Authors: Rachel Finson, Susan Shaheen, PhD, Justin Panganiban, Michael Matz, and Michael Galczynski
Published: December 2013
Abstract: In 2005 the governor of California issued Executive Order S-3-05 setting a long-term goal for California to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to 80% below 1990 levels by 2050. In 2006 California passed the first global warming legislation in the United States: the Global Warming Solutions Act or Assembly Bill 32 (AB 32). This legislation requires California to decrease greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. In 2008 California passed the Sustainable Communities and Climate Protection Act or Senate Bill 375 (SB 375), another landmark legislation designed to create a stronger link between regional land use planning and transportation planning via Sustainable Community Strategies (SCSs) or Alternative Planning Strategies (APSs) developed by the Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) showing how each MPO will meet the GHG reduction targets assigned by the California Air Resources Board. The Transportation Plan Act or Senate Bill 391 (SB 391), passed in 2009, requires the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to update the California Transportation Plan (CTP) by December 31, 2015 (and every 5 years thereafter), including how the state will achieve maximum feasible GHG emissions reductions in order to attain a statewide reduction of GHG emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 and 80% below 1990 levels by 2050 (AB 32 and Executive Order S-3-05 goals). The bill requires the CTP to identify the statewide integrated multimodal transportation system needed to achieve these results.
This report seeks to provide Caltrans with additional information about strategies to improve system efficiency and lower vehicle miles traveled (VMT) to reduce GHG emissions from interregional travel. This research reinforces strategies developed and proposed by the California Transportation Plan Technical and Policy Advisory Committees and should assist Caltrans with planning and research agenda to strengthen strategies to reduce GHG emissions from interregional travel.
The results of a series of 14 expert interviews with representatives from some of the MPOs and Regional Transportation Planning Agencies (RTPAs) in California are reported here. In addition, a comprehensive literature review was conducted including 48 topics ranging from system efficiency, to behavioral change to strategies for reducing VMT. The goal was to provide Caltrans with tools to assist with: 1) prioritizing which GHG emission reduction strategies for interregional travel California should focus on; 2) understanding the potential magnitude of emissions reduction from strategies where data is available; 3) developing level of confidence estimates for various strategies, and; 4) gauging social/political acceptability of strategies.