Author: alevin
A front line in the battle for climate-friendly transportation is being fought on the wonky grounds of how highway projects will be planned and evaluated. Just last week, the State of California issued a new report showing a continuing trend – the state is making overall progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but vehicle transportation emissions keep going up.
The failure in cutting transportation emissions goes back to a failed strategy of trying to relieve the pain of commute congestion by adding capacity to roadways, which leads to increased driving, which leads to more congestion and more pollution.
And moving toward electric vehicles will not meet the state’s climate goals fast enough. A recent report commissioned by state law concluded that driving miles need to be reduced by 25% by 2030, even if electric vehicle market share increases 10x in that time frame.