Editor’s note: This commentary is by Joey Bergstein, the CEO of Seventh Generation, a member of the Ceres BICEP Network with headquarters in Burlington.
Seventh Generation is a company that, from the beginning, has had the future in its view. With every decision we make, we consider the impact on this and future generations — and no issue will have a greater impact on our collective future than the climate crisis.
Seventh Generation has been working to accelerate a just transition to a clean energy economy — but we can’t do it alone. Along with nearly 100 other major companies we have set ambitious emissions reductions targets — as a challenge for governments to match that ambition. We have science-based climate targets to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions across our entire value chain 50% by 2025. And since 2018 we have supported and stood side by side with our advocacy partners to support cities, communities, and states around the country in committing to 100% clean, renewable energy.
While this is a good start, a critical piece to tackling climate change is cutting transportation emissions. The cars and trucks we depend on to move people and goods around the country have an outsized impact on climate change. Transportation is the largest and fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. If we are serious about bold climate action, efforts to curb transportation emissions must be a top priority.
Just as importantly, these efforts must be done in a way that benefits communities throughout the region, especially underserved and overburdened communities that disproportionately experience the impacts of vehicle pollution.
We need to take action here in our home state of Vermont. Though Vermont was an early leader on climate policy and set a bold target 15 years ago to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 25% below 1990 levels by 2012 and 50% by 2028, the state has since fallen seriously behind its goals. State emissions actually increased by 16% over 1990 levels. As a rural state, Vermonters travel longer distances for work and school, so transportation is a major contributor to the state’s greenhouse gas emissions. And Vermont is not alone. The transportation sector is the leading source of greenhouse gas emissions in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic.
To meet our climate goals both within our region and as businesses, we need smart climate policies that will accelerate the transition to a clean transportation future. The cost and consequences of climate inaction is unacceptable, and we cannot allow companies to put carbon and pollution into the environment with impunity, leaving the financial, environmental, and health impacts to burden the most vulnerable.
To do this, state leaders are moving forward with the Transportation and Climate Initiative. This ambitious policy proposal, developed by 12 states and Washington D.C., aims to curb emissions from the transportation sector by establishing a regional cap on carbon emissions and requiring gasoline and diesel wholesalers to purchase allowances for the emissions content of their fuel. Proceeds from the TCI allowance sales would be funneled back to participating states to invest. These investments should prioritize low-income, frontline, environmental justice communities and communities of color that have been historically overburdened by the impact of the fossil fuel economy; electrification of public transportation infrastructure including school buses; and public sector investments and public jobs.
Launching TCI would also help the region make progress toward closing the disparities in exposure to air pollution, particularly among communities of color. A recent report from Harvard, for instance, found that increased exposure to vehicle emissions is tied to higher mortality rates from Covid-19, particularly in low-income communities and communities of color.
TCI is an important start in reversing these long-standing inequities — and one that state representatives should act on right away. However, TCI on its own is not enough to mitigate the fact that people of color face higher overall exposure to air pollution. Additional, complementary policies, such as air quality monitoring and data transparency in emissions hotspots, will still be needed to ensure we close the gap on the persistent inequalities tied to air pollution.
More than 100 businesses agree that state leaders should move quickly to adopt TCI and that states must ensure investments from the program’s revenue go toward efforts to help alleviate the historical inequities of transportation pollution. The transition to clean transportation has the potential to benefit our entire region if we do it with equity and access at the forefront.
To our region’s leaders: Let’s move forward on adopting TCI and making sure its benefits are felt far and wide — not only by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving air quality but also by investing in the communities that need it most.
