How Actionable are Climate Action Plans? In-depth Analysis through an Integrated Policy Mix Framework

More than 190 local governments in the U.S have recognized the urgent need for action and have issued emergency declarations in their respected cities. However, a 2020 Brookings report shows that about two-thirds of the top 100 cities have made very little progress in implementation and are lagging their short-term emission targets, having even more challenges meeting their longer-term targets. This is mainly due to very limited knowledge and evidence on transportation-related climate mitigation policies and their impacts. Some studies highlight effectiveness of pricing policies such as New York Congestion Pricing policy which may be effective in reducing VMT and its GHG emissions but lack general support and accessibility. Other studies emphasize planning policies such as public transit improvement which likely have general acceptability but lacks financial recourses for execution particularly with recent trends of decline in transit ridership. The missing component of these studies and one key reason behind cities’ challenges on implementing climate mitigation strategies is the lack of integrated policy mixes that are complement to each other, and as a whole could offer an effective mitigation and general acceptability while addressing negative externalities such as potential equity and environmental justice challenges. This study addresses these gaps in the literature by conducting one of the first and most comprehensive analysis on transportation-related climate mitigation policies. This study conducts (1) a systematic review of existing/implemented transportation related mitigation policies internationally, (2) the PIs will design a policy matrix with performance measures to evaluate effectiveness and externalities of mitigation policies, (3) research team will employ the policy matrix to evaluate policies obtained from Step 1, (4) PIs will review and conduct content analysis of Climate Action Plans for the top 100 major cities in the US. More specifically, researchers will derive transportation-related mitigation policies and policy mixes (if exists), (5) Research team will assess climate action plans based on the integrated policy mix framework to investigate the extent to which cities’ climate mitigation efforts correspond to the matrix performance indicators, (6) The policy analysis will be coupled with a quantitative analysis that link performance indicators in policy matrix to cities progress toward meeting GHG emission reduction targets

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $172719
• Contract Numbers:

  DOT 69A3552348325

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Managing Organizations:

  Center for Climate-Smart Transportation

  615 N Wolfe St
  Baltimore, Maryland  United States  21205
• Performing Organizations:

  Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore

  Baltimore, MD  United States 
• Principal Investigators:

  Azimi, Ebrahim

• Start Date: 20231001
• Expected Completion Date: 20230930
• Actual Completion Date: 0
• USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers Program

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Climate change mitigation; Decarbonization; Disaster resilience; Environmental justice; Greenhouse gases; Policy
• Subject Areas: Environment; Planning and Forecasting; Policy;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01913050
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Center for Climate-Smart Transportation
• Contract Numbers: DOT 69A3552348325
• Files: UTC, RIP
• Created Date: Mar 25 2024 7:45PM