Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation Wednesday requiring all new passenger cars and trucks sold in the state to be zero-emissions by 2035.
Under the new law, new off-road vehicles and equipment sold in New York are also targeted to be zero-emissions by 2035, and new medium-duty and heavy-duty vehicles by 2045. The law further requires the state’s Energy Research and Development Authority to create a zero-emissions vehicle development strategy by 2023.
Hochul, who succeeded the disgraced former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in late August, said in a statement Wednesday that the new climate initiative will help “reduce the greenhouse gas emissions affecting our climate,” particularly in the transportation sector.
Traffic moves across the Brooklyn Bridge on August 2, 2018 in New York City (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
“The new law and regulation mark a critical milestone in our efforts and will further advance the transition to clean electric vehicles, while helping to reduce emissions in communities that have been overburdened by pollution from cars and trucks for decades,” she said.
Hochul signed a separate order Wednesday instructing the state Department of Environmental Conservation to implement regulations targeting pollution emitted by trucks. Her office did not release details of proposed regulations but said it would “accelerate” the sales of zero-emissions trucks.
New York’s climate plan is among the most aggressive in the nation and calls for a full transition to renewable energy. The Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act signed into law in 2019 mandates a zero-emission electricity sector by 2040 and 70% renewable energy generation by 2030. (RELATED: The End Of Cars As We Know It)
In an April letter to President Joe Biden, New York and 11 other states asked the administration to put the U.S. on a path to ensure all passenger cars and light-duty trucks sold in the nation are zero-emissions by 2045.
Biden has called for up to half of all new cars sold in the U.S. to be electric vehicles by 2030. His administration has also committed to reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 and achieving zero-emissions by 2050.