The transportation sector is responsible for roughly one third of national carbon dioxide emissions, making it a prime candidate for emission reductions. While no national policy to control greenhouse gases has yet been developed, many state and local governments have taken actions to reduce emissions. Twenty-eight states have adopted climate action plans, and 128 city and county governments are participating in an initiative to reduce emissions. While California has regulated tailpipe emissions of greenhouse gases, New York has enacted requirements on the transportation planning side. The 2002 New York State Energy Plan required metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) in the state to conduct a greenhouse gas energy analysis as part of the transportation planning process for regionally significant projects. This paper provides an overview of the transportation/climate change connection and its importance to New York, summarizes the requirements of the Energy Plan and examines the analyses conducted by three of the thirteen MPOs in New York. It synthesizes their findings, and assesses what effects the greenhouse gas analyses have had on the transportation planning decision-making process and the potential for achieving greenhouse gas reductions from such exercises. Further, this paper will compare the methods used by the MPOs to quantify greenhouse gas emissions and to conduct the analysis, and recommend areas where further methodological development is needed or available for future planning documents. With political and scientific attention increasing, the transportation sector may face some form of emission reduction targets in the future—whether mandatory or voluntary. Ultimately, this paper provides a case study on the potential for New York State's Energy Plan requirements to serve as model for gaining emission reductions through the transportation planning process.
Transportation Planning and Climate Change: New York State
Transportation Land Use, Planning, and Air Quality Congress 2007 ; 2007 ; Orlando, Florida, United States
2008-05-15
Conference paper
Electronic Resource
English
Transportation Planning and Climate Change: New York State
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