Administration Releases Blueprint to Decarbonize US Transportation Sector Within 30 Years

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says, “Every decision about transportation is also an opportunity to build a cleaner, healthier, more prosperous future." File picture taken on April 28, 2022, in Washington. Win McNamee/Getty Images

The Biden administration has released its United States National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization outlining a plan to eliminate emissions and achieve net-zero carbon status within the next 30 years.

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.

Announcing the plan via a press release on Jan. 10, DOT said it reflects the administration’s whole-of-government strategy to solving the 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.

American Airlines planes are seen at Los Angeles International Airport on Feb. 28, 2022, in Los Angeles. Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images

It 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 plan to transform how Americans move and live.

The plan is also touted as part of the groundwork for a “safer and more sustainable transportation system.”

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.

According to DOT, the administration’s strategy will be followed by more extensive decarbonization action items developed and implemented in conjunction with state, municipal, and tribal governments, philanthropic organizations, the commercial sector, and global partners.

Support From the Blueprint’s Authors

“Transportation policy is inseparable from housing and energy policy, and transportation accounts for a major share of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, so we must work together in an integrated way to confront the climate crisis,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said, according to the DOT press release.

“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.”

A technician checks the panels of a solar power system. Green energy technicians will be in demand as alternative energy replaces fossil fuels. Michael Urban/AFP/Getty Images

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan weighed in on the project as well, saying “Under the leadership of President Biden, EPA is working with our federal partners to aggressively reduce pollution that is harming people and our planet—while saving families money at the same time.

“At EPA, our priority is to protect public health, especially in overburdened communities, while advancing the president’s ambitious climate agenda. This blueprint is a step forward in delivering on those goals and accelerating the transition to a clean transportation future.”

Not all of Washington stands behind the blueprint, however.

Rep. Rick Crawford (R-Ark.), who is a member of the 117th Congress’s Transporation 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 US homes shows how completely out of touch they are with the reality facing middle-class families,” Crawford told The Epoch Times.

“I am supportive of innovation in the transportation sector but these efforts to undermine U.S. energy production only create soaring transportation costs and hinder our national security.”

The lawmaker went on to assert that the new Republican majority in Congress would attempt to undo some of the administration’s efforts.

“The new Congress will work to reverse these failed policies, and I look forward to conducting oversight in the Transportation Committee about the calculations that undergird the administration’s fanciful claims.”

Plan to Address Injustice

The transportation department says the sector—which encompasses all means of travel by land, air, and sea to move people and goods—is responsible for one-third of all domestic greenhouse gas emissions, and that those emissions significantly impact the health and well-being of millions of Americans, particularly those in low-income neighborhoods.

It also says that transportation costs are the second greatest yearly household expense in the country, saying the financial burden is “disproportionately and unsustainably high for the poorest Americans.”

Addressing these “injustices” is a key part of the administration’s plan, which they hope to accomplish by providing transportation that is lower in carbon emissions, more affordable, and more accessible.

The department says it believes that continued development and deployment of clean-energy technologies such as electric vehicles, hydrogen, and sustainable fuels, as well as the supporting infrastructure for clean transportation, will create well-paying jobs in all segments of the transportation sector while strengthening America’s energy independence.