On December 21, 2020, members of the Transportation & Climate Initiative (TCI) including Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Washington D.C. announced plans to be the first jurisdictions to begin administering the Transportation & Climate Initiative Program (TCI-P) that could bring $300 million of annual investment in clean transportation projects to communities throughout the region. Investment will come from the TCI program which collects “allowance” payments from major oil and gas suppliers in the region to invest in transportation electrification and other emissions-saving technologies. Emissions reductions in these four jurisdictions are expected to reach 26 percent by 2032.
The MOU signed by the four members on December 21st includes a commitment to ensure that at least 35 percent of the annual funds are invested in projects that directly benefit underserved communities across the region. Program implementation includes the establishment of Equity Advisory Boards that will assess the impact of the program in an ongoing manner. Annual investment through the program could increase to $2 billion if the remaining member states including New Jersey, New York, Virginia, North Carolina, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Vermont also move to implement the program. These other member states have been active in the design of the TCI-P could follow the initial jurisdictions in committing to implementation.
