Despite accounting for one-third of carbon dioxide emissions, the transportation sector still lacks any major program to bend the CO2 emission curve downward, according to NH DES Climate, Energy, and Transportation Programs Manager Rebecca Ohler. But just as the states of the Northeast created the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) to reduce utility emissions, they are once again exploring a regional effort to tackle the problem of transportation.

In December 2009, the Governors of 11 Northeast States, including John Lynch from New Hampshire, signed a Memorandum of Understanding to evaluate and create the framework for a regional Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) program. On June 18, 2010, Ohler gave an overview of the effort to stakeholders from the Granite State Clean Cities Coalition. The group, consisting of public and private sector partners interested in reducing reliance on foreign oil and improving air quality, got a first-hand view of the complexity, and necessity, of the program.

The LCFS framework aims to address just one aspect of the multiple factors that affect total transportation emissions: fuel. While driving behaviors and vehicle efficiency play major roles, of course, the LCFS framework looks to establish standards on the carbon intensity of the region’s transportation fuel mix.

Certain fuel types, from origin to output, create fewer greenhouse gas emissions per unit of work than others, and therefore have a lower carbon intensity. By establishing a standard, the states which adopt the LCFS framework could use it to lower the average carbon intensity of fuels over time, thereby lowering total greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, by switching to less carbon intensive fuels, such as those from certain types of biomass or electricity from locally produced renewable sources, states could move gradually towards energy independence.

Of course, the problem is a complex one, and any solution requires dealing with the particular needs and issues of each of the states involved. Questions without simple answers, such as whether the framework should include home heating oil, are under consideration. Then begins the task of selling the framework to elected officials and the citizens of each state.

The next step of the process will include an economic analysis. The final set of recommendations will be presented to Governors and Environmental Commissioners in early 2011.

For more information on LCFS, see the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM) website.