During this summer, countless Americans have been witnesses to unsettling scenes of smoky, orange skies and flooded streets due to heavy rain. As a result, the eastern United States has encountered some of the most severe air quality conditions ever recorded.
These devastating wildfires and extreme rain events, which are intensified by climate change, are now part of our new reality. While the concept of climate change has previously been seen as a distant, theoretical issue, these apocalyptic scenarios have changed that perception.
It is crucial that we take action now to mitigate the warming of the atmosphere by rapidly decarbonizing all aspects of our society. Congress took an important step last year by passing the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes essential tax incentives and federal spending to promote the deployment of clean energy sources. However, this law alone is insufficient to decarbonize the transportation sector, which is the leading cause of greenhouse gas emissions and accounts for approximately one-third of U.S. emissions each year.
To meet both short-term and midcentury decarbonization goals, we require a new federal fuels policy that prioritizes American innovation, consumer choice, energy independence, emissions reductions, and public health. The ideal solution for achieving these objectives is a clean fuel standard (CFS).
A national clean fuel standard would effectively decarbonize the transportation sector by incentivizing the production and utilization of fuels with lower carbon emissions, such as biofuels, instead of traditional petroleum gasoline. Since the policy adopts a technology-neutral and performance-based approach, it does not favor specific options but enables consumers to choose how they fuel their vehicles by making low-carbon fuels, including electric options, both viable and affordable. Consumers would have the opportunity to fill their tanks with clean biofuels without facing higher costs at the pump.
Implementing a CFS would enable us to power our current fleet of cars and trucks in a cleaner way, leading to immediate reductions in transportation emissions and air pollution. Additionally, it would also provide funding to accelerate the deployment of electric vehicles.
Notably, there is already support for this policy in Congress. During a recent hearing of the House of Representatives Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials Subcommittee, Representative Paul Tonko of Amsterdam, New York called for collaborative efforts in creating a CFS.
Several states have already implemented similar programs, proving that a CFS is a successful and cost-effective formula. These initiatives have resulted in lower fuel prices, job creation, and reductions in both local air pollution and carbon emissions contributing to climate change.
Urban areas, where the most severe air pollution often occurs, particularly impact lower-income individuals and communities of color living near highways. By adopting better policies, we can alter these outcomes.
The undeniable public health benefits of offering cleaner fuel choices in the market are evident. California’s CFS, for example, has already significantly reduced the release of approximately 180,000 tons of pollutants and saved the state $8.3 billion in pollution-related health costs.
Given these positive results, several other states are considering implementing their own CFS programs. With the passage of CFS legislation by the New York state Senate in June and increasing interest from western and midwestern states, a national CFS would have a transformative global impact on greenhouse gas emissions while ensuring that our renewable fuels are produced with American jobs and innovation.
We understand that changing the status quo is not easy. It necessitates a broad-based, bipartisan coalition. The DriveClean Initiative, which encompasses a diverse range of stakeholders such as agriculture, airlines, electric vehicle/charging companies, environmental groups, hydrogen producers, non-governmental organizations, renewable fuel producers, sustainable aviation fuel producers, truck and bus manufacturers, utilities, and more, has united in support of this policy.
It is long overdue to leave behind the dirty fuels of the past and instead power our vehicles with American ingenuity and innovation. Implementing a CFS would facilitate exactly that, while generating jobs, improving air quality, and protecting public health and the environment.
[Julie Tighe is the president of the New York League of Conservation Voters.]
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