Reducing NYC Transportation Emissions: The ZEV for NYC Act
This event is the sequel one year later to 2022’s Climate Week NYC event: “Reducing NYC transportation emissions: discussing bill Int. 0279-2022 — NYC’s ZEV bill.” The ZEV for NYC Act (Int. 0279-2022), NYC’s zero-emission transportation bill, is on the verge of becoming law. It will be the leading municipal fleet transportation bill of its kind in the U.S.
This panel features Majority Leader Keith Powers, the prime sponsor of the bill, and the two advocacy groups that worked closely with the Majority Leader to help gain a critical mass of support for the bill, the Sierra Club and Union of Concerned Scientists. The bill is supported by a coalition of 13 advocacy groups, also including Earthjustice, Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2), Environmental Advocates of New York (EANY, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), New York City Environmental Justice Alliance (NYC EJA), New York Lawyers for the Public Interest (NYLPI), New Yorkers for Clean Power, Sane Energy Project, South Bronx Unite, and WE ACT for Environmental Justice. In addition, NYC-based mobility and clean tech firms testified in favor of the bill, including Charge Enterprises, NineDot Energy, Revel, and Tarform.
Wayne Arden is Vice Chair of the Sierra Club NYC Group. Sam Wilson is Senior Vehicles Analyst, Union of Concerned Scientists. Wayne will moderate a discussion about climate change in New York City, the status of the bill, and next steps.
Per the NYC Comptroller’s Office, transportation accounted for 28% of NYC’s emissions in 2021, second to building emissions accounting for 68%. NYC has been proactive in tackling emissions from buildings, passing the 2019 Climate Mobilization Act and related legislation. More recently, Mayor Adams launched a program focused on food-related emissions, another significant source of emissions. The missing piece is transportation. The NYC government has been increasing the purchase of electric vehicles (EVs), but it has not yet deployed a significant percentage of the municipal fleet as 100% zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs). ZEVs eliminate direct emissions and dramatically reduce indirect emissions.
The ZEV for NYC Act sets intermediary ZEV purchasing deadlines and requires the City to transition most of its fleet to ZEVs by July 1, 2035. As of July 1, the bill benefitted from the support of 40 council member sponsors out of the total of 51 council members. It is likely that the NYC Council will vote on the ZEV for NYC Act before this event.