3 states in 4 days: TCI collapse will leave Vermont Climate Council scrambling

By David Flemming

The Vermont Climate Council is poised to recommend that Vermont join the Transportation Climate Initiative (TCI) as a partial funding source for their Climate Action Plan, due in December. TCI is a hypothetical “cap and trade” scheme for motor fuels that several states would have to sign on to to make it viable. The council pursued this policy avenue despite repeated warning signs that TCI was not popular within the New England/Mid-Atlantic region, did not have the support of a majority of state governments, and did not look likely to ever become enacted.

David Flemming, policy analyst at the Ethan Allen Institute

That unlikelihood became a certainty last week when the only three governors committed to TCI — Ned Lamont of Connecticut, Daniel McKee of Rhode Island, and Charlie Baker of Massachusetts — all officially dropped their support for TCI, effectively killing the idea for good.

As Ned Lamont remarked, “Look, I couldn’t get that through when gas prices were at an historic low, so I think the legislature has been pretty clear that it’s going to be a pretty tough rock to push when gas prices are so high, so no.”

Press secretary for Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker Terry MacCormack proclaimed, “The Baker-Polito Administration always maintained the Commonwealth would only move forward with TCI if multiple states committed, and, as that does not exist, the transportation climate initiative is no longer the best solution for the Commonwealth’s transportation and environmental needs.”

What this means for Vermont is that a foundational component of the Climate Action Plan, which never should have been there in the first place, has been pulled out from under, calling into question both the overall viability of the plan and the judgment of the people putting it together.

TCI was a bad concept with unlikely prospect since its inception. Now we can officially add it to the long list of things in the Climate Action Plan not at all based on reality.

David Flemming is a policy analyst for the Ethan Allen Institute. Reprinted with permission from the Ethan Allen Institute Blog.

Image courtesy of FEMA/Public domain

18 thoughts on “3 states in 4 days: TCI collapse will leave Vermont Climate Council scrambling

  1. So glad that the people are now seeing the truth about the farce of
    a need in Vermont for a TCI or GWSA Act. We citizens need to stand strong against any “global warming “ efforts to not only control our lives but to tax us in the process.

    • Linda

      VOTE THEM OUT EN MASSE IN 2022, because it will be the last chance you will ever get to prevent the socialistic/communistic Dem/Progs from taking over OUR government of Vermont.

  2. The Transportation Climate Initiative is DEAD AND BURIED
    BY STEVE MACDONALD / 21 NOVEMBER 2021
    https://granitegrok.com/blog/2021/11/the-transportation-climate-initiative-is-dead

    Yesterday, we reported on the death of the Transportation Climate Initiative, TCI, another taxation-without-representation scheme that would milk motorists to fund Dem/Prog “climate-change-fighting” schemes, such as expensive electric buses and EVs, ride-sharing, carpooling.

    Charlie Baker, a huge supporter of TCI, backed out, leaving only Rhode Island, which had stepped away, but not formally retracted its interest in TCI. With Massachusetts out and Connecticut long gone, RI said it is done trying to make TCI work.
    TCI has no takers and is dead and buried.

    But not the scheme.

    Laundering money is still the goal, and transportation is still a target, but forcing gas taxes down people’s throats was not an option, when gas was cheap.
    Gas prices have increased 50 plus percent, thanks to Biden’s idiot energy policies,
    Massachusetts and Rhode Island plan to “combat climate change” using other financing means.

    The goal is to replace gas-powered vehicles with electric vehicles; a pipe dream of RE folks

    That means, the taxpayer solution to the problem is to remove such RE folks from office

    TCI is DEAD.

    Charlie Baker had been clinging to TCI as a new revenue stream. It would add a Commission-imposed tax on all motor fuel. A tax passed down to drivers, the money laundered through the Commission and back to states under the assumption they would use it to save the planet.

    Sure, if by “planet,” you mean to gaping holes in irresponsible state budgets.

    We’ve got about 50 articles related to the scheme, including news and commentary about almost every state that considered, and then dropped the idea of joining. I won’t rehash that here because that might look like gloating.

    But I am. Gloating.

    So, what happened? How did this “we have to have this or we’re all going to die” climate cult cash grab lose favor so quickly?
    The only climate politicians care about is the one that gets them re-elected.

