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International Alliance aims for all new cars to be zero-emission by 2050

December 3, 2015
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Paris, France – Thirteen North American and European governments announced today that they will strive to make all new passenger vehicles in their jurisdictions zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) by no later than 2050. Achieving this will accelerate the global transition to ZEVs and could reduce transportation sector climate impacts by more than 1 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year by 2050, lowering global vehicle emissions by about 40 percent.

The governments, which are participants in the International ZEV Alliance, include Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and the United Kingdom in Europe; California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont in the United States; and Québec in Canada. The International ZEV Alliance made this announcement during COP21 to highlight ZEVs as a key strategy to solving the climate crisis and to encourage further investments in ZEV technologies. ZEVs in use today include battery-electric, plug-in hybrid, and fuel cell vehicles.

Members of the International ZEV Alliance are committed to accelerating the global transition to ZEVs. Large-scale adoption of electric-drive vehicles, in concert with clean energy deployment, is essential for limiting climate change impacts such as sea level rise and increased in extreme weather, ending oil dependence, improving air quality, and growing the low-carbon economy. ZEVs can also offer consumers a multitude of other benefits such as improved performance, and lower fueling and maintenance costs.

ZEV Alliance participants represent about half of the electric vehicles sales worldwide. “These governments are leading the way when it comes to early adoption of electric vehicles by offering a mix of financial and non-financial incentives, vehicle policy, consumer awareness and outreach, and the installation of a charging infrastructure,” said Nic Lutsey, Program Director of the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), which serves as Secretariat to the International ZEV Alliance. Yesterday the ICCT released a working paper, “Global Climate Change Mitigation Potential from a Transition to Electric Vehicles,” that quantifies the greenhouse gas benefits of increasing ZEV adoption. The paper is at the ZEV Alliance website.

In addition to supporting ZEV adoption with innovative policies and investments within their own jurisdictions, members of the International ZEV Alliance are collaborating to expand the global ZEV market and encouraging other jurisdictions to establish ambitious ZEV targets and policies to promote electric drive vehicles.

For more information on the International ZEV Alliance, visit the website.

Members on the importance of transitioning to ZEVs

“This is about our future, about the world we leave for our children and grandchildren as well as how we make travel more efficiently over the years and decades to come. In Connecticut, we are committed to reducing carbon emissions across all sectors – including transportation – by using cleaner, greener energy. With a build out of a publically available charging station network and consumer incentives for the purchase new technology vehicles, we are already changing the way we travel every day in Connecticut. We can and must do more nationwide and worldwide.”

— Dannel Malloy, Governor of Connecticut

“If we are to achieve our climate targets, the transport sector must make a greater contribution than it has to date. We see electric mobility as the key to making passenger transport climate friendly. Sustainable mobility as a comprehensive package of zero emission drives, renewable energy sources for transport and a combination of different modes of transport is more than climate action. Sustainable mobility is quality of life.”

— Jochen Flasbarth, Secretary of State, Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety of Germany

“Electric vehicles will help drive Maryland’s environmental and economic progress. Cooperative partnerships such as this can help accelerate the adoption of these vehicles locally and globally, benefiting citizens, consumers, and ecosystems along the way.”

— Ben Grumbles, Maryland Secretary of the Environment

“Through Governor Andrew Cuomo’s leadership, New York State is aggressively combating climate change and we are proud to join the ZEV Alliance to drive innovation in automobile manufacturing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Global teamwork is essential to tackle the urgent threat of climate change. This Alliance embodies that spirit of cooperation as our jurisdictions work to foster policies that benefit the economy and environment.”

— Basil Seggos, Acting Commissioner of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

“Norway has done a lot to spur the electric vehicle market domestically. We see working together with other proactive governments as a key to a global transition to an electric fleet. The problem of climate change is clearly global, and we see electric vehicles as one of the important global climate solutions”

— Jens Frølich Holthe, Political Advisor to Norway’s Minister for Environment

“The serious threats presented by global warming have been known for over three decades and future generations will rightly judge the morality and leadership of this generation not by the fact of climate change, but how we responded. Transitioning to Zero Emission Vehicles is a realistic way to achieve greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets.”

— Kate Brown, Governor of Oregon

“Québec is already recognized for its electricity production and abundant, renewable energy sources, and wishes to accelerate its transportation electrification. To that end, it recently adopted a plan consisting of concrete measures to be implemented between now and 2020 to promote the development of this sector. Furthermore, I am convinced that Quebecers, with their ability to innovate, will make the ZEV Alliance’s vision an additional opportunity to develop this strong economic niche that offers an effective solution for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution and our fossil fuel consumption. Together, let’s fight against climate change to ensure a quality of life and a healthy planet to our children. Let’s do it for them.”

— David Heurtel, Québec Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and the Fight against Climate Change

“The UK is at the forefront of international efforts to promote the benefits of cleaner motoring and we are proud to work with our partners to accelerate this motoring revolution. Electric cars are greener and cheaper to run and we are making them more affordable. The UK government has committed to spend more than £600 million between 2015 and 2020 to support the uptake and manufacturing of ultra-low emission vehicles in the UK. Our global leadership means 1 in 4 of all European electric vehicles are built here and the UK is on track for almost every car and van to be a zero emission vehicle by 2050.”

— Andrew Jones, United Kingdom Transport Minister

“While we have made incredible progress cutting emissions through the use of renewable energy to power our homes and business, we can and must do more to reduce emissions created by the transportation sector. Encouraging more zero emission vehicles is one important tool as we transition to a clean energy future. These vehicles will help make our air cleaner, keep dollars from leaving the state to pay for foreign fossil fuels, and protect our economy from the volatility of foreign oil prices. But Vermont can’t do this alone. Through the International ZEV Alliance, Vermont will work regionally and with other leading jurisdictions around the world to create strong collaboration across governments and the private sector that will transform our vehicle markets. Solving our transportation climate challenge will require solutions from all sectors of the economy, including increased public transit and rail service, alternative fuels and more efficient conventional vehicles.”

— Peter Shumlin, Governor of Vermont

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