The Biden-Harris administration recently released the U.S. National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization.
The 88-page plan was developed with the Departments of Energy, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and the Environmental Protection Agency, according to a Jan. 10 news release.
"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 the release. "Every decision about transportation is also an opportunity to build a cleaner, healthier, more prosperous future."
The blueprint was described as "the first milestone deliverable" rooted in a memorandum of understanding signed by federal agencies in September, the release reported. The blueprint offers a milestone approach toward cutting all greenhouse emissions generated by the nation's to the transportation sector by 2050.
Transportation in the U.S. accounts for a third of all domestic greenhouse gas emissions, the release reported.
"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," Buttigieg added. according to the release.
"The domestic transportation sector presents an enormous opportunity to drastically reduce emissions that accelerate climate change and reduce harmful pollution," Energy Secretary Jennifer M. Granholm said in the release. "DOE is prepared to implement this blueprint alongside our partners within the Biden-Harris administration to ensure all Americans feel the benefits of the clean transportation transition: good-paying manufacturing jobs, better air quality and lower transportation costs."
The memorandum of understanding, signed by the Departments of Energy, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and the Environmental Protection Agency allows federal agencies to create comprehensive strategies for transportation decarbonizing through research and development, as well as through public, private and government sectors deployment, according to a DOE announcement.
More detailed decarbonization action plans will follow the blueprint, all developed and implemented by federal agencies in cooperation with state, local, and Tribal level governments, as well as philanthropic organizations, the private sector and global partners, according to a fact sheet about the blueprint.
The blueprint describes a three-part approach to decarbonization, using convenience, efficiency and transitioning to green transportation options to lead to dramatic reductions in greenhouse emissions. The fact sheet describes increased convenience to support designs to sustain shopping, schools, entertainment and essential services; improved efficiency by expanding public transportation; and transitioning to green transportation options through the deployment of zero-emission modes of transportation, including greener commercial trucks, transit, boats and airplanes.
