The Biden Administration has released a National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonisation
The plan, developed by federal agencies the Departments of Energy, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and the Environmental Protection Agency outlines how to phase out greenhouse emissions from the transport sector by 2050.
The blueprint builds on the recently passed Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, which were signed into law last year. Among other things, those laws aimed at improving the port and maritime infrastructure in the United States and providing incentives for developers of offshore wind projects.
The three-pronged approach focuses on increasing convenience and efficiency, and transitioning to clean options. The US Department of Transportation called it “the first milestone deliverable of the historic memorandum of understanding signed by the agencies in September last year.”
According to the document, maritime emissions account for about 3% of all transport emissions in the US. It envisions more funding towards research and development into sustainable fuels and technologies and to incentivise commercial vessel operators to switch to cleaner fuels.
The blueprint is broadly generic and the Department of Transportation said a more detailed plan on the actual path to decarbonisation will be released later, when the agencies develop and implement them in co-operation with local and state governments, philanthropic organisations, the private sector and global partners.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said, “Transportation policy is inseparable from housing and energy policy, and transportation accounts for a major share of US greenhouse gas emissions, so we must work together in an integrated way to confront the climate crisis.”
“Every decision about transportation is also an opportunity to build a cleaner, healthier, more prosperous future. When our air is cleaner; when more people can get good-paying jobs; when everyone stays connected to the resources they need and the people they love, we are all better off.”
The National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonisation can be found here.
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