    “The Baker Administration always maintained the Commonwealth would only move forward with TCI, if multiple states committed, and, as that does not exist, TCI is no longer the best solution for the Commonwealth’s transportation and environmental needs,” said Terry MacCormack, the governor’s press secretary, in a statement.

    Even before Biden-in-the-basement-inflation, the idea of saddling working-class voters with a massive gas tax was a tough sell.
    But it was one Baker and Company was prepared to embrace.
    A de facto gas tax that would start small and then grow and grow go to generate revenue outside the election process, is a dream come true for Dem/Progs; they could not be accused of imposing the price increases.

    The economy has since gone into a slide, and 2022 is looking like a steeper slide.
    Piling taxes onto taxes is not what voters want.

    A regional plan to reduce emissions, even just on paper, needed more than one interested party.
    Baker had no one else with which to dance, so he’s headed for the exit, and he’s not coming back.
    A non-possibility not all that long ago.

    Katie Theoharides, the governor’s secretary of energy and environmental affairs, said in December 2020, when Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and the District of Columbia announced they were moving forward with TCI, Massachusetts needed the program, if it was going to have a chance of reaching its goal of net-zero emissions. “We can’t get there without a program like this,” she said.

    They’ll have to find another way. A third way, perhaps? Or did someone finally have to admit that zero-emissions are just another fairy tale cheaters tell to justify frisking voters down for cash?

    Even if every state signed on, it would have always been about redistributing money from people who could least afford it, to pay for the priorities of people who could.

  3. WIND AND SOLAR TO PROVIDE 30 PERCENT OF NEW ENGLAND ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION BY 2050
    https://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/wind-and-solar-provide-50-percent-of-future-new-england

    China, India, etc., to Continue High Levels of Coal Burning, per Glasgow COP26

    China and India will not sacrifice their economic progress on the altar of global warming. Do you really believe China and India can afford to stop burning coal? Do you think they want to? Of course not.

    India
    India made it perfectly clear at the beginning of the Glasgow COP26, the developed nations should de-industrialize first, before asking developing nations to follow suit.

    India declared it would not sign the statement of COP26 goals regarding coal burning. The statement read “close down coal by 2030”. India insisted that be replaced by “phase down unabated coal”.

    Unabated refers to the common practice of Indian households, etc., cooking over open fires with coal, a major source of local air pollution. It would be phased down (no time limit was stated).

    All this means:

    1) Burning coal in power plants, with air pollution abatement systems, would be unaffected (no time limit was stated).
    2) The major coal burning countries, such as China, India, Australia, Brazil, etc., would continue to burn coal.

    China
    Despite various RE boosters, such as financial adviser Bloomberg, hyping China’s wind and solar efforts, the reality is, almost 80% of China’s electricity growth is from fossil fuels, almost entirely coal. Because China is so big, that fossil growth is worsening its own air pollution, plus the air pollution around the world; the soot falls on snow/ice-covered areas. Melting of snow/ice is much quicker.

    China burns about 4 BILLION metric ton of coal each year, more than the rest of the world combined. Its reliance on coal is increasing.
    China has expanded its mines to produce an additional 220 million Mt of coal in 2021, up almost six percent from 2020.
    China is planning to build 43 new coal-fired power plants and 18 new blast furnaces.

    From third qtr. 2020, to third qtr. 2021, China added 460.2 TWh of fossil electricity, which is 3.9 times the total annual electricity supply of NE, or 76.7 times the annual electricity supply of Vermont.

    Electricity production growth was 586.9 TWh, up 10.7%, of which 460.2 TWh, or 78.4%, was from fossil fuels, mostly coal.
    Wind growth was 89 TWh, up 28.4%, from a low base
    Solar growth was 12.6 TWh, up 10.2%, from a low base.
    Nuclear growth was 33.2 TWh, up 12.3%, from a low base

    China plans to build 200,000 MW of near-zero-CO2 nuclear plants; about 150 units, each 2,350 MW, on about 75 sites, at a cost of $440 billion, by 2035

    Amortizing the capital cost at 3.5%/y over 60 years would be ($17,556,485,920/y) / (200,000 MW x 8,766 h/y x 0.90, CF) = $0.01113/kWh, about one third the cost of EU and US nuclear plants.

