TCI

VBSR Webinar: Transportation & Climate Initiative: Emissions Reductions, Equity Opportunities, and Lessons from Massachusetts and Rhode Island

Event Details:
When: June 4, 2021 12:00 pm – June 4, 2021 1:00 pm
Location: Virtual Webinar

Cost To Attend:
Nonmembers – Free
VBSR Members – Free

Registration is open

Event hosted by: VBSR

 

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The governors of our neighboring New England states – Massachusetts and Rhode Island – have joined the Transportation & Climate Initiative (TCI); a regional cap-and-invest program designed to reduce transportation-related climate pollution.

Join VBSR as we hear from two lead policy experts working in Massachusetts and Rhode Island to learn more about why their states joined, what benefits and effects they anticipate from program participation and, critically, how they are working in coalition and in the policy making arena to ensure far greater equity outcomes.

Our speakers will also speak about bills that have been introduced in their legislatures that aim to go much further on needed, transparent, BIPOC-led process and required investments in impacted, low-income communities. They will discuss some of the opportunities they see – based on recent, in-depth research – on electrification and other transportation innovation strategies that could benefit rural communities.

Vermont has been active in TCI discussions and policy development but has still not formally joined. With transportation accounting for 45% of carbon emissions in Vermont – larger than any other sector in the state – the state requires tools to dramatically reduce transportation-related emissions. These emissions are bad for our environment, bad for our health, and bad for our economy. TCI would not only help to reduce Vermont’s carbon emissions, but strategic program implementation in Vermont would also provide an important opportunity to grow Vermont’s economy, create jobs, improve health outcomes, and address the transportation needs of rural and marginalized communities.

 

Registration for this webinar is free for VBSR members and non-members alike. The webinar will take place virtually, and the details to join the webinar will be sent via email to all who register, in advance of the event. As an accessibility feature, closed captioning via live transcription will be available at this webinar.

 

Questions? Please reach out to VBSR Education & Events Manager, Carra Cheslin, at carrac@vbsr.org

 

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Meet our Webinar Speakers:

 

Hank Webster

 

Hank Webster

Rhode Island Director and Staff Attorney, Acadia Center

Hank Webster is Rhode Island Director and Staff Attorney at Acadia Center, based in the Providence office. He works to implement Acadia Center’s initiatives on transportation and clean energy in Rhode Island and regionally. He has served on Rhode Island’s Mobility Innovation Working Group, Energy Efficiency & System Reliability Procurement Technical Working Groups, Power Sector Transformation Advisory Group and represents Rhode Island on the ISO-NE Consumer Liaison Group Coordinating Committee, Previously, Hank was Executive Director of the Metropolitan Washington Road & Transportation Builders Association, in addition to directing the Public-Private Partnerships Division of the American Road & Transportation Builders Association. Hank holds dual BAs in Political Science and Public Communication from American University and a JD from American University’s Washington College of Law.

 

Paulina Muratore

 

Paulina Muratore

Campaign Manager for Clean Transportation, Union of Concerned Scientists

Paulina Muratore is a Campaign Manager for the Clean Transportation Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. In her role, she manages UCS transportation campaigns in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states, with a focus on mobilizing UCS members, activists, and other experts to reduce tailpipe emissions while building a cleaner, more equitable transportation system. She also works with state and regional transportation coalitions, partnering closely with a wide range of groups to enhance our collective advocacy voice. Prior to joining UCS, Paulina worked with companies and investors on low-carbon transportation alternatives with Ceres, and also worked as part of a New York/Northeast regional advocacy team at the Natural Resources Defense Council. She holds an MS in environmental planning and policy from Tufts University, and a BA in international relations from Boston University.

 

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