Residents Dealt Legal Setback That Will Have A Lasting Impact on Public Health: ‘These Numbers are All People’

Pennsylvania residents awaiting news on a crucial environmental legal battle might want to continue holding their breath — in more ways than one.

RGGI-participating states, which have successfully reduced carbon pollution by 47%, according to a report by the nonprofit Acadia Center, demonstrate the effectiveness of the initiative, and the delay only prolongs the state’s struggle against the health impacts of air pollution.

Pennsylvania’s participation in RGGI had been projected to result in fewer health cases involving asthma, bronchitis, and hospital admissions, and public health benefits totaling up to $6.3 billion by 2030, reports the state’s Department of Environmental Protection.

To read the full article from the Cool Down, click here.

Opinion: Through EV policy, Connecticut can right its past air pollution wrongs

As the old saying goes, you can’t design your future without understanding your past. When it comes to charting the course for the future of Connecticut’s transportation system, we must look to our state’s history and learn lessons about the infrastructure that surrounds us and the vehicles that drive through our communities.

Environmental justice issues related to air pollution, including the pediatric asthma crisis in Connecticut’s Black and Latino communities, can be better understood through our state’s troubled history of redlining, urban renewal programs, highway construction, and residential segregation.

In the 1930s, the Federal Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) constructed “residential security” maps that color-coded neighborhoods based on the desirability and safety of capital investments. The HOLC made decisions about neighborhood classifications based on race, economic class, and ethnic composition. Neighborhoods that were deemed “riskier” were “redlined” as they were comprised of Black, immigrant, and low-income communities. Redlining set the standards for racial segregation and concentrations of urban disparities, industrial zoning, and future highway construction. Industrial zoning placed heavily polluting facilities, such as industrial plants, major trucking roadways, and shipping ports, in and around redlined neighborhoods.

The Housing Act of 1949 and the 1956 Federal-Aid Highway Act subsidized the construction of highway projects such as the Oak Street Connector in New Haven, where federal money was used to build a mini-highway through downtown and The Hill, destroying the Oak Street neighborhood. The destruction of the Oak Street neighborhood for the development of a mini-highway displaced around 3,000 people, or about 880 families.

The burden of displacement was placed disproportionately along the lines of race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. Before redevelopment, Oak Street was home to vibrant Black Americans and Jewish, Italian, and Puerto Rican immigrant enclaves. Through the destruction caused by the decisions to develop the Oak Street Connector, many of those displaced moved to The Hill neighborhood, where they continued to fight redevelopment projects.

Displacement for highway construction and industrial development across Connecticut divided communities and laid the groundwork for the entrenchment of some of the nation’s most significant wealth gaps and income inequality. In Hartford, redlining and urban renewal contributed to the deliberate placement of highway I-84 in the North End neighborhood, home to large concentrations of Black and low-income residents.

As neighborhoods were leveled for the development of highways, low-income enclaves and communities of color became subject to decades of airborne pollution from gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles that transport commuters and goods within and beyond Connecticut. Neighborhoods alongside and downwind of transportation corridors that support industrial facilities are forced to breathe exhaust from the dirtiest vehicles, driving up health disparities.

According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, big trucks and buses make up just 6% of all on-road vehicles in Connecticut but are responsible for more than half of all smog-forming NOx tailpipe pollution.

As attempts to remedy the injustices caused by redlining, urban renewal, and highway construction are underway, such as the City of New Haven’s Downtown Crossing Project and the Hartford 400 plan, addressing the harms to public health caused by tailpipe pollution must remain a key priority. To ensure less pollution in neighborhoods near highways and industrial transportation corridors, our legislators must adopt strong clean cars and trucks standards — Advanced Clean Cars II (ACC II), Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT), and Heavy-Duty Omnibus (HDO) — that have already been adopted by nearly every other state in the region. These clean transportation policies would ensure that sales of new vehicles increase gradually toward 100% zero-emission by 2035.

Clean cars and trucks are not a silver bullet for correcting the injustices of the past and present. Congruent efforts such as promoting reliable and fair transit access, free K-12 transit fares, rail, buses, pedestrian infrastructure, and other forms of mode-shift and mobility to reduce total vehicle miles traveled (VMT) from single occupancy and passenger vehicles, have benefits that would only be amplified by the increased availability of zero-emission and electrified light, medium, and heavy-duty vehicles that ACCII and ACT would introduce.

The ACC II and ACT regulations only affect the sale of new cars — roughly 75% of people buy used.

