Transforming Our Transportation Systems
Cars, trucks, and buses are the biggest source of climate pollution in New England. To solve the climate crisis, we need to change the way we move people and goods. Our transportation systems also pollute our air and fail to serve everyone equally.
CLF in Action
CLF is tackling transportation from all sides. We’re working across the region to phase out polluting gas guzzlers by ensuring state climate plans include ambitious targets for electric vehicles. We’re also pushing our utilities to plan ahead – making sure our electric grid is prepared for an influx of electric cars, trucks, and buses.
At the same time, CLF is standing alongside community groups to ensure that clean, healthy, and affordable transit options are available to everyone. In Massachusetts, we’re advocating for low-income transit fares and electrified buses and trains. And, in Rhode Island, Connecticut, and our northern New England states, we’re researching what transportation options would most benefit local communities.
What’s at Stake
Transportation accounts for more than 40% of climate-damaging emissions in New England. If we don’t replace gas-powered vehicles with electric ones, we can’t solve the climate crisis.
At the same time, we cannot overhaul our transportation system without addressing the ways it harms some neighborhoods more than others. New England’s Black and Brown communities already face excessive pollution from cars, trucks, and buses. They have the least access to affordable and healthy transportation options, such as reliable and affordable public transit, bike lanes, and safe sidewalks. And many residents in these communities also lack the financial means to make the switch to an electric car.
Making these changes will lower air pollution, and investments in transportation infrastructure will bring new jobs and economic growth. All of this benefits communities across New England. It also helps us slash our climate-damaging emissions and avoid the worst effects of climate catastrophe.
The actions we take in the next 10 years will have repercussions for generations. We cannot fix one problem while ignoring the other.
