Support New Jersey joining the Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI)
Add your name to ask Governor Murphy to commit to joining the multi-state Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI).
Together we can invest in clean, modern, and resilient transportation infrastructure to create jobs and reduce pollution.
132 Signatories
from 18 Counties
Join the Coalition of Northeastern State to build sustainable transportation and Prioritize Public Heath.
Add your name to the group state and local leader us in urging Governor Murphy to support the Transportation and Climate Initiative.
132 Signatories
From 18 Counties
Why TCI?
How will TCI benefit New Jersey?
Now is the time to restart our economy and invest in a clean, resilient, prosperous future for all New Jerseyans.
TCI can generate up to $750 million in revenue to New Jersey communities by investing in clean infrastructure projects to create jobs and make our communities more walkable and bike-friendly, clean the air, and improve quality of life.
Pollution from transportation costs lives and billions of dollars, and increases mortality from the COVID pandemic. Already, more than 700,000 New Jerseyans suffer from asthma and another 300,000 suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
According to the Georgetown Climate Center, by joining TCI, New Jersey can help reduce regional pollution by 25 percent by 2032, preventing more than 1,000 pollution-related deaths and generating $10 billion in reduced health costs.
TCI will bring in needed dollars to invest in modern, efficient, and resilient transportation infrastructure to reduce pollution while creating jobs.
TCI will be a substantial new source of revenue to support needed clean transportation projects in local communities, including: transit, local bicycle and walkway projects, electric vehicle infrastructure, Safe Routes to School, and Safe Routes to Transit.
New Jersey can use the revenue to invest in projects that create multiple benefits for our communities, such as clean transit near affordable housing, safer routes to schools, and climate-resilient infrastructure.
Reducing pollution in the transportation sector will help New Jersey rebuild our economy, clean our air, and address the disproportionate impacts of pollution that too many communities bear.
Already, more than one million New Jerseyans suffer from asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). A recent study in Cardiovascular Research found 18 percent of COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. are attributed to long-term exposure to air pollution. The study confirmed that COVID-19 hits communities of color the most because front line communities already suffer from systemic racism and environmental injustice.
Any regional transportation policy such as TCI must include robust emissions reductions and protections for environmental justice communities, including substantial investments in marginalized communities, increased air monitoring in high-traffic areas, establishing an oversight committee of community leaders, and explicit efforts to ensure new transportation projects benefit all New Jerseyans.
New Jersey is in a climate emergency created by fossil fuel pollution. New Jersey is one of the fastest-warming states in the nation. Heatwaves are harming our vulnerable populations. Rising sea levels and warming waters threaten our coastal cities.
To protect our communities and future, we must rapidly phase out the burning of fossil fuels.
With the state mandate of 80% carbon emission reductions by 2050, New Jersey is emerging as a national leader in transitioning away from harmful fossil fuels to 100 percent clean energy.
Building on the historic Electric Vehicle law and clean energy policies, by joining and strengthening TCI, New Jersey can lead the nation in transitioning to a clean, efficiency transportation sector.
Investing in healthier and more prosperous communities
The Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI) is a regional collaboration of 12 Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states and the District of Columbia to create a modern, efficient, resilient transportation sector.
While responding to the pandemic and reopening our economy, we must work together to invest in a healthy and more resilient future. Now is the time to restart our economy and invest in a clean, resilient, prosperous future for all New Jerseyans.
TCI can bring up to $750 million in revenue to New Jersey communities by investing in clean infrastructure projects to make our communities more walkable and bike-friendly, clean the air, and improve quality of life for all New Jerseyans.
Twelve states and the District of Columbia have founded TCI to generate funds to invest in clean, efficient, and resilient transportation infrastructure to create jobs and reduce pollution. The participating jurisdictions are: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
Building on lessons learned from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) for the power sector, the states are working collaboratively to invest in projects that will improve the health and wellbeing of our residents while making our cities more accessible and resilient.
TCI is a cap-and-invest system that generates revenue for local and underserved communities. By auctioning emission permits and reducing emissions levels over time, we have the opportunity not only to make it easier for residents to move about the region, but bring millions of dollars into New Jersey cities for job creation and clean infrastructure projects.
Recently TCI released a draft memorandum of understanding that proposes a cap-and-invest program for the transportation sector. By auctioning emission permits and reducing emissions levels over time, we have the opportunity not only to make it easier for residents to move about the region, but bring millions of dollars into New Jersey cities for job creation and clean infrastructure projects.
In response to political pressure, the 13 jurisdictions recently added the 35% minimum investments commitment in frontline vulnerable communities.
To protect people and communities, environmental justice must be a core principle of TCI. We stand with nearly 200 groups urging the 13 TCI jurisdictions to include robust mandatory pollution reduction and environmental justice provisions in the final MOU.
These essential provisions include a strong emissions cap to reduce toxic pollution, a guaranteed minimum of 35% of TCI-generated revenue invested in overburdened communities, democratic participation and community oversight, transparency of the TCI process, and equitable labor provisions.
Local elected officials across the state are calling on Governor Murphy to support New Jersey in joining TCI and strengthen environmental justice provisions to bring needed sustainable infrastructure investments in our communities.
We invite you to sign on today.
To learn more about TCI, visit the multi-state consortium website: www.transportationandclimate.org