While the cost of new and used EVs continues to drop year-over-year, affordability concerns are being tackled through the CHEAPR program, which provides incentives on new and used zero-emission vehicles, with additional rebates available for income-eligible individuals. Combined with the $7,500 federal tax credit, Connecticut residents can save up to $11,750 on the purchase of a typical EV.

As a state with a long history of forcing tailpipe and industrial pollution into vulnerable communities, Connecticut has a generational chance to start righting these wrongs by joining with states that are leading the global transition to zero-emission vehicles.

To read the original article from the CT Mirror, click here.

How does Rhode Island’s new community choice aggregation program work?

Today, we’re taking a look at Rhode Island’s new energy program, community choice aggregation, and unpacking what it means for consumers.

Megan Hall: Welcome to Possibly, where we take on huge problems like the future of our planet and break them down into small questions with unexpected answers. I’m Megan Hall.

Last summer, I got a letter in the mail, welcoming me to the Providence Community Electricity Program.

If you live in Rhode Island, there’s a decent chance you got some version of this letter, too. That’s because last year, seven towns in Rhode Island launched brand new energy programs, called community choice aggregation.

Cameron Leo: To learn more, we talked to Emily Koo, who was Providence’s Director of Sustainability when the city started developing this program.  She says community aggregation has two main goals: lower prices, and more renewable energy.

Emily Koo: In contrast, an investor-owned utility, on the other hand, also has its own bottom line and fiduciary obligations to consider.

To listen to the full podcast from the Public’s Radio, click here.

Mass. Lawmakers Aiming for an Omnibus Climate Bill in 2024

Top legislators in Massachusetts this year hope to pass a major climate and energy bill, which could bring significant permitting and siting reform, and boost transportation and heating electrification.

“It’s going to be a really interesting time,” said Kyle Murray, director of state program implementation at the Acadia Center, a climate-focused nonprofit. Murray praised the steps taken in the previous two bills but added that “we’ve got so many areas we still need to cover.”

Murray of the Acadia Center stressed the importance of securing funding for public transport in the state. According to a recent assessment by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, the state would need to invest an additional $2 billion annually through 2036 just to make all the necessary repairs for the existing system. This excludes any potential expansion, resilience or modernization efforts to help the state meet its climate goals.

“We need a more stable funding source for the MBTA [Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority]. I really do think we need to address that at some point in the very near future,” said Murray, while acknowledging the added difficulty of the state’s current financial troubles. Gov. Healey recently proposed a $375 million budget cut to stave off an impending shortfall.

To read the full article from RTO Insider, click here.

Connecticut program aims to alleviate cost barriers to utility oversight process, but challenges remain

Connecticut’s utilities commission is the latest to begin offering payments to help environmental justice and ratepayer groups participate in regulatory proceedings.

The Stakeholder Group Compensation Program was required to take effect this month as part of an energy consumer protection bill passed by the state legislature last year. It seeks to encourage more diverse engagement in proceedings on utility regulation, which can set direction for grid resiliency, rate relief, clean energy development, corporate accountability, storm response and more.

“The process of engaging with proceedings at public utility commissions across the nation is historically exclusive,” wrote Jayson Velazquez, the climate and energy justice policy associate with the nonprofit Acadia Center, in comments on the PURA docket creating the new program. “Compensation can play a significant role in ensuring diverse stakeholders are included in proceedings, specifically at PURA.”

In the Acadia Center’s comments on the new program’s docket, Velazquez said PURA should also begin a broader look at equity and inclusion across all of its work, similar to a docket now underway in Hawaii.

To read the full article from Energy News Network, click here.

RGGI 62nd Auction and 2023 in Review: An Additional $411 million Raised for Clean Energy

For Release: December 22, 2023

BOSTON, MA – On Wednesday, December 6, 2023, the eleven states participating in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) released the results of the 62^nd auction for 2023. Emissions allowances were sold for $14.88 each, generating $411.5 million for clean energy investments in participating states.

“The incredible success of this auction speaks volumes—$411.5 million raised brings RGGI’s cumulative total to a staggering $7.16 billion,” stated Paola Tamayo, Policy Analyst at Acadia Center and co-author of the organization’s RGGI Third Program Review Report. “What’s even more exciting is that both the proceeds from allowances and the clearing price hit record highs in this 62nd auction, marking a historic moment for RGGI as the program nears the conclusion of its Third Program Review.”

