Climate Change and the America’s Transportation Infrastructure Act of 2019 (S. 2302)

September 3, 2019

Climate Change and the America’s Transportation

Infrastructure Act of 2019 (S. 2302)

Highway, public transportation, and rail programs are

authorized through FY2020 by the Fixing America’s

Surface Transportation (FAST) Act (P.L. 114-94). In

August 2019, the Senate Committee on Environment and

Public Works reported a bill that would reauthorize the

highway elements of surface transportation programs from

FY2021 through FY2025. The bill, S. 2302, the America’s

Transportation Infrastructure Act of 2019, would be the

first surface transportation authorization act to include

major provisions that address climate change.

Surface transportation is a major source of carbon dioxide

(CO2) in the atmosphere, the main human-related

greenhouse gas (GHG) contributing to climate change. At

the same time, the effects of climate change, such as

extreme heat, sea level rise, and stronger storms, pose a

threat to transportation infrastructure. S. 2302 seeks to

address these two aspects of climate change with mitigation

provisions that aim to reduce GHG emissions from surface

transportation and adaptation provisions that aim to make

the surface transportation system more resilient to a

changing climate.

Climate Change Mitigation

Transportation is the largest source of GHG emissions in

the United States, and thus is a target of emission reduction

efforts to mitigate future climate change. The

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that, in

2017, transportation accounted for 29% of U.S. man-made

GHG emissions. GHG emissions from the transportation

sector come mainly from cars and light trucks (Figure 1).

Total GHG emissions from transportation increased by 22%

between 1990 and 2017, but peaked in 2005. Total

emissions were about 6% less in 2017 than in 2005, but

have increased since 2012. Most GHG emissions from the

sector are due to the release of CO2 from the combustion of

gasoline and diesel fuel. Other GHGs, such as methane,

make up about 3% of emissions from transportation.

GHG emissions from transportation are largely a function

of three factors: vehicle fuel efficiency, the carbon content

of fuel, and vehicle miles traveled. Vehicle fuel efficiency

is regulated by the Corporate Average Fuel Economy

(CAFE) standards, administered by the Department of

Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration, and GHG emissions standards,

administered by EPA. The CAFE standards are established

under the authority of the Energy Policy and Conservation

Act, as amended, and the GHG standards under the

authority of the Clean Air Act, as amended. Neither is

commonly legislated in surface transportation

authorizations.

Figure 1. Greenhouse Gas Emissions from

Transportation in the United States, 1990-2017

Millions of metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent

Source: Environmental Protection Agency.

Note: “Other” includes buses, motorcycles, ships and boats, rail, and

pipelines.

Other climate mitigation policies affecting surface

transportation are generally the indirect effects of policies

enacted for other reasons. For example, the Congestion

Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ)

program, part of the Federal-Aid Highway Program,

provides federal funding for projects that contribute to the

attainment of ambient air pollution standards for ozone,

carbon monoxide, and particulate matter. This typically

involves projects that reduce pollutant emissions from cars

and trucks that also co-emit CO2. Other surface

transportation programs that may contribute indirectly to

the reduction of GHG emissions include the Transportation

Alternatives program, which funds projects such as bicycle

and pedestrian infrastructure, and the federal public

transportation program.

Climate Change Adaptation

Climate change is likely to include higher average

temperatures, greater extremes of temperature, more

precipitation overall with an increase in precipitation

intensity and greater variation, and a rise in sea level.

Climate change may also lead to fewer but stronger

hurricanes. While the consequences of some of these

changes may depend to some extent on other human

activities, such as urban development patterns, they are

likely to include an increase in extreme heat; fewer days

below freezing; more coastal, riverine, and flash flooding;

and more droughts and wildfires. Intense precipitation

could lead to more mudslides, particularly following

droughts and wildfires.

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Climate Change and the America’s Transportation Infrastructure Act of 2019 (S. 2302)

Existing surface transportation infrastructure can be

vulnerable to climate change because it was constructed for

sea level and weather extremes that are being or are likely

to be exceeded in the future. If the effects of climate change

worsen, as studies anticipate, the impacts of extreme

weather on surface transportation infrastructure and

operations are likely to increase in magnitude, duration, and

frequency. For example, an increase in the number of very

hot days may cause more damage to bridges because of

greater thermal expansion of bridge joints. More intense

precipitation and flooding could result in more road

washouts, bridge scour, and roadside mudslides. Not all the

effects of climate change will be negative. For example, a

warmer climate could reduce road pavement deterioration

in some places due to less freezing, snow, and ice.

