the affordability of transportation, support local economic growth, and reduce the public health costs of transportation. These missed opportunities make the fact that so few states are pursuing these strategies more troubling.”

To assess each state’s policies the survey’s authors looked at “17 criteria related to both transportation policy decisions and transportation finance decisions in every state,” wrote Peppard. Among the criteria reviewed were things like whether or not the state has a “complete streets design policy” which the study describes as insuring that “road and street projects are designed and built with all users in mind,” including pedestrians and cyclists. Additionally the study examined whether or not each state had a “safe routes to school” program which the authors explain as a policy to “improve the safety and connectivity of pedestrian and bicycle networks around schools and educates and encourages children to walk and bike to school.”

The study also looked at the policies that are designed to regulate automobiles such as whether or not a state’s toll roads have what’s known as “variable road pricing” which alternates toll charges “based upon time of day or congestion level, as opposed to applying the same flat fee regardless of the rate of demand or time of day,” states the study. Another policy reviewed was whether the state had active consumer incentives to promote alternatives to traveling to work alone. Such as “tax incentives for telecommuting to ride-matching programs to support of employer based commute trip reduction programs.” The survey authors also examined whether or not the state allows insurance companies to charge drivers based upon the mileage they drive.

“Currently, those who drive 300 miles a month pay about the same insurance rates as those who drive 3,000 miles even though the costs to society and corresponding emissions are 10 times higher,” states the study. The pay-as-you-drive insurance was one of the three areas where Texas received a high score in its assessment, the other two being variable road pricing and safe routes to schools program. In all other areas Texas received a zero for policy initiatives to reduce green house gas emissions. The pay-as-you-drive insurance plan is so popular in Texas that State Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon (D-San Antonio) has introduced a bill for the upcoming 82nd Legislative Session mandating that automobile insurers offer pay-as-you-drive insurance throughout the state.