Prices Proposed for Carbon Dioxide from Cars

 

Drivers in the eastern United States may soon start paying for the pollution made by their motor vehicles.

Nine eastern states and Washington, D.C. are launching a system of pricing the carbon dioxide produced from burning gasoline and diesel¹ fuel.

Many scientists believe that carbon dioxide and other gases released by vehicles and factories are to blame for a general warming of our planet.

Since Donald Trump² became president, the federal government has eased back from efforts meant to fight climate change. But the proposal to set a price on vehicle emissions³ is an example of how states and cities are taking action themselves.

The plan is an idea of the Transportation and Climate Initiative, or TCI. It would likely require fuel suppliers to pay for each ton of carbon dioxide that their products produce. Drivers would likely then pay more for the fuel they buy.

In a statement, TCI said money raised by the program would be used to improve transportation systems and reduce pollution from cars, trucks and buses.

The program could raise $1.5 billion to $6 billion each year, by one estimate.

Fatima Ahmad is with the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, a not-for-profit group based in Washington, D.C. She said a lot can be done to modernize⁴ transportation, improve public transit⁵ and increase electric vehicles.

Reducing traffic problems is also important to lawmakers in Washington, she noted⁶.

These investments could create an estimated 91,000 to 125,000 new jobs.

Transportation is the leading cause of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. Some electrical power companies have cut production of carbon dioxide by moving from coal to natural gas and renewable energy, like wind or energy from the sun. But emissions from the transportation industry have been growing since 2012.

Following California

Up to now, California has been the only state to put a price on carbon emissions from transportation fuels. The state included gas and diesel in its carbon-pricing program, beginning in 2015. That program also controls carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from electrical power stations and industry.

For transportation fuels, suppliers buy carbon permits for every ton of fuel. This adds a little to fuel costs for drivers. At the current price of about $15 per ton, the program adds about half a dollar, 49 cents, to the cost of one liter of gasoline.

Stanley Young is communications director at the California Air Resources Board, which operates the program. He said the added cost is less than the difference between prices at fuel stations throughout the city.

California has raised more than $9 billion from permit sales since the program began in 2012.

That money has paid for renewable energy, mass transit, low-emissions vehicles and other investments.

To help ease costs on poor people, one-third of the money raised is directed at improving transit for poor communities.

However, California's program has not stopped vehicle carbon dioxide emissions from rising. After decreases between 2007 and 2013, greenhouse gases from vehicles have increased every year.

The state government is studying the effects of car sharing programs and self-driving cars on reducing emissions. Young said officials are also exploring ways that people can live closer to work or transit.

Hard to change

Transportation is one of the hardest sources of greenhouse gases to battle, experts say.

Unlike at power stations, transportation emissions come from millions of vehicles. And, the choices their owners make have a huge effect on how much carbon dioxide they produce.

There are generally three ways to reduce vehicle emissions, says David Bookbinder: make them more efficient, reduce the amount of carbon dioxide they produce for each unit of energy, or raise the price of fuel.

Bookbinder is from the Niskanen Center, a research and policy center in Washington.

"It's never popular to raise the price [of fuel]," he noted. Even so, he said, you have to raise the price of gasoline by a lot before it has any real effect on people’s use.

France's "yellow vest" protests are one extreme reaction to raising fuel prices. And they demonstrate another risk: policies that make gas pricier can have the biggest effect on the people who can least pay for it.

One way to reduce the effect is by returning to drivers the money raised by pricing carbon. That is the method proposed by a group of Republican Party politicians. Investing in low-cost public transit is another, Bookbinder says.

Members of the Transportation and Climate Initiative will each spend a year designing their programs. The members include Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey⁷, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

I’m Alice Bryant.

Words in This Story

initiative – n. plan or program that is intended to solve a problem

transit – n. the act of moving people or things from one place to another

greenhouse gas – n. a gas that traps heat in the atmosphere and contribute to climate change

unit – n. an amount of length, time, money, etc., that is used as a standard for counting or measuring

vest – n. a sleeveless piece of clothing with buttons down the front that is worn over a shirt

1 diesel   

n.柴油发动机，内燃机

参考例句：

• We experimented with diesel engines to drive the pumps.我们试着用柴油机来带动水泵。
• My tractor operates on diesel oil.我的那台拖拉机用柴油开动。

2 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

3 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

4 modernize   

vt.使现代化，使适应现代的需要

参考例句：

• It was their manifest failure to modernize the country's industries.他们使国家进行工业现代化，明显失败了。
• There is a pressing need to modernise our electoral system.我们的选举制度迫切需要现代化。

5 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

6 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

7 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。