Biden administration releases blueprint to decarbonize transportation

As part of President Joe Biden’s goal to cut greenhouse gas emissions, the administration released a plan to decarbonize transportation Tuesday.

The U.S. National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization would bring together the U.S. Departments of Energy (DOE), Transportation (DOT), Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector by 2050. It is the first-ever blueprint for decarbonization of transportation and exemplifies the whole-of-government approach to addressing climate change, the White House said.

The plan was announced jointly by U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer M. Granholm, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Marcia Fudge, and EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan and is part of an earlier signed Memorandum of Understanding between the agencies. In the future, more detailed decarbonization action plans, developed and implemented by the agencies in cooperation with state, local and tribal governments, philanthropic partners, the private sector, and others, are expected to be released.

“The domestic transportation sector presents an enormous opportunity to drastically reduce emissions that accelerate climate change and reduce harmful pollution,” Granholm said. “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 administration said that decarbonizing the transportation sector, which includes all modes of transportation in the country, would eliminate a third of all domestic greenhouse gases. The plan would further Biden’s goal of securing a 100 percent clean electrical grid by 2035 and net-zero carbon emissions for the country by 2050.

“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,” Buttigieg said. “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.”