The allowance price for the RGGI program is the highest in 2023 and remains above the historical average. The Cost Containment Reserve (“CCR”), a market mechanism that releases extra allowances beyond the cap which are sold if prices exceed predetermined levels, was triggered in this auction. The Trigger Price of $14.88 per ton of CO₂ was met, and 5,565,291 CCR allowances were sold in the auction. The Emissions Containment Reserve (ECR) retains allowances for additional emissions reductions if prices fall below the trigger price of $6.87 in 2023. Notably, the ECR remains well below the average 2023 price and has historically not been triggered.

Higher RGGI allowance price is good for climate, clean energy investment

The clearing price of $14.88 in 2023 marks a continuation of the upward trend observed in recent years. This clearing price represents a 15% increase from the clearing price in December 2022. In total, the average 2023 auction price is only 0.2% higher than the average 2022 auction price. The positive trajectory witnessed in the 2023 auctions holds promising implications for the RGGI program. Having higher allowance prices seen in 2022 and 2023 means that the RGGI program is sending a stronger incentive to produce electricity from carbon-free sources, like wind and solar. Recent auctions demonstrate the growing significance of the CCR – this recent auction was the first time since 2021 that additional allowances were released because of triggering the CCR. The triggering of the CCR results in an influx of additional allowances into the market, which means that it’s potentially lowering the overall stringency of the emission reduction targets.

Since the program launched, the vast majority of RGGI proceeds have been invested in energy efficiency and clean energy projects, as detailed in the most recent report on RGGI investments in 2021, released in June of this year.

The $411.5 million in proceeds generated in this auction brings the cumulative to-date total to $7.16 billion. The 2023 auction results underscore RGGI’s significance as more than a regulatory framework, emphasizing its influence on the shift towards sustainable energy. RGGI states show the practicality of a collaborative, market-driven strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Notably, this year’s proceeds are 81% higher than the combined proceeds from 2019 and 2020 and stand 6% higher than the proceeds recorded in 2022.

RGGI Third Program Review Offers an Opportunity to Direct Proceeds Towards Clean Energy Investments that Directly Benefit Environmental Justice Communities

Since its establishment, RGGI’s priorities have centered around reducing pollution from fossil fuel power plants and achieving climate solutions for RGGI states. Every five years or so, RGGI undergoes a program review, giving the participating states the opportunity to consider the program’s performance and make various changes, including the equitable disbursement of the program’s proceeds. RGGI’s Third Program Review is happening now and will likely conclude early next year. In 2023, RGGI held two public meetings and two public comment periods to discuss and seek feedback on various aspects of the program. Acadia Center, other stakeholders, and the public at large await any responses from the states to public input on setting the cap and improving overall program design and operation.

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As discussed in more detail in Acadia Center’s most recent RGGI Report, there are many different ways in which RGGI can start to ensure that environmental justice communities are heard and are actively involved in the development of strategies for an equitable transition to a carbon-free economy. Regardless of how strongly the Third Program Review does or does not prioritize environmental justice, it should remain a priority for individual states to consider the recent auctions, the history of investments across the states, the need to benefit environmental justice communities directly, and other mechanisms associated with the cap-and-invest program.

Acadia Center remains closely involved in RGGI policy conversations across the RGGI states and will continue to advocate for program reforms that drive equitable investment and climate action.

Media Contacts:

Ben Butterworth, Director: Climate, Energy, and Equity Analysis
bbutterworth@acadiacenter.org, 617-742-0054 x111

Paola Moncada Tamayo, Policy Analyst
ptamayo@acadiacenter.org, 860-246-7121 x204

Technology to “Get more out of” electric grid attracts support

BOSTON, Mass. (SHNS)–Clean energy trade groups lined up Thursday in support of a new proposal from legislative Democrats that would embrace lower-cost, easy-to-install options for boosting the performance of the electric grid.

Bills filed by the House and Senate point people on energy and climate reforms, Rep. Jeffrey Roy and Sen. Michael Barrett, won praise as “commonsense” changes that could help the state move closer to its clean energy future without the same kind of major investment that other reforms will require.

“Put simply, grid enhancing technologies are often incredibly cost-effective technologies that help us maximize our existing infrastructure,” added Kyle Murray, Massachusetts program director with the Acadia Center.

To read the full article, click here.

Op-Ed: Amid the climate doom, a bright spot in Mass.

I imagine the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) isn’t exactly top of mind for most Massachusetts residents. The three-member body, which is appointed by the governor, regulates our electric, natural gas and water utilities, and oversees some aspects of the state’s transportation safety guidelines.

Its proceedings are wonky and can be difficult to understand, but its decisions can have a tremendous impact, affecting everything from your monthly utility bills, to whether a new gas pipeline will be permitted, to the types of incentives offered by the Mass Save energy efficiency program.

