City climate plan won’t put dent in global emissions (San Antonio)

By Jason Isaac of the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Excerpt:

"The city seeks to achieve its carbon neutrality goal by two primary means. First is the electrification of not just the city’s vehicle fleet, but also of all private vehicles in the city. The plan calls for reducing vehicle miles traveled by “prioritizing the reduction of those traveled in single-occupancy vehicles,” pressuring people to give up their cars through regulations such as reducing the number of parking spaces and creating vehicle-free zones.

Despite the city’s bus ridership trending down, San Antonio wants to take other transportation options off the table. It will also require significant subsidizing of electric cars and charging infrastructure that low-income residents currently cannot afford. Much like the Green New Deal’s proposals for government regulation over nearly every aspect of our lives, San Antonio aims to restrict your freedom to drive where you want, when you want.

Furthermore, the plan would leave stranded the infrastructure just built to support VIA’s effort to power its entire fleet with Texas natural gas, a clean and efficient fuel source for heavy-duty vehicles.

The second plank requires CPS Energy to source 100 percent of its electricity from wind and solar. Georgetown has seen its purchased power costs rise 30% over the past three years and recently had to saddle its residents with an average increase of $12.82 per month to cover those costs. The average electric bill in Georgetown is now 51% higher than San Marcos, which maintained its diversified energy contracts with the LCRA.

The people who are hurt the most by these policies are exactly the people the city seeks to help: low-income residents and minority communities. A civil rights group is currently suing the California Air Resources Board, alleging in stark terms that some of the same policies proposed in the CAAP [Climate Action and Adaptation Plan], including VMT reductions and “net zero” housing requirements, exacerbate poverty and disproportionally impact minority communities. Without significant wealth transfers and tax increases that will drive businesses to other cities, these policies will have the exact opposite effect of the CAAP’s high-minded emphasis on climate equity."