01126780

Component

https://doi.org/10.3141/2119-03

http://scholar.google.com...Ball&publication_year=2009

This paper identifies for transportation planners five key implications of extending cap-and-trade for greenhouse gas emissions to the transportation sector, as envisaged in legislative and regulatory proposals in the U.S. Congress and in the western states and Canadian provinces. First, cap-and-trade would increase gasoline prices as refiners and fuel importers pass on the cost of carbon allowances; a $30 per metric ton price of carbon allowances equates to 27 cents per gallon of gasoline. Second, transit, smart growth, and other emission reduction projects might be eligible for billions of dollars in revenue from carbon allowance auctions. Third, as emissions would be constrained at the level of the cap, transportation projects would be unlikely to have any impact on aggregate emissions. Any environmental benefit of a project (reduced emissions) would be converted into an economic benefit (reduced carbon allowance prices and thus reduced compliance costs in other sectors). Fourth, the converse of this argument suggests a weakening of the potential to use the environmental review process to mitigate emissions from development projects. There may be an economic impact (higher carbon allowance prices), but not an environmental impact (emissions would be constrained at the level of the cap). Finally, extending cap-and-trade to the transportation sector would eliminate the potential for revenue from the sale of offsets, as this would double count emission reductions.

01147422

09-2077

English

pp 20-26

2009

Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board

9780309126359

Print

Figures (2) ; References (33)

Air quality management; Carbon taxes; Gasoline; Greenhouse effect; Greenhouse gases; Transportation planning

Cap and trade program; Fuel costs

Canada; United States

Environment; Highways; Public Transportation; I15: Environment

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Jan 30 2009 6:24PM

• A Street Management Framework for Lower Manhattan in New York City: The Downtown of the 21st Century
• Analysis of Seasonal and Day-of-Week Traffic Patterns at National Parks
• Application of TELUM by the Pikes Peak, Colorado, Area Council of Governments: Lessons Learned in Colorado Springs
• Applying System-Level Performance Measures and Targets in the Detroit, Michigan, Metropolitan Planning Process
• Challenge of Evacuating the Carless in Five Major U.S. Cities: Identifying the Key Issues
• Does Silence Mean Agreement? Understanding the Silent Group in Neighborhood Traffic Calming Surveys
• E-Government Service Offerings and Website Content of Florida’s Metropolitan Planning Organizations
• Earmark Pursuit Practices of Metropolitan Planning Organizations and Their Members
• Impacts of Performance Management on Transport Planning Organizations: Evidence from England
• Incorporating Climate Change Considerations into the Transportation Planning Process
• Integrated Transportation and User Capacity Research in Yosemite National Park: The Numbers Game
• Integrating Climate Change into State and Regional Transportation Plans
• Predicting Land Use Change: How Much Does Transportation Matter?
• Review of Strategies for Enabling Collaboration Between Transportation Agencies and Native American Tribes
• Visualizing Long-Range Health of Rural Recreational and Agricultural Corridors