ALBANY – New York State Department of Environment Commissioner Basil Seggos announced Thursday the adoption of new requirements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution from the transportation sector that are harmful to the climate.
The Advanced Clean Car II regulations will require all new cars and trucks sold in New York State to be zero emissions by 2035. State authorities say the move will accelerate sales of zero-emission cars, leading to improvements in air quality across the country, particularly in communities disproportionately affected by transport-related pollution.
“The launch of Advanced Clean Cars II is a landmark move for New York that will forever improve the health of our underprivileged communities and help bring about change in the use of zero-emission vehicles here in the Empire State and across the country,” said Seggos in a press release.
The Advanced Clean Cars II rulemaking supports New York’s ambitious work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 85 percent by 2050 from 1990 levels, as outlined in the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, or Climate Act.
The regulation requires that each year an increasing percentage of new light-duty vehicle sales must be zero-emission vehicles, starting with 35 percent ZEV sales in the 2026 model year, leading to 100 percent ZEV sales by 2035.
Advanced Clean Cars II also includes revised emissions standards for model year 2026 through model year 2034 passenger, light-duty and medium-duty vehicles with internal combustion engines. The regulation provides flexibility for manufacturers to meet emissions requirements and drive a successful transition to cleaner vehicles.
“These requirements demonstrate the commitment of New York and Gov. Kathy Hochul’s leadership to taking action on the climate and creating a strong foundation to reduce greenhouse gases, reduce harmful pollution and foster the growth of the green transportation industry,” Seggos said .
The introduction of Advanced Clean Cars II is one of the recommendations in the Climate Action Council’s recently published scoping plan. It will make a significant contribution to achieving the reductions in greenhouse gas emissions required by the Climate Protection Act.
On December 19, the New York State Climate Action Council approved the Scoping Plan, which outlines recommended policies and actions to meet the goals and requirements of the Climate Act. The plan was the culmination of more than three years of collaboration, including input from Council advisory bodies and working groups, since the passage of the Climate Law in 2019.
Seggos also announced Thursday that New York State’s appliance and equipment standards under the Advanced Building Codes, Appliance and Equipment Efficiency Standards Act of 2022 will be adopted on January 1, 2023.
Passing of this law will establish minimum energy and water efficiency requirements for residential and commercial products that will save consumers $264 million in electricity bills annually through 2035, with $85 million benefiting low- to middle-income households.
The standards ensure performance and quality to phase out poor, inefficient and wasteful products while reducing energy and water use to 807,000 tons and saving more than 25 billion gallons of water annually by 2035. State authorities say this will help meet New York’s nation-leading emissions reduction targets under the Climate Change Act.
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