In an effort to reduce pollution, 15 states have come together to boost the sales of electric trucks, school buses, and tractor-trailers in their states.
Leaders from New York to California have joined in a legally non-binding pact to ensure that every new medium- and heavy-duty vehicle sold in their states will be fully electric by 2050.
The states include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington, and Vermont. The District of Columbia has also joined the pact.
“We want clean air, reliable transportation, better health outcomes, and cost-effective climate solutions,” Katie Dykes, commissioner of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection in Connecticut, told the Washington Post.
As part of the agreement, states said they will work together to adopt policies that will encourage electric truck sales, as well as the construction of charging stations for them. To do so, the states could give tax breaks for electric truck purchases, require cities to switch to electric buses in their transit systems, and work with utility companies to install charging stations for larger commercial vehicles.
Several automakers have announced they are developing electric trucks, including Ford, Tesla, GMC, and Rivian. Although not moving as quickly, the big rig truck industry has said it will also be moving toward electrification. Companies like Freightliner and Volvo have started producing electric or alternative energy big rigs. And companies like Amazon, UPS, and others have said they will transition their businesses to electric trucks as well.