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DOT Climate Change Center

About

The DOT Climate Change Center is the focal point for policy and action on climate change within the Department.  The Center is co-chaired by the policy and research units within the Office of the Secretary of Transportation (OST) and its membership is comprised of the DOT operating administrations and OST offices. An electric freight truck charging  A photograph of an electric freight truck plugged in and charging at an electric vehicle charging station.

Through strategic research, policy analysis, partnerships, coordination and outreach, the Center creates comprehensive and multi-modal approaches to reduce transportation-related greenhouse gases (GHG) and to improve the resilience of the transportation system to climate change impacts.  The DOT Climate Change Center plays a key role in implementing the climate and sustainability goal in the US DOT Strategic Plan

USDOT established the DOT Climate Change Center in 1999.  The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (Public Law 110-140), Section 1101, formally established the Center as the Office of Climate Change and Environment.  It is codified in 49 USC Section 102(g).

Announcements

Applications Open for $848 Million in Competitive Grant Funding to Make Roads, Bridges, Transit, Rail, and Ports More Resilient to Climate Change - Applications due August 18, 2023.

Applications Open for Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program - Applications due June 13, 2023.

Applications Open for First Year of $400M Competitive Grant Program to Reduce Truck Emissions at Ports -  Applications due June 26, 2023.

Transportation Resilience 2023: International Conference on Extreme Weather and Climate Change Challenges, November 13-15, 2023 in Washington, DC.  USDOT is a sponsor for this conference. 

Research

The Center and the USDOT National Transportation Library maintain the Transportation and Climate Change Clearinghouse, which is a curated collection of information on transportation and climate change issues, and provides monthly bibliographies of the latest research.

The DOT RD&T Strategic Plan 2022-2026 sets USDOT’s research agenda and grand challenge for Climate and Sustainability along with four other goals.  Learn more about DOT research.

DOT Climate Change Policies

Policy Statement on Buy Clean Initiative

Policy Statement on Climate Adaptation

Operating Administration Climate Change Websites

The DOT Climate Change Center coordinates climate change related actions across the Department of Transportation.  Since much of the implementation takes place at the level of the operating administrations within the Department, important content related to implementation of climate change actions can be found on the operating administration webpages below.

Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Climate Change Website

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Environmental Programs Website and Aviation Climate Action Plan

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Energy and Emissions Website and Resilience Website

Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Climate Change Website

Maritime Administration (MARAD) Maritime Environmental and Technical Assistance (META) Program

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Corporate Average Fuel Economy

Volpe Center

Joint Office of Energy and Transportation 

Climate Challenges

People board an electric bus.The U.S. Department of Transportation developed climate challenges for different modes of transportation (aviation, public transportation, highway, and rail) to encourage and support transportation stakeholders in taking aggressive action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Airports Climate Challenge

Public Transportation Climate Challenge - Sustainable Transit for a Healthy Planet Challenge

Highways Climate Challenge - Quantifying Emissions of Sustainable Pavements

Rail Climate Challenge

Sustainable Aviation Fuel Grand Challenge

DOT Funding Programs and Climate Change

Most DOT funding programs have eligibilities for transportation climate solutions.  Some programs have a focus on climate change.  Learn more.

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Guidance

The Council on Environmental Quality issued guidance to assist agencies in analyzing greenhouse gas and climate change effects of their proposed actions under NEPA.

Council on Environmental Quality Guidance on Consideration of Climate Change in NEPA

National Performance Measure

To help address the climate crisis, FHWA proposes to amend its regulations governing national performance management measures to require State departments of transportation (State DOTs) and metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) to establish  carbon dioxide (CO2) reduction targets and to establish a method for measurement and reporting.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Performance Measure Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

DOT Climate Action Plan for Resilience

DOT Climate Action Plan – 2022 Progress Report

2021 DOT Climate Action Plan

Training and Technical Assistance

DOT offers training and a variety of technical assistance options to help tribal, state, local, and private sector transportation agencies reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve climate resilience.  Learn more.

U.S. National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization

U.S. National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization

DOT Climate Change Center Guiding Documents

View the Center’s Charter and the Center's Strategic Plan.

Last updated: Wednesday, May 31, 2023