On Dec. 6, the DPU made a historic decision — for the better. The order was the result of a three-year process, initiated by then-Attorney General Maura Healey, during which the state has been considering the future of the natural gas industry. In the most basic of terms, the order represents a pivot point in the state’s strategy for decarbonizing the buildings sector, which was responsible for 36% of Massachusetts’ carbon emissions in 2020. It puts in motion a plan to transition away from the natural gas distribution system that utilities operate today. Even more plainly: this decision by DPU is one big, important step of many to stop the use natural gas once and for all in the state, a reality that was unthinkable outside of environmental circles even five to 10 years ago.

It was the culmination of years of work, in an arena where environmental advocates like me aren’t accustomed to seeing many wins. (Historically, we’ve tried “not to lose” when appearing before DPU.)

So, how’d it happen? When the state Legislature passed the Climate Roadmap law in 2021, it updated the DPU’s mission to consider reductions in greenhouse gas emissions for the first time ever. Environmental advocates were hopeful for change, but initially, the three commissioners seemed to continue relegating greenhouse gas emissions to an afterthought. For example, just last year, the nonprofit I work for, Acadia Center and others, argued before the DPU that a proposal to provide gas service to a town that previously did not have it was at odds with Massachusetts’ climate goals and not in the public interest. We noted that the town involved did not reasonably consider reasonable alternatives, like electrification. But our arguments were rejected — and the town received approval for gas service.

Things started to change once Gov. Healey took office last January. The DPU members she appointed, including Commissioner Staci Rubin (formerly of the Conservation Law Foundation) and Jamie Van Nostrand (who spent a long time fighting the coal industry in West Virginia), promised to create a “21st century DPU.”

And what they delivered earlier this month was an unequivocal win for the commonwealth: a win for climate, a win for public health, a win for environmental justice, and a win for consumers. We hear a lot about what’s wrong with government these days — think partisan rancor and gridlock in Congress — but this is a clear example of what government can accomplish, and a decision that will put us on the right path to meet our state’s decarbonization targets. 

As an environmental advocate, you sometimes feel like the Greek myth Cassandra, cursed with the ability to see the future but never believed. You feel as though you are presenting cold, hard facts and data, but you’re told your ideas are pie-in-the-sky. Therefore, it’s incredibly gratifying to read this order, which validates those arguments and flips the traditional narrative.

The order is too long to fully summarize here (check out the summary in our press release). The most important thing to understand is that it covers concepts at the macro-level (such as preventing so-called “renewable” natural gas into the general gas supply, because of questions about its cost, availability and results, in terms of emissions reductions) and at the micro-level (like changing the way gas utilities can recover rates to disincentivize adding new gas customers).

The order also affirmed the state’s commitment to electrification, envisions the large-scale decommissioning of the natural gas system, and requires coordinated planning between gas and electric utilities (which had not previously been required).

As impressive as this decision by the DPU is, it’s only a midpoint, not the end, and will require careful and thoughtful implementation. What will result from this order is a broader process that will span many years if not decades. But the decision this month will set the other key dominos in motion. As the DPU states, for this order’s vision to be implemented, many legislative changes are required too.

I look forward to working with the House, the Senate, and the governor to deliver on those changes and deliver on the promise of a decarbonized future.

To view the original article from wbur, click here.

Rhode Islanders Deserve a Comprehensive Plan to Reduce Transportation Emissions

This November, the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) released and submitted its Carbon Reduction Strategy (CRS) to the Federal Highway Administration. The development of a state-specific Carbon Reduction Strategy was required by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (U.S. DOT) Carbon Reduction Program (CRP)¹ and will provide over $35 million to reduce emissions in the transportation sector in Rhode Island over a five-year period ². This is a solid injection of funding, but – at an average of $7 million per year – it is quite a small amount relative to RIDOT’s overall capital projects budget in the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP), which was over $900 million in 2023.³

The transportation sector represents the largest proportion of GHG emissions in Rhode Island; as such, the development of a strategy to reduce carbon in the transportation sector, driven by RIDOT, is critical to helping Rhode Island meet the greenhouse gas emission reduction mandates outlined in the 2021 Act on Climate law. However, the investments proposed by RIDOT in its CRS do not address the scale of emissions reduction needed to move the needle. This strategy can and should go much further and seek to deliver many more benefits to Rhode Island commuters and communities.

