Our April Newsletter is now online!

Our April Newsletter is now online!
Our February Newsletter is now online!
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) has released a draft of the MI Healthy Climate Plan.
This plan lays out a broad vision for fulfilling the governor’s fall 2020 commitment for Michigan to achieve 100% economy-wide carbon neutrality by mid Century – the global science-based benchmark for reducing greenhouse gas emissions to avoid the most devastating and costly impacts of climate change.
Liesl Eichler Clark, EGLE Director
There are three online public listening sessions scheduled:
You can email comments to EGLE-ClimateSolutions@Michigan.gov.
The deadline for submitting comments is February 14th March 14th.
We were on the workgroup that developed recommendations to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for the state’s transportation sector — the largest GHG source. While the workgroup’s automotive stakeholders pushed electric vehicles, we partnered with others on recommendations that reducing vehicle miles traveled (VMT) through investments in biking, walking, and public transit. (Read more)
However, the draft plan fails to include our recommendation on GHG budgeting for road agencies, an idea that Colorado recently turned into reality. This budgeting would not only shift funding to the truly green travel modes (walking, biking, electric transit), it could shape land use patterns that make those modes more viable.
Michigan’s VMT continues to grow, outpacing our population growth (or decline.) That’s not sustainable and will prevent Michigan from reaching carbon neutrality. The plan needs to do more.
The transportation sector’s predominant focus on electric vehicles (EVs) will not make Michigan “a global leader in addressing climate change” nor is it an equitable strategy. We suggest the following improvements to widen the transportation vision and ensure the final plan meets the goals set forth by the governor.
The draft plan did not include the Workgroup recommendation on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions budgeting for road agencies. We believe this was a solid tool for reducing VMT and a necessity for reaching carbon neutrality. Eliminating this recommendation and not providing any explicit strategy for reducing VMT will result in this plan not reaching neutrality.
MDOT’s recent 2045 State Long-Range Transportation plan – in which the initial draft made no mention of carbon neutrality or the governor’s directive – also does not acknowledge the necessity of reducing VMT. In fact, the plan associates reduced VMT with a stagnant economy.
Additionally, neither the MDOT plan nor this draft plan mention local road agencies and their role in VMT.
Michigan’s expanding road infrastructure has fueled sprawl. This has led to rising VMT and lower dense communities where biking, walking, and public transportation are less viable options. Michigan’s climate plan must explicitly call for reduced VMT because the status quo will only continue to deliver higher carbon emissions.
The draft plan provides no details on how to increase biking and walking, nor does it define any goals. It also doesn’t mention safety, a primary reason why more Michigan residents don’t bike or walk.
We suggest the plan include a commitment to zero pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities and serious injuries through a Safe Systems Approach. We also suggest setting goals for increased travel mode shares for biking, walking, and public transportation. Both suggestions will help prioritize investments and provide measures of success.
E-bikes are one of the most significant travel modes for reducing carbon emissions, yet we found no mention of them in the draft plan. We believe the following points deserve to be included.
Incentives for e-bikes should also be explicitly mentioned.
Subsidizing EVs only helps those who can afford to operate a vehicle. Approximately 34% of Detroiters don’t own a vehicle. According to the University of Michigan Poverty Solutions Report, The Financial Well-Being of Detroit Residents, auto insurance premiums average $5,414, or 18% of the median income in Detroit. An estimated 60% of Detroit drivers don’t have auto insurance according to the Detroit Police. Consumer Reports says, EVs “ cost more to insure than equivalent gasoline-powered cars.”
Recent analysis of a similar state EV incentive program found it largely benefitted those in the wealthiest suburbs with over a third of the incentive funding used to purchase luxury vehicles.
The Health and Quality of Life section on page 23 fails to mention the expected increases in some emissions from EVs. While EVs have zero tailpipe emissions, 90% of all road traffic particulate matter (PM) comes from unregulated, non-tailpipe sources, primarily tire wear and the suspension of road dust. One recent study found some EVs emit an estimated 3-8% more PM 2.5 than equivalent conventional vehicles due to increased curb weights and increased tire wear.