  4. VERMONT TCI FIGHTING THE FORCES OF NATURE

    See VIDEO

    https://www.theepochtimes.com/mkt_morningbrief/video-the-longest-volcanic-eruption-of-21st-century-captured-on-camera-the-forces-of-nature_4060707.html?utm_source=morningbriefnoe&utm_medium=email2&utm_campaign=mb-2021-11-25&mktids=bcd7b0880fd37c67eae99854a725dfae&est=mCwjOmafmu3Msjxt2%2F2WLzesIIcpygQ5SLUVo2Me%2BHIiRVkOLVymphV31ySQNiA%3D

    The Longest Volcanic Eruption of 21st Century Captured on Camera: ‘The Forces of Nature’

    BY LOUISE BEVAN November 15, 2021 Updated: November 24, 2021

    Over the course of six months, a native Icelandic photographer has captured breathtaking footage of the longest volcanic eruption of the 21st century to date.

    The volcano eruption began on March 19 in the Geldingadalir valley of the Fagradalsfjall mountain on southwest Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula. In mid-September, it became the longest-running volcanic eruption of the century, overtaking a 2014 eruption in Holuhraun lasting 180 days, according to RÚV.

    “It’s amazing to capture the forces of nature and experience how small and powerless you are next to it,” photographer Hermann Helguson, 31, told The Epoch Times.

    “My first trip to Geldingadalir was one day after the eruption started. I have visited the eruption site regularly, over 15 times since then.”

  5. Just as China and India have refused to “phase out” coal because not burning coal would be worse for their economies than the hypothetical effects of climate change, so must the Vermont legislature revisit the Global Warming Solutions Act because the cost of reaching the carbon reduction goals established by this law will impose severe hardships, while the benefits to hard working, tax paying Vermonters will be non-existent.

    • STEVE

      Ah, a RARE voice of SANITY and LOGIC in Vermont.
      I thought all THOSE people had left the GREAT SOCIALIST STATE OF VERMONT

      CAREER-Dem/Prog bureaucrats are totally terrified/squirming they bit off far more than they can chew.
      The idiocy of 20 years of heavily subsidized RE balcony is finally beginning to sink in.

      Vermonters would be FORCED (“break their will”) to shell out a MINIMUM of $1.25 BILLION, PER YEAR, for at least 30 years, OF ADDITIONAL SACRIFICES, on the altar if RE idiocy, for the benefit of the heavily subsidized RE businesses of special interests.

      CAREER-Dem/Prog bureaucrats would be urging LEGISLATORS (Vermonters CHOSE them to act as proxies for their WILL, not the WILL of RE special interests), to make enormous financial sacrifices for ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, because no matter what Vermont does, it would not make one damn bit of difference regarding climate change..

      The excuse of “doing our part” is horse manure.
      Everyone knows, the RE programs exist only for the benefit of the RE SPECIAL INTERESTS.
      Dancing to THEIR tune has to end.

      Vermont should concentrate ONLY ON ENERGY EFFICIENCY.

      HIGH MILEAGE VEHICLES, such as a Toyota Prius, 54 mpg
      ZERO NET ENERGY HOUSING and OTHER BUILDINGS

      ALL ELSE, such as electric buses, trains, lifestyle meddling/altering, IS PURE BULL MANURE.

      VERMONT’S GLOBAL WARMING SOLUTIONS ACT, A DISASTER IN THE MAKING
      https://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/vermont-s-global-warming-solutions-act-a-disaster-in-the-making

      Vermont has a Comprehensive Energy Plan, CEP. The capital cost for implementing the CEP would be in excess of $1.0 billion/y from 2017 to 2050, 33 years ($1.25 billion/y from 2022 to 2050), as stated in Energy Action Network annual report for 2015.

      It would take $1.25 billion/y from 2022 to 2050, 28 years, and probable much more to overcome the Biden 5 to 6 percent inflation. See URLs.

      Excluded are financing and replacements of short-life systems, such as EVs (10y), heat pumps (15y), battery systems (15y), etc.

  6. Vermont is but the population size of a large county. Add to that the existing taxation and the demographic of Vermont’s citizens- there just isn’t enough money that can be collected to make much of this work. Energy pricing is already at a premium in the “Green” Mountain State, yet the stated goal is to increase some energy costs for some people to reduce use- and give a small portion of that money to others whom have less, or have a different sexual orientation, skin color etc. than the majority of Vermont citizens.
    Consequence of GWSA is a further reduction of wealthier residents leaving Vermont for good, as well as business leaving or ignoring Vermont as a place to expand to.

    Call the GWSA what it is- A wealth redistribution plan, with Big Government Socialism getting the biggest cut.

  7. Here is the draft Climate Action Plan which will change before it is finally adopted next Wednesday, Dec. 1
    https://climatechange.vermont.gov/sites/climatecouncilsandbox/files/2021-11/Initial%20Climate%20Action%20Plan%20DRAFT%2011-23-21.pdf
    The Climate Council is meeting at 8:30 on Monday to go through more portions of it, and may have to meet again on Tuesday. The final meeting (of this iteration, remember this Climate Council is a forever thing) is Wednesday at 8:30 when they will adopt the Plan, as required by statute.

    • In the past, people did not write reports about the changing climate.
      Instead, people just adjusted to it, instead of the inane, costly tilting at wind mills, RE folks are fond of doing.

      The GWSA exercise will go nowhere.

      During Glasgow COP 26, the final agreement regarding coal deals only with UNABATED COAL

      That refers to the widespread cooking on open coal fires in India, i.e., unabated coal burning.

      Coal fired power plants, WITH pollution abatement systems are unaffected by COP26.

      China and India can continue to burn 5.5 BILLION METRIC TON OF COAL EVERY YEAR, AND BUILD MORE COAL POWER PLANTS

  8. The TCI evil doers will be back after the 2022 ELECTION

    THe NE people have to turn out in large numbers to vote out a multitude of leftist/thieving legislators, so that no amount of fraud could change the election outcome.

    The Dem /Progs election officials have to be watched from A-to-Z, 24/7, to ensure a minimum of evil-doing

  9. Vermont’s Climate Council, is the last leg on the stool as it falls, and as we have seen and
    most know, this was just another liberal ” agenda” boondoggle, “NO” real facts, just
    of the sky is falling hype……………..and these people want us to take them seriously.

    With Its unattainable goals, and definitely unaffordable price tag, but then again bureaucrats
    believe that taxpayer’s money is free to burn……….!!

  10. This whole scheme started falling apart as soon a covid hit and people had the time to really hear about what this “plan” really was. They lost the ability to end run this around the public as they had when they were too busy working and going about life. Covid allowed people to read about, think about, and realize exactly what this was. Simply put it was a plan to use your money to fund their initiatives by creating a private board of directors answering to nobody.

  11. Here we have the Vermont Climate Council driving the State the wrong way on a one way street……..They’ll likely wreck the State, but they’ll be the first and likely the last to arrive at the TCI.

    No one in Vermont would have ever believed it, but in the history of Vermont blunders, the Global Warming Solutions Act and its authors have found a way to make Gov. Peter Shumlin’s Single Payer Health Care system $200 million fiasco and look brilliant………You can’t make this stuff up.

    • Peter,

      It is worse.

      Full speed again in a tunnel, with a train, or Mack truck, coming at them
      Watch them bail to save their hides.

      VOTE THEM OUT EN MASSE, TO PROTECT YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS FROM THE EXTREME LEFTIST DEM/PROG CRAZIES.

      Keep a Hawk’s eye on Condos, as he will try to game the 2022 Election, with his 1) universal mail out of ballots, and 2) universal harvesting of ballots; VPIRG LOVES IT, and 3) not requiring any signature verification, and 4) not requiring any ID

  12. I’m going with ‘judgement of the people putting it together.’
    The plan is just the plan, legless without humans to make it go.
    People put this in action. That’s who’s responsible.

  13. Comment from Janet Yellen at the recent COP26 conference. Rising to this challenge will require the wholesale transformation of our carbon-intensive economies. It’s a global transition for which we have an estimated price tag: some have put the global figure between $100 and $150 trillion over the next three decades.” By 2050 there will be an additional 5-6 billion people on top of the 9+ billion projected by the end of 2022. That is the main problem.

    • No, CO2 warming is pseudoscience. The only thing we have to protect ourselves from is the globalists who want to own everything and control everything– and they’re happy to scare us with CO2 to do it.

      This winter in Vermont will be exactly the same as every other winter, with normal variations that have happened ever since records were kept. Climate changes: the geological record tells us that very clearly. The pseudoscientists want to use that basic fact to try to convince us that everything that’s happening is due to a gas that’s 0.04% of an atmosphere that has 1/1000 the heat capacity of the oceans, which are 70% of the planet. It doesn’t even pass the smell test.

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