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Transit for All PA! Applauds Release of Biden Administration Greenhouse Gas Rule 

Common Sense Rule Is A Big Step Forward In Efforts To Address The Climate Crisis 

Today, Transit for All PA! applauded the Biden Administration for finalizing and releasing the Department of Transportation’s greenhouse gas rule.

The rule will unify a hodgepodge of incomplete data from across the country into a unified standard, so states, MPOs, and the federal government can make informed decisions about which transportation projects to invest taxpayer dollars in to reduce climate emissions. 

You can read the rule here: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/tpm/RIN-2125-AF99_Performance_Management_GHG_Measure_Final_Rule_11-19-23.pdf

Federal funding is already available for states to implement the rule. 

More than 100,000 comments were submitted in favor of the rule. Comments in favor of the rule outweighed those opposed by more than 3,000 to 1.

Comments in support of the rule came from:

  • 16 Metropolitan Planning Organizations
  • 18 states and the District of Columbia
  • Over 80 national, state and local non-profit organizations

“This common sense rule is an important step forward and will help address the climate crisis,” said PPT Executive Director Laura Chu Wiens. We applaud the Biden Administration for advancing this rule. As is clear from the overwhelming number of comments in favor of the rule, it is both popular and necessary.”

The transportation sector is the largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.–and with record amounts of federal funds already flowing to states thanks to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), there is no time to waste to ensure that the projects being built reduce harmful carbon emissions, rather than increase them.

The Georgetown Climate Center summed up the stakes in a recent issue brief: “IIJA could be an important part of the U.S. response to climate change. Or it could lead to more greenhouse gas pollution than the trajectory we are currently on. Where the actual outcome falls within that range will depend on the decisions made by state, federal, regional, and local governments about how to spend the money made available by IIJA.” 

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