Low-Carbon Transportation for Oregon John Galloway Program Director Oregon Environmental Council

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Low-Carbon Transportation for OregonJohn
GallowayProgram DirectorOregon Environmental
Council
Presentation to JELL Symposium 10/10/08
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Oregon Environmental Council

• Celebrating our 40th anniversary this year
• We work to
• Slow global warming
• Protect kids health from toxic pollution
• Clean up Oregons rivers
• Promote healthy food and farms
• Build a sustainable economy

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Fuels Policies Current

• Renewable Fuels Standard
• Statewide standard adopted 2007, currently in
  roll-out
• E10 (10 ethanol) and B2 / B5 (biodiesel blends)
• Portland just celebrated one-year anniversary of
  its RFS
• Federal RFS 36 billion gallons by 2022
• Financial Incentives for Biofuels Feedstock and
  Fuel Producers
• State Feedstock incentives, BETC, property tax
  exemptions
• Federal loan guarantees, blender credits

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Broader Fuel Policies Future

• Low-Carbon Fuels Standard
• Reduce carbon in transportation fuels 10 by 2020
• Including transportation fuels in Carbon Cap and
  Trade
• Most focus to date has instead been on advanced
  vehicle technology (e.g. plug-in hybrids, EVs,
  fuel cells)

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Attempted Policy Clean Cars Standard

• Also referred to informally as the tailpipe
  emissions standard (for GHGs)
• Would limit GHG emissions from cars
• Adopted by West Coast states 12 other states
  interest from 3 additional states represent over
  40 of new car market
• Challenged in courts by auto manufacturers on
  basis of federal preemption under Clean Air Act
  (EPA authority regulating GHGs)
• Auto makers make administrative claims that
  standard is too costly to meet

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Attempted Policy Clean Cars Standard

• Follow-on suit by California, joined by other 14
  states that adopted the standard, based on undue
  harm in delay of waiver
• Dec 07 EPA indicates intent to deny waiver,
  formally denied Feb 08
• CA 16 states (including OR) file suit
  challenging merits of EPA decision
• Congressional inquiry finds EPA administrator,
  Stephen Johnson, ignored unilateral
  recommendations from his legal and technical
  staff to grant CAs waiver

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Low-Carbon Fuel Standard(LCFS)

• Reduce the average fuel carbon intensity of
  transportation fuels by 10 percent by year 2020
• Spurs providers of transportation fuels to bring
  more climate-friendly fuels to market
• Adopted by CA in Executive Order and implemented
  as part of its Global Warming Solutions Act
• CA rules adopted this year, in effect 2009,
  phase-in period between 2010 and 2019
• Adopted in British Columbia Washington may
  consider in its upcoming legislative session
• OR likely to consider in Global Warming
  legislation

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LCFS Advantages

• Substantially reduce global warming pollution and
  create a sustainable and growing market for
  cleaner fuels
• Cleaner production and less air pollution
• Follow a different fuels path than petroleum
  industry is setting, which includes highly
  polluting domestic resources such as fuel from
  coal-to-liquids, tar sands and oil shale

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Alternatives? (Alberta Tar Sands)
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LCFS Challenges

• Need for interim milestones to drive
  technological innovation and development of
  lower-cost solutions
• Accounting for land use changes direct and
  indirect
• Modeling variety of fuel sources to accurately
  determine carbon intensity
• Concerns about regulatory certainty

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Transportation Policies Overview

• 2009 legislation may consider funding upgrades to
  infrastructure, demand-side pilot programs, and
  climate change in planning process
• Transportation sector accounts for nearly 40 of
  Oregons GHG emissions
• Need to reduce vehicle-miles traveled

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Transportation Policies Overview

• Revenue
• Gas tax revenues and vehicle fees dedicated by OR
  Constitution (Article IX, section 3a) to public
  highways, roads, and streets (with limited
  exceptions)
• Example of new mechanisms New car title fees,
  increasing gas tax and registration fees,
  increase lottery revenue portion by 7,
  allocating federal Surface Transp. Program funds
  to transit, 0.1 increase in employer payroll tax

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TransportationUsage-based Fees

• PAYD Pay As You Drive Insurance
• Per mile user fees
• Could replace gas tax
• ODOT pilot program demonstrated system is
  inexpensive but not ready for commercial use
• May raise privacy concerns
• Congestion pricing
• Typically applied in high-traffic corridors
  and/or inner urban congestion zones
• Carrots vs. sticks untapped incentives?

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OECs Next Steps

• Secure a Low-Carbon Fuel Standard in Oregon and
  establish a West Coast low-carbon fuels
  corridor
• Promoting fuel cap trade as part of Western
  Climate Initiative and Oregon policy
• Ensure Renewable Fuels Standard remains in place
  and achieves intended goals
• Ensure passage of environmentally sound
  transportation policies in 2009 session

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Thank You!

• John Galloway
• Program Director
• [phone] Ext. 117
• johng_at_oeconline.org

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Extra Slides
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Markets for Diesel and Gasoline
Diesel
Gasoline
110 billion
Gallons consumed in U.S. in 2002
57 billion
Gallons consumed in Oregon each year
1.4 billion
720 million
Gallons consumed in Oregon each day
4 million
2 million
Source SeQuential Biofuels