New York Traffic Toll Seen as a Key Pathway to Reducing Carbon

New York City’s planned toll on city traffic would prevent 890,000 tons of carbon from going into the atmosphere each year, but only if the money is spent wisely on improving subway service, according to modeling from a former state economist.

If the Metropolitan Transportation Authority doesn’t make those investments, the projected reductions would be 440,000 tons, said Charles Komanoff, a former senior economist at the New York Department of Environmental Protection.

At the high end of those projections, those benefits are less than 1.5% of the city’s total greenhouse gas emissions. But the congestion pricing plan could kick-start a ...