The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) recently announced a finalized performance measure designed to provide State Departments of Transportation (DOTs) and Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) a national framework to track transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions.
“Transportation is the leading source of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. and reducing emissions from that sector while ensuring our economy works for everyday Americans is critical to addressing the climate crisis,” Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt said. “We don’t expect state DOTs and MPOs to solve a problem this large on their own, which is why this performance measure does not impose penalties for those who miss their targets.”
In addition to the performance management measure, the agency also created a system to allow DOTs and MPOs to set their own targets for emissions from roadway travel.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides state, local and tribal governments formula and discretionary funding sources, and the Inflation Reduction Act provides resources for a wide variety of projects that reduce carbon pollution.
These include:
The Transit Oriented Development Program provides $69 million to integrate land use and transportation planning with new fixed guideway or core capacity transit capital investment projects.
The Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside program provides $7.2 billion for pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure projects.