Recent actions in two states have cemented EV support blocs across much of the East Coast.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy on Wednesday announced plans to adopt a California end date of 2035 for new internal combustion cars other than plug-in hybrids. This was codified in one of three executive orders signed by Murphy Wednesday, which outline policies that include 100% clean energy use by 2035, and greater energy efficiency in the state’s building sector.
These bold targets and carefully crafted initiatives signify our firm commitment to swift and concrete climate action today,” Murphy said in a statement.
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The executive order directs the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to formally adopt the stricter emission rules needed to meet the 2035 goal by the end of the year. Environmental advocates were quick to note that the clock is ticking.
The longer we wait to adopt this rule, the less chance we have of getting more EV options in the state, and the harder it will be to reach our goal of 100% new sales by 2035,” Anjuli Ramos-Busot, director of the NJ Sierra Club, said in a statement.
New Jersey joins a number of East Coast states that have completed, or are working to finalize, emission standards following the California 2035 timeline, which are collectively referred to as the “Advanced Clean Cars II” standard, said the Sierra Club. This East Coast block joins the West Coast contingent of EV-friendly states that include California, Washington, and Oregon.
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Other states in the cohort include New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont and Virginia, which recently successfully resisted challenges to its Clean Car standard, keeping it on track to tighten emission standards in the coming years.
A Democratic-led state senate committee last month passed a series of Republican proposals aimed at repealing Virginia’s adoption of California standards, according to Virginia Mercury.
These states are increasingly difficult to ignore, and with states in the middle of the country now stepping in—like Minnesota, which is now also a Clean Cars state—it’s easier for automakers to simply plan, on a national level, for these vehicles. standards will require.
It’s worth noting that not everyone will cite regulation as a solution to EV adoption. Three of the five US states with the most EVs don’t yet have mandates for them, according to a 2021 study. But it’s unclear whether that growth in sales will continue without mandates, which also serves as a clear sign for automakers to continue to produce more EVs.