For the state to align emissions reductions in transportation with state climate law, a proper evaluation of total and project-specific GHG emissions will need to be undertaken. Outside of three large congestion management projects, RIDOT does not calculate project-level emissions reductions associated with its transportation investments. The wide variety and scale of projects considered not only for CRP funding but also for $9 billion in Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP)⁴ funding require distinct emissions reduction analyses. In particular, RIDOT must consider meaningful investments in strategies that reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMTs) and promote mode shift to cleaner mobility alternatives, such as public transit, walking, biking, and more.

Earlier this year, in July, Acadia Center took the lead in reconvening a coalition around transportation decarbonization, motivated by the limited information provided to-date surrounding RIDOT’s Carbon Reduction Strategy (CRS). Acadia Center convened monthly meetings of advocates and conveyed the group’s concerns during public comment at multiple Transportation Advisory Committee, State Planning Council, and Executive Climate Change Coordinating Council meetings. Our coalition pushed RIDOT to open a public comment period and invest more funds in mode shift, and we mobilized a broad range of members of the public to comment on the CRS. Though we still have serious concerns regarding RIDOT’s approach to engagement, mode shift, and carbon reduction, RIDOT’s release accompanying their revised Carbon Reduction Strategy (CRS) in November noted the value of public input and shifted the allocation of remaining funds to place a much greater emphasis on mode shift, to the tune of a 170% increase.⁵

Acadia Center has also been in dialogue on these topics with our partners in organized labor through the Climate Jobs RI coalition. Part of getting this shift in mindset and planning right will mean doing right by the union construction workers who have helped build and maintain Rhode Island’s transportation infrastructure for decades. As a result, that means we and other advocates are thinking carefully about novel ways to ensure that the shift in project types, infrastructure, and transportation modes does not come at the expense of work opportunities, labor standards, or certain trades. We are optimistic nonetheless that the low-carbon transportation projects of the future – from rail and bike networks to ports and beyond – can support a just and equitable transition for our workforce.

Upcoming opportunities for robust public process and investments in mode shift and non-car infrastructure include the revision of the Division of Statewide Planning’s Public Participation Plan (which applies to RIDOT) and the next allocation of STIP funding. Like the advocate contributions that shaped RIDOT’s revised CRS, more public input is needed to shape transportation planning and decision-making moving forward. Acadia Center will continue to support state agencies and collaborate with fellow advocates and community-based organizations to bring both needed attention and strategies and investments that meaningfully reduce transportation emissions and put Rhode Island on track to meeting its climate goals.

A final note: we are mindful that many teams within RIDOT will in the coming weeks and months be focused on the urgent situation facing the I-195 bridge, following the emergency closure on December 11. The timely repair and remedy of the issues facing the bridge are obviously of paramount importance for a swift return to a safe commute for drivers and passengers. We hope that support for shifting modes where feasible can be a part of the solution to address the resulting traffic impacts in the interim as well.

 

For more information:

Joy Yakie, Environmental Justice and Outreach Manager, jyakie@acadiacenter.org, 617-742-0054 x110

Emily Koo, Senior Policy Advocate and Rhode Island Program Director, ekoo@acadiacenter.org, 401-276-0600 x402

 

1 The CRP is a provision of the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law) and is intended to help states design projects to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the transportation sector for the 2022 – 2026 fiscal years.

2 RI DOT has already spent $13.1 million of CRP funding on existing projects in the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program, with over half of those funds allocated to congestion management projects. The remaining $22.6 million will be allocated and spent between the release of the Strategy (November 2023) and the end of FY 2026.

3 STIP Program Allocation Summary, 2022-2031 Revision 9 with Pending Changes, https://planning.ri.gov/sites/g/files/xkgbur826/files/2023-11/Section_2_STIPFinal%20MTP%2011-3-23_0.pdf

4 The STIP is a list of transportation projects the State of Rhode Island intends to implement using United States Department of Transportation funds. https://planning.ri.gov/stip

5 Funding for bike path construction and improvement, while not new bicycle infrastructure, did more than quadruple, and funding was also allocated to RIPTA bus stop accessibility and early implementation of commuter rail service.

Mass. efforts to limit natural gas could serve as national model

ENERGYWIRE | Massachusetts will require utilities to pursue alternatives to natural gas in a first-of-its-kind order that could serve as a model for other states trying to speed their transition to clean energy.

The sweeping order is “fairly unprecedented, even at a national level,” said Kyle Murray, director of state program implementation at the Boston-based environmental group Acadia Center. The state move comes as a major gas utility in the state — Eversource Energy — already works to reduce natural gas demand and switch to geothermal energy.

To read the full article from E&E News, click here.