Report Shows Benefits of Clean Cars Program
New York's clean cars program would provide far-reaching benefits, including savings for drivers and fewer hospital visits.
ALBANY, NY — New York can avoid over 400 hospital visits and save over $80 billion by transitioning to zero-emission electric cars and light-duty trucks, according to a new report. The New York Advanced Clean Cars II Program report investigated the climate, health, and job benefits if the state were to adopt Advanced Clean Cars II, a program which, by 2035, would require that every new car and light-duty truck sold in New York be zero-emission. The report was prepared by ERM and commissioned by NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) and the Sierra Club.
The report outlined three scenarios for the state and discovered that if the state were to adopt Advanced Clean Cars II that by 2050 there would be:
- 447 to 501 avoided premature deaths and 433 to 485 avoided hospital visits from breathing polluted air,
- Cost-savings to New York State vehicle owners of over $80 billion,
- Reductions of up to 298 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, 117,500 metric tons of NOx, and 10,300 metric tons of particulate matter,
- National job gains of approximately 11,700 and up-to a $4 billion increase in 2050 GDP,
- Increased wages for the new jobs that will be added relative to the jobs that will be replaced.
“New York has the opportunity to do much more to move forward electric vehicles in the state and ensure that residents are breathing in fewer pollutants,” said Kathy Harris, Clean Vehicles and Fuels Advocate at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council). “The benefits outlined in the ERM report through the adoption of the Advanced Clean Cars II rule—including improved public health and vehicle owner savings— will put the state on a pathway that centers climate action around equity and affordability for all New Yorkers.”
“This report shows what New York stands to gain from adopting a regulation that will save lives, slash climate emissions, and ease the economic burden for households,” said Jessica Enzmann, senior organizing representative with the Sierra Club. “We urge New York to move forward quickly with the Advanced Clean Cars II Program.”
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NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world's natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Bozeman, MT, and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.