Adaptation is action to reduce the vulnerabilities and

increase the resilience of the transportation system to the

effects of climate change. Adaptation options for surface

transportation include structural and nature-based

engineering and policy-based activities. For example,

highway bridges can be engineered structurally to withstand

the threats of higher wind and water. Nature-based

engineering may involve reducing climate vulnerabilities

through activities such as wetland restoration, artificial

reefs, and beach restoration. Policy-based activities include

changing maintenance practices, such as more frequent

cleaning of drains, and improving operations plans for

weather emergencies.

Currently, there is no dedicated surface transportation

funding for adaptation projects. The Federal Highway

Administration (FHWA) has stated that federal-aid highway

funds can be used to assess the potential impacts of climate

change and to apply adaptation strategies. FHWA’s

Emergency Relief program, which provides funds for

rebuilding after natural disasters, also allows some spending

on resiliency features. Moreover, several aspects of federal

law, regulation, and policy require asset managers to

consider the effects of climate change on surface

transportation infrastructure. FHWA, in cooperation with

state departments of transportation, has sponsored

vulnerability assessments and conducted research into

making surface transportation more resilient to climate

change.

America’s Transportation Infrastructure

Act of 2019 (S. 2302)

S. 2302 would authorize about $10 billion over five years

specifically for highway-related climate change mitigation

and adaptation programs. More funding could be available

for mitigation and adaptation activities if state and local

governments choose to use a portion of other federal

highway grants for this purpose, as S. 2302 would allow.

Funding would be authorized from the Highway Trust

Fund, which derives most of its revenue from a tax on

motor vehicle fuels. The major climate change-related

provisions proposed by S. 2302 include the following:

Mitigation Provisions

 Establishes new formula and competitive grant

programs to support planning and projects that reduce

on-road mobile sources of CO2 emissions. Eligible

projects might include ridesharing programs, truck stop

electrification, and incident management programs.

Funding would average $600 million annually for the

formula program and $100 million annually for the

competitive program.

 Establishes a new competitive grant program to support

construction and operation of alternative fueling

infrastructure along designated alternative fuel

corridors. Funding would average $200 million

annually.

 Establishes a new competitive grant program to support

projects that would reduce GHG and air pollutant

emissions at ports by reducing truck idling. Funding

would average $74 million annually.

 Establishes a federal interagency working group to

develop a strategy to transition the vehicle fleets of

federal agencies to hybrid-electric vehicles, plug-in

electric drive vehicles, and alternative fueled vehicles.

 Establishes a new competitive grant program for

highway congestion reduction projects that may

indirectly reduce transportation emissions. Funding

would average $40 million annually.

Adaptation Provisions

 Establishes a new grant program to support adaptation

projects. Funding would average $986 million annually,

with $786 million distributed to the states by formula

and $200 million distributed competitively. The

program would also encourage the development of

resilience improvement plans.

 Makes certain “protective features” designed to mitigate

the risk of recurring damage from extreme weather

events, flooding, or other natural disasters eligible

expenses under the federal highway program. The

federal government would pay up to 100% of the cost of

projects such as raising roadway grades, stabilizing

slopes, and adding bridge scour protection; for most

other types of highway construction, the states must pay

at least 10% or 20% of the cost.

 Adds adaptation strategies to the required contents of

the National Freight Strategic Plan and state freight

plans.

 Adds wildfire and sea level rise to the definition of

natural disaster in the Emergency Relief program, and

explicitly makes economically justifiable resilience

features eligible for funding as part of repair and

reconstruction projects.

 Defines “natural infrastructure” as infrastructure that

uses, restores, or emulates natural ecological processes,

and makes such projects specifically eligible for

funding.

William J. Mallett, Specialist in Transportation Policy

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IF11299

Climate Change and the America’s Transportation Infrastructure Act of 2019 (S. 2302)

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