The NE climate pact is dead. All’s not lost

Gov. Ned Lamont is taking heat for backing away from a Northeast climate pact to reduce carbon emissions. We don’t blame him for withdrawing from the Transportation and Climate Initiative, given the lack of enthusiasm that state legislators showed for it.

Plus, money is coming from the federal government to do what TCI intended.

TCI would have raised the price of gasoline in Connecticut and other participating states to pay for zero-emissions buses, electric-car charging stations, bike lanes and so forth. But with the price of gas shooting up to $3.50 a gallon lately, there’s no appetite at the State Capitol for inflicting extra pain at the pump.

Even the liberal Senate President Martin Looney balked at imposing higher gas prices on constituents, though he liked TCI’s clean-air policy. “We shouldn’t be doing anything that has any kind of regressive financial effect,” he said.

TCI was not exactly a tax, but a scheme that, in a nutshell, would have made large fuel suppliers pay to pollute. It would have required them to purchase “allowances” for the pollution caused by the fuel they sell. Naturally, the suppliers would pass those costs on to consumers, and the costs would grow as the amount of pollution allowed got smaller and smaller. Gas prices would go up 5 to 10 cents per gallon and possibly beyond.

The hope was that states would use the money made off the “allowances” to invest in lower-emissions options as drivers ditched their gas-guzzlers for cheaper, cleaner rides. Cars, trucks and buses are currently the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases in Connecticut. TCI could have cut those emissions by a quarter by “incentivizing drivers off the road,” Jan Spiegel of the CT Mirror wrote.

Many states seemed to embrace TCI early on — in theory. But when it came time to sign on the dotted line, only three states did so — Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, plus the District of Columbia.

Then, last week, Gov. Lamont gave up on TCI. “Look, I couldn’t get that through (the Legislature even)when gas prices were at a historic low,” he said.

It should come as no surprise that we in this Land of Steady Habits are are very attached to our cars — even with the highest gas taxes in New England. Budget wizard Keith Phaneuf writes that Connecticut drivers now pay 47.6 cents per gallon in state taxes alone. TCI would have added to that cost, making drivers unhappy even as it cleaned their air.

But all is not lost. Connecticut is getting $5 billion in transportation funds soon from the federal government. It includes money to do some of the things TCI would have done: $1.3 billion for public transit, $79 million to reduce emissions and $52.5 million to build electric vehicle charging stations.

It’s little wonder, then, that the state Capitol is lukewarm toward TCI, now that the federal government is offering Connecticut a windfall to wean the state off its gas addiction.

Then, last week, Gov. Lamont gave up on TCI. “Look, I couldn’t get that through (the Legislature even) when gas prices were at a historic low,” he said.