Senator Markey Applauds Federal Announcement To Require State & Local Governments To Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

In full transparency, the following is a media release from Sen. Ed Markey, who was elected by voters in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to serve the state in Washington DC in the US Senate. He is a Democrat. (stock photo)

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WASHINGTON DC – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Clean Air, Climate, and Nuclear Safety, and Congressman Jared Huffman (CA-02) released the following statement in response to the Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration announcement on July 7 on updated regulations requiring state and local transportation officials to set targets to reduce CO2, as well as measure and report greenhouse gas emissions resulting from transit. 

“We applaud the Biden administration for this critical step toward creating a safer, healthier, and more climate-friendly transportation system. As we called for in the GREEN Streets Act, this proposed rule would go a long way in helping to address pollution from the transportation sector, which currently produces more dangerous greenhouse gas emissions than any other sector in our country. Climate-friendly transportation planning will mean climate progress, as well as safer communities.” 

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In February 2021, Senator Markey, Senate Environment and Public Works Chair Carper, and Congressman Huffman led their colleagues in reintroducing the Generating Resilient, Environmentally Exceptional National (GREEN) Streets Act to establish national goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the national highway system and help states adapt their transportation systems to the adverse effects of climate change.

As part of the legislation, the lawmakers urged the Transportation Secretary to establish measures that states can use to assess and reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions on the national highway system, an important step toward combatting the climate crisis which the DOT delivered on in their announcement today. 

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law includes language that mirrors the GREEN STREETS Act, requiring states to prioritize and develop strategies to reduce carbon emissions from transportation sources, and to provide funding to achieve those goals.

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