Biden Strategy to ‘Address the Climate Crisis’ Includes Push for Reduced Travel

Travelers walk through Miami International Airport, Fla., on Feb. 1, 2021. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

The Biden administration has released its plan to cut carbon emissions—including calls to decrease travel demand and lower emissions—by finding ways for Americans to stay home.

“Remote work and virtual interactions can provide a viable alternative to daily commute requirements for some people,” the blueprint stated. The plan claims that “connectivity, automation and sharing” could play a part in changing the “future of mobility.”

“The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted major opportunities for telework, with some studies showing the possibility of 10 percent long-term reduction in annual vehicle miles traveled,” it said.

The administration’s document said it was time to identify “remote access to services like health care and education” as one of the “key determinants of future travel demand.”

Other suggestions included sharing rides, and using automated driving systems.

The administration is pushing for officials to find a way to “increase convenience” by making sure workers have better “access and proximity to work opportunities, community services, and entertainment options.”

The blueprint—which was developed by the Departments of Energy, Transportation (DOT), Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)—was called a “landmark strategy” by the DOT, as The Epoch Times previously reported.

Several agencies announced the plan via a press release on Jan. 10, at which time the Department of Transportation said it reflects a whole-of-government strategy to solving climate issues and accomplishing President Joe Biden’s goals of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and securing a 100 percent clean electricity system by 2035.

Rep. Rick Crawford (R-Ark.), who is a member of the Congressional Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, is not in favor of the plan.

“The Biden administration’s 2050 deadline to coerce Americans to replace the roughly 250 million gas-powered cars on our nation’s roads with costly electric vehicles—just one day after announcing considering banning gas-powered stoves that are currently used in 40 percent of U.S. homes—shows how completely out of touch they are with the reality facing middle-class families,” Crawford told The Epoch Times.

The blueprint is a continuation of a plan also seen in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, both of which represent significant investments in the administration’s efforts to change how Americans move and live.

According to the proposal, greater “investments” in walking and bicycling infrastructure are needed, and land-use planning could address the problem at its base and make it enticing and practical for fewer or shorter trips, or even to walk or cycle where that is viable.