Why a climate-centered infrastructure is crucial for a resilient economy
Transportation is a major cause of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. But with smarter policy, it can be part of the solution, says Justin Balik, state program director of the climate policy nonprofit Evergreen.
Transportation is both a cause of and a potential solution to the climate emergency. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, this economic sector accounts for the highest share of greenhouse gases. And our roads, bridges and train tracks are literally buckling from extreme climate shifts. Justin Balik works to align transportation policy with climate goals at the climate policy nonprofit Evergreen. When he thinks about the future, he’s thinking about convergence and scale.
Matt Carmichael: What’s the relevance of climate change in infrastructure policy?
Justin Balik: They’re intertwined. The consequences of the climate crisis are here now. It’s not a far-off thing. You look at our roadways and how people are trapped in floods in their cars because of extreme weather events. You see subways flood routinely now in places like New York. The infrastructure that we designed originally — and there are efforts to make it more resilient — was not built to withstand the extreme weather that we’re already seeing. Experts across the spectrum, whether you’re a road engineer or building out the future of a subway line, all expect the strains on our infrastructure to be exacerbated.
Carmichael: And in terms of using transportation policy to reduce emissions?
Balik: There’s exciting momentum toward revitalizing infrastructure in a climate-forward way. We’re seeing the build-out of charging infrastructure, and more consumer adoption of electric vehicles as sales continue to accelerate. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) poured a ton of funding into new sustainable forms of transportation, including money for public transit, turbocharging Amtrak and new funding for things like EV charging, electric school buses, etc.
Carmichael: How are states reacting?
Balik: At the state level, we’ve seen some really promising policies with more states passing consumer incentives for EVs, kind of mirroring what happened federally with the IRA. More states are adopting California’s clean car regulatory rules like the advanced clean truck and clean car rules. Minnesota began screening traditional transportation projects in the capital plan for their climate impacts. They’re not saying, “Our climate work is over here, and our transportation work is over there.” Minnesota and Colorado are at the forefront of marrying those two things in exciting ways.
Carmichael: Someone once told me that it’s easier to lobby 50 states than 3,143 counties. What’s the best level of government to work with?
Balik: There are lots of opportunities for project-level innovations on the ground at the local level. But states and the federal government can marshal the fiscal resources at the magnitude that we need to actually address these problems at scale.
“I’ve started calling state DOTs the next frontier of climate advocacy.”
Carmichael: The infrastructure bill gives a lot of power and a lot of money to the states. But state departments of Transportation are generally incentivized to build roads because their funding is often based on vehicle miles traveled. How do you work with DOTs for better climate policy?
Balik: I’ve started calling state DOTs the next frontier of climate advocacy. Lots of states have specific transportation emissions goals, and we know that electrification and reducing vehicle miles traveled are a big part of that. Governors, advocates, labor unions and industry stakeholders all have a role to play in aligning the transportation policy, governance and funding in states to be more in lockstep with climate goals and climate commitments. I think that’s going to happen by necessity because we also know that the transportation system is underfunded everywhere. When people are coming up with alternative funding streams, climate impacts and sustainability goals have to be part of the conversation, because eventually the gas tax is going to be on its way out. We’ve seen that state DOTs are now in the business of building the charging network as the recipients of the new funding.
Carmichael: As government leaders and priorities come and go, how do you keep momentum?
Balik: I don’t want to overstate this, but while the rhetoric may be politicized from policymakers, on the ground we are creating a constituency in real time. Everybody’s concerned about the climate crisis. But at the end of the day, these investments are accruing to the economic benefit of people of all political stripes and persuasions in real time. That’s what is going to create durability.
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