Many Detroit communities already pay a heavy price for transportation-related emissions and that will continue if we only encourage EV adoption.
We asking Michigan residents to email the Michigan Council on Climate Solutions to make sure investments in biking, walking, and transit are a primary recommendation for reducing carbon emissions.
The draft recommendations (see below) do include these green travel modes, but they may not be included in the final plan. Hearing from us can make sure that they are included.
We’ve submitted our comments and have created an easy-to-sign (or edit) version of them. We’ve also created a Climate Change page for those wanting a deeper dive into this Council process and much more.
From the Michigan Council on Climate Solutions Transportation and Mobility Workgroup Recommendations:
The pandemic prompted the question: What priority are greenways and Complete Streets+ in light of the health needs of Detroiters? While they’re certainly not an immediate priority like health care, they do have a role in building a healthier, safer city and residents.
We saw use on the Dequindre Cut rise 55% as people sought safe outdoor activities and transportation options. We learned that walking, biking, and other exercise improved immune system response, not only to COVID but the vaccine as well.
However, one negative pandemic outcome was a drastic increase in speeding, which led to a 67% increase in Detroit road fatalities in 2020. Pedestrian fatalities rose 46% while bicycling fatalities quadrupled. The need for Complete Streets (to deter speeding) and separated bike/walk facilities is apparent from a public safety perspective.
Detroit’s recent flood events have brought the discussion of infrastructure priorities to the forefront. The discussion has mostly been about addressing critical short term impacts.
While that is critically important, we also need to look to the near future and the expectation for substantially worse flooding.
“What you would call a 100-year event of 5 inches of rain, our climate models are now projecting that 5 inches by 2050 could be anywhere from 5 inches to 14 inches of rain,” said Amy O’Leary, executive director of SEMCOG.
Close to ‘crisis mode’ — Here’s how much infrastructure improvements could cost, WXYZ
“Researchers warn that unless and until greenhouse gases are controlled, expect more of the same, only worse, in the years ahead.”
Floods in metro Detroit bear hallmarks of human-caused climate change, scientists say, Detroit Free Press ($)
It seems the crisis at hand is keeping us from discussing longer term issue of climate change, where transportation is the largest contributor to U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. We just can’t keep building bigger sewer pipes.
Perhaps nothing illustrates this better than Governor Whitmer holding a press conference on a flooded I-94 where she said we must do “everything we can to address climate change.” Just to her east, MDOT will be adding travel lanes that add more impervious surface while inducing more vehicle travel and more carbon emissions. MDOT’s long term plan is more of the same.
We are encouraging everyone to comment on MDOT’s Michigan Mobility 2045 long range plan. The draft plan ignores the role Michigan’s transportation has in greenhouse gas emissions. They need to hear that this plan cannot ignore the significant impacts it will have on climate change. It cannot ignore the Governor’s carbon neutrality pledge.
Public meetings are being scheduled for August 3rd and 4th. Comments can also be submitted online.
Last September, Whitmer pledged to make Michigan carbon neutral by 2050. It’s a significant commitment that requires significant changes to our transportation system. It’s more than electrifying vehicles. It’s going to require major reductions in vehicle miles travelled (VMT).
That means the Michigan’s transportation funding should no longer be largely prioritized based on pavement surface quality. It needs to be prioritized for increased safety, reduced VMT, and additional green stormwater management. “Fix the damn roads” can’t focus on potholes. It needs to abruptly shift towards building a safe and sustainable state transportation network.
Greenways and Complete Streets encourage more biking and walking, perhaps the two most effective means for reducing VMT while adding green stormwater infrastructure. Improved clean public transportation is also a necessity.
This is why we’re on the Governor Whitmer’s Council for Climate Solutions Transportation and Mobility Workgroup. We making the ambitious push for real policy change along with Transportation Riders United (TRU) and others to ensure the carbon neutrality pledge becomes reality. (Comments can be submitted to the workgroup.)