The states of California, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont collectively pledged to create a plan that would speed up the transition to zero-emission vehicles.
The accelerated deployment plan, once developed, would target medium and heavy-duty zero-emission trucks and buses. Such vehicles represent the next largest source of greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector after passenger cars and trucks. The states also note their role in dispersing smog-forming pollutants, particulate matter, and air toxics that affect urban communities, as well as those near major truck routes and distribution hubs. Electrification, they believe, is a path to improve air quality and reduce such pollution.
“Our states recognize that nearly all new motor vehicles need to be electric by 2050 to achieve the necessary reductions in greenhouse gas emissions,” the eight states and the District of Columbia wrote in a statement of intent. “ Therefore, transportation electrification is a key climate action strategy and a top air quality priority for our states.”
The collaborative effort will be implemented by and build upon the work already undertaken by the multi-state Zero Emission Vehicle Task Force, which was previously established to coordinate state efforts and develop a comprehensive action plan for passenger cars and trucks. Efforts will be facilitated by the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management, a multi-state organization dedicated to clean air programs.
These states seek to collaborate with industry and stakeholders to identify and address cost, fueling infrastructure, and other barriers.
“Today’s announcement is definitely a step in the right direction: Trucks are increasingly a major contributor to air pollution nationwide, but especially in our cities where they are among the largest sources of toxic emissions in vulnerable neighborhoods,” Mary Nichols, California Air Resources Board Chair, said. “We need to design a regulatory program that gets to the heart of this problem. We will move farther faster in partnership with other states who share the same commitment to cleaning up trucks and protecting public health.”