The Transportation and Climate Initiative was a 2010[1] proposed interstate compact in the United States, which aimed to limit greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicle fuel sources in the northeastern United States using a cap and trade system on wholesale suppliers.[2] The media also referred to the plan as the Northeast Climate Pact.[3]
Jurisdictions participating in discussions were the District of Columbia and the U.S. states of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia.[2]Most of these jurisdictions already participated in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gas emissions from electricity generation.
If the plan had been implemented, gasoline prices in the participating states would have increased. The estimates ranged from 5 to 24 cents per gallon in 2023.[4] Political leaders were also concerned that the tax would hit the poor hardest.[5]
The proposal disintegrated during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Massachusetts withdrew from the agreement in November 2021, citing new, alternate sources of funding to "upgrade its roads, bridges and public transportation systems".[6] The final state to withdraw was Rhode Island.[7]
Their problem is that consumers don't want to pay more for energy, and as the latest proof behold Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont's retreat this week from a Northeast state climate pact
Gas prices were expected to rise 5 to 9 cents a gallon when the rules took effect in 2023, with some estimates suggesting it could add as much as 24 cents
After both Massachusetts and Connecticut's governors pulled out of the Transportation and Climate Initiative, citing waning support and higher gas prices, Rhode Island has also has left, putting the nail in the coffin on the multi-state partnership