BYD Congratulates TCI on its Transportation Low-Carbon Initiative

BYD congratulated the Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI) of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic States on its announcement to pursue a “cap and invest” program to create a low-carbon transportation system in the region.  BYD has delivered 290 all battery-electric, zero-emissions buses to public and private entities, as well as clean energy trucks and forklifts across the U.S.

“Given that more than one-third of all carbon emissions come from transportation, implementing a region-wide ‘cap and invest’ program is a critical step towards reducing our growing climate threat,” said Stella Li, BYD president. “Replacing the region’s dirty diesel trucks and buses with affordable zero-emission models is a win-win that will reduce greenhouse gases as well as toxic emissions that have been linked with increased asthma emergencies, cancer, and even premature death.”  

This “cap and invest” system idea follows the path already blazed by the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI, a cooperative effort created in 2009 among the states of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont to cap and reduce CO2 emissions from the power sector.  

“Electric vehicles are no longer just cars. Cities, states, and fleet operators can now use electric power to replace transit buses, waste collection trucks, refrigerated food and other urban delivery trucks, and port equipment,” Li said.

In a six-month long series of “listening sessions” hosted by TCI involving more than 500 stakeholders, the most frequently offered suggestion was the idea of selling emission allowances and using the proceeds to invest in clean transportation options to modernize transportation infrastructure and transit systems.  Participants also suggested polices to encourage and accelerate electrification of